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Jim Hendren
Jim Hendren (independent) was a member of the Arkansas State Senate, representing District 2. He assumed office on January 14, 2013. He left office on January 9, 2023.
Hendren (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Arkansas State Senate to represent District 2. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.
He was first elected to the chamber in 2012. Hendren previously served as state Senate president pro tempore from 2019 to 2021.
On February 18, 2021, Hendren announced he was leaving the Republican Party to become an independent.[1] According to a statement, Hendren said, "This comes after many sleepless nights; a lot of serious consideration; and it comes with sadness and disappointment. But it’s clear-eyed. I’m making this decision because my commitment to our state and our country is greater than loyalty to any political party."[2]
Biography
Hendren earned his B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1984. His professional experience includes working as owner and operator of Hendren Plastics Inc. Hendren served in the United States Air Force from 1984 to 1992.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2021-2022
Hendren was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Children and Youth Committee
- Senate City, County and Local Affairs Committee
- Senate Judiciary Committee
- Joint Budget Committee
- Joint Performance Review Committee
- Legislative Joint Auditing Committee
2019-2020
Hendren was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Budget Committee
- Legislative Facilities Committee
- Senate City, County and Local Affairs Committee
- Senate Education Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • City, County and Local Affairs |
| • Education |
| • Transportation, Technology and Legislative Affairs |
| • Joint Budget |
| • Joint Budget |
| • Joint Performance Review, Vice chair |
| • Joint Performance Review, Vice chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Hendren served on the following committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • City, County and Local Affairs |
| • Education |
| • Transportation, Technology and Legislative Affairs |
| • Rules, Resolutions and Memorials |
| • Joint Energy |
| • Joint Budget |
| • Legislative Council |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Hendren served on the following committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Legislative Council |
| • Joint Budget |
| • Education |
| • Transportation, Technology and Legislative Affairs |
| • Joint Energy |
| • Children and Youth |
| • Academic Facilities Oversight |
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
2022
- See also: Arkansas State Senate elections, 2022
Jim Hendren did not file to run for re-election.
2020
See also: Arkansas State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Arkansas State Senate District 2
Incumbent Jim Hendren defeated Ryan Craig in the general election for Arkansas State Senate District 2 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jim Hendren (R) | 73.4 | 32,705 |
| Ryan Craig (D) | 26.6 | 11,825 | ||
| Total votes: 44,530 | |||
 = 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
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Ryan Craig advanced from the Democratic primary for Arkansas State Senate District 2.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Jim Hendren advanced from the Republican primary for Arkansas State Senate District 2.
2016
- See also: Arkansas State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Arkansas State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing period began at noon local time on November 2, 2015, and ended at noon local time on November 9, 2015.[3]
Incumbent Jim Hendren ran unopposed in the Arkansas State Senate District 2 general election.[4]
| Arkansas State Senate, District 2 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican |  Jim Hendren Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Arkansas Secretary of State | ||
Incumbent Jim Hendren ran unopposed in the Arkansas State Senate District 2 Republican Primary.[5][6]
| Arkansas State Senate, District 2 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Jim Hendren Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2012
Hendren ran for election in the 2012 election for Arkansas Senate, District 2. Hendren ran unopposed in the May 22 Republican primary and ran unopposed in the general election on November 6, 2012.[7][8][9]
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jim Hendren did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 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.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Arkansas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2022
In 2022, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from February 14 to March 15.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to small business issues.
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 11 to October 15.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from April 8 to April 24.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 14 through April 24.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from February 12 through March 12. The legislature held a special session from March 13 to March 15.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the 91st Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 9 through May 1. The Legislature held a special session from May 1 to May 3.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the 90th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from April 13 through May 9. The Legislature held a three-day special session from April 6 to April 8 over healthcare. The Legislature held a second special session from May 19 to May 23 over transportation.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 90th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 12 through April 2.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Arkansas General Assembly was in session from February 10 to March 20. Ballotpedia staff did not find any state legislative scorecards published for this state in 2014. If you are aware of one, please contact editor@ballotpedia.org to let us know. |
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 89th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 14 through May 17.
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2016 Republican National Convention
- See also: Republican National Convention, 2016
Hendren was an at-large delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Arkansas. Hendren was one of nine delegates from Arkansas bound by state party rules to support Marco Rubio at the convention.[11] Rubio suspended his campaign on March 15, 2016.
Delegate rules
Congressional district delegates from Arkansas to the Republican National Convention were elected at district conventions in April 2016, while at-large delegates were elected by the Arkansas Republican State Committee at a state convention in May 2016. Arkansas GOP rules in 2016 required delegates to the convention to vote for the candidate whom they designated on their delegate-filing form through the first round of voting. The rules allowed delegates to vote for a different candidate on the first ballot only if their designated candidate released them prior to the first round of voting or if their designated candidate "withdrew" from the race.
Arkansas primary results
- See also: Presidential election in Arkansas, 2016
| Arkansas Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Donald Trump |
32.8% | 133,144 | 16 | |
| Ted Cruz | 30.5% | 123,873 | 15 | |
| Marco Rubio | 24.9% | 101,235 | 9 | |
| Ben Carson | 5.7% | 23,173 | 0 | |
| John Kasich | 3.7% | 15,098 | 0 | |
| Mike Huckabee | 1.2% | 4,703 | 0 | |
| Jeb Bush | 0.6% | 2,406 | 0 | |
| Rand Paul | 0.3% | 1,127 | 0 | |
| Chris Christie | 0.2% | 651 | 0 | |
| Carly Fiorina | 0.1% | 409 | 0 | |
| Rick Santorum | 0.1% | 286 | 0 | |
| Lindsey Graham | 0.1% | 250 | 0 | |
| Bobby Jindal | 0% | 167 | 0 | |
| Totals | 406,522 | 40 | ||
| Source: The New York Times | ||||
Delegate allocation
Arkansas had 40 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 12 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's four congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; the highest vote-getter in a district received two of that district's delegates, and the second highest vote-getter received the remaining delegate. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote in a district, he or she received all three of that district's delegates.[12][13]
Of the remaining 28 delegates, 25 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 15 percent of the statewide vote in order to receive any at-large delegates. Each candidate who met the 15 percent threshold received one delegate. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the statewide vote, he or she was allocated the remaining at-large delegates. If no candidate won a majority of the statewide vote, the unallocated at-large delegates were divided proportionally among those candidates who met the 15 percent threshold. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.[12][13]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Hendren and his wife, Tammy, have four children.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Arkansas Times, "Sen. Jim Hendren leaves Republican Party to become independent and form centrist coalition," February 18, 2021
- ↑ Common Ground AR, "A statement from our founder Senator Jim Hendren," accessed February 19, 2021
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2016 Election Dates," accessed November 17, 2015
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election and Nonpartisan Runoff Election," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Candidate Information," accessed July 25, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Results," accessed April 19, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Election Results 2012," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2012 Election candidates," March 8, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Arkansas's Freedom Scorecard," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ KATV.com, "Arkansas GOP Convention Delegates and Alternates Elected," May 14, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Arkansas State Senate District 2 2013-2023 |
Succeeded by Matt Stone (R) |
 |
State of Arkansas Little Rock (capital) |
|---|---|
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