Jay Martin

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Jay Martin

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 5, 2024

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

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Jay Martin ran for election as Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. He lost in the general election on March 5, 2024.

Biography

Jay Martin's career experience includes working as an attorney and the president of Wallace, Martin, Duke, & Russell, P.L.L.C. Martin served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2003 to 2006.

Elections

2024

See also: Arkansas Supreme Court elections, 2024

General runoff election

General runoff election for Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice

Karen R. Baker defeated Rhonda Wood in the general runoff election for Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karen R. Baker (Nonpartisan)	52.7	546,713
		Rhonda Wood (Nonpartisan)	47.3	491,148

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,037,861
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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General election

General election for Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice

Karen R. Baker and Rhonda Wood advanced to a runoff. They defeated Barbara Webb and Jay Martin in the general election for Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karen R. Baker (Nonpartisan)	27.2	86,850
✔		Rhonda Wood (Nonpartisan)	26.3	84,139
		Barbara Webb (Nonpartisan)	25.9	82,735
		Jay Martin (Nonpartisan)	20.6	65,875

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 319,599
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Martin in this election.

2022

See also: Arkansas gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Governor of Arkansas

The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of Arkansas on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R)	63.0	571,105
		Chris Jones (D)	35.2	319,242
		Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. (L)	1.8	16,690
	Submit photo	Jason Tate (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0
		Dan Nelson (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0
	Submit photo	Michael Woodard (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0
		Elvis Presley (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 907,037
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Arkansas

Chris Jones defeated Anthony Bland, Jay Martin, James Russell, and Supha Xayprasith-Mays in the Democratic primary for Governor of Arkansas on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Jones	70.4	66,540
		Anthony Bland	9.6	9,055
		Jay Martin	8.2	7,731
		James Russell	6.8	6,421
		Supha Xayprasith-Mays	5.0	4,725

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 94,472
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Arkansas

Sarah Huckabee Sanders defeated Doc Washburn in the Republican primary for Governor of Arkansas on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah Huckabee Sanders	83.1	289,249
		Doc Washburn	16.9	58,638

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 347,887
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Tim Griffin (R)
• Leslie Rutledge (R)
• Leticia Sanders (R)

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Governor of Arkansas

Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. advanced from the Libertarian convention for Governor of Arkansas on February 20, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. (L)

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jay Martin did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Jay Martin did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Martin's campaign website stated the following:

“	D. Develop Economic Opportunities: Jump-start Arkansas’ economy post-Covid with targeted small business, small farms and middle-class tax reductions Transform Arkansas’ economy by continuing to attract cutting edge private sector jobs nation and world-wide, and to build upon former Governor Mike Beebe's and Governor Asa Hutchinson’s success in this vital mission Transform Arkansas’ economy by targeting the new Space Force jobs, as well as other federal public sector jobs Transform Arkansas’ economy by encouraging the President and federal delegation to decentralize the federal government by moving major offices of the federal government to the States, including Arkansas, which has the fewest federal jobs of any Southern state Expand the Natural State theme, with independent support for upgrading existing State parks, creating new ones, including one in Saline County and “span of State” hiking and off-road vehicle trails Assist local governments and Chambers of Commerce with State assistance on expanding tourism by emphasizing what is special about the area Provide broadband internet to rural Arkansas, and all Arkansans state-wide Improve the financial IQ of all children in Arkansas by teaching budgeting, savings and investing as age appropriate Create the “American Patriot” bowl to be played annually at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock during bowl season and attracting a military academy game at War Memorial Stadium on the Saturday preceding Veterans Day, preferably against an *Arkansas University, to highlight and honor our Arkansas military families and develop a scholarship program for their dependents Establish City-to-City program, where cities from different regions of the State partner for opportunity and unity Support the full-funding of State highways, and build a network of new highways in every corner of the state through toll-roads and public-private funding Work with local and State Leaders to upgrade the Bill & Hillary Clinton National Airport (LIT) and the Northwest Arkansas *National Airport (XNA) to International Airports and strengthen other Airports throughout the State I. Invest in Arkansas' healthcare and Mental Health & Addiction Recovery: Work with small businesses and family farms to provide healthcare, health exchanges, partnerships and expanded health savings accounts for every worker, full or part-time Create the same opportunities for full family mental health coverage for workers, and their families, and to provide the same coverage for addiction treatment, outpatient and inpatient Assist charitable clinics with exemptions and non-dollar support Protect the elderly and long-term disabled Arkansans from understaffed nursing homes, and to fight for home health-care assistance when possible Work on adequate housing for families with minors and work to alleviate inadequate housing and homelessness A. Accountability & Efficiency in State Government: No laws in Arkansas enforced that are contrary to the Federal or State Constitutions or Bill of Rights ever (we will protect Freedom of religion, press, association, speech, and gun rights, as well as every other right), and auditing State Government for compliance with the Constitution Decrease the size of government, and decentralize State Government by removing offices of State Government to the 75 counties throughout Arkansas, as feasible and cost-effective Make government accessible to citizens, as the primary factor to justify the departments’ existence and funding No exemptions for elected officials from any State law Work with the newly-elected Attorney General to continue the work of former Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and Attorney General Leslie Rutledge to root out corruption in State government Protect cities, counties and school districts from State intrusion on the sanctity of local controls Maintain and strengthening the “Freedom of Information” laws Enact an Elected Official Recall process, so that elected officials who are not doing what they promised, or who violate their oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution may be removed from office by Arkansas voters Expand the "Government Efficiency and Accountability Review Committee” Jay sponsored and got enacted in 2005, that placed sunset dates on every State agency M. Move Arkansas from Division to Unity: As Jay was able to accomplish when as an elected official he formed the bipartisan committee, Jay is working with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to eliminate the divisive political climate in Arkansas and protect Arkansas from becoming more like Washington. To quote Mike Masterson who described the approach of long-time 3rd Congressional District Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt, once elected, party affiliation should not matter: “He often told me (and congressmen who succeeded him) that once elected, his political party was irrelevant because every person in his district was deserving of equal time and attention." Jay will live up to the standard set by this great servant of the people. O. Opportunity for Every Student to Attend an A+ Public School: Jay is currently visiting with parents, students, school administrators and teachers to inform these vital policy directives. N. No Arkansas Child Hungry or Without Access to Healthcare (Pro-life for Life): Instead, healthy children who can live God’s plan for their lives. Jay is talking to child advocacy groups, private sector programs and food banks to eliminate food insecurity and tighten accountability for existing government food programs. D. Decrease Crime & Repeat Offenses: Jay is talking to community groups, law enforcement, and police athletic leagues to eliminate crime, and remove violent criminals from Arkansas’ streets. Jay will continue his work from 2005 to find ways to use the criminal code and law enforcement to prevent crimes before they happen. In 2005, Jay got a law entitled “Internet Stalking of a Minor" passed, which allows the police to chat with would-be child stalkers and abductors who thought they were visiting with minors and when they showed up to meet their victim, they met the police instead. Jay believes there are other similar tools the police can be given to protect our children, as well as all Arkansans, and remove criminals from the streets.	”
—Jay Martin's campaign website (2022)

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Jay Martin campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice	Lost general	$136,299	$113,138
2022	Governor of Arkansas	Lost primary	$28,703	$40,581
Grand total			$165,002	$153,719
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

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