Jessie McGruder
Jessie McGruder (Democratic Party) is a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, representing District 35. He assumed office on January 13, 2025. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.
McGruder (Democratic Party) is running for election to the Arkansas State Senate to represent District 9. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Biography
Jessie McGruder graduated from Barton High School and earned his bachelor's degree from Arkansas State University. His career experience includes serving as a personnel policy committee representative for the West Memphis School District and as a coach for the football, basketball, and track teams at Wonder Junior High School.[1]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2026
See also: Arkansas State Senate elections, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Arkansas State Senate District 9
Jessie McGruder and Kenneth Phillips are running in the general election for Arkansas State Senate District 9 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Jessie McGruder (D) | |
 | Kenneth Phillips (R) | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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2024
See also: Arkansas House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 35
Jessie McGruder defeated Robert Thorne Jr. in the general election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 35 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jessie McGruder (D) | 50.6 | 4,814 |
 | Robert Thorne Jr. (R) | 49.4 | 4,691 | |
| Total votes: 9,505 | |||
| = 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 runoff election
Democratic primary runoff for Arkansas House of Representatives District 35
Jessie McGruder defeated Raymond Whiteside in the Democratic primary runoff for Arkansas House of Representatives District 35 on April 2, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jessie McGruder | 59.3 | 432 |
| Raymond Whiteside | 40.7 | 296 | ||
| Total votes: 728 | |||
| = 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 Arkansas House of Representatives District 35
Jessie McGruder and Raymond Whiteside advanced to a runoff. They defeated Demetris Johnson Jr. and Sherry Holliman in the Democratic primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 35 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jessie McGruder | 46.7 | 632 |
| ✔ | Raymond Whiteside | 23.7 | 321 | |
 | Demetris Johnson Jr. | 15.4 | 208 | |
| Sherry Holliman | 14.2 | 192 | ||
| Total votes: 1,353 | |||
| = 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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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 35
Robert Thorne Jr. defeated Gary Tobar in the Republican primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 35 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robert Thorne Jr. | 94.1 | 1,247 |
| Gary Tobar | 5.9 | 78 | ||
| Total votes: 1,325 | |||
| = 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 McGruder in this election.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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You can ask Jessie McGruder to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing mcgruder4arkansashouse@gmail.com.
2024
Jessie McGruder did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
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.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Arkansas State Senate District 9 |
Officeholder Arkansas House of Representatives District 35 |
Personal |
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Milton Nicks Jr. (D) |
Arkansas House of Representatives District 35 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
