John Cooper (Arkansas)
John Cooper (Republican Party) was a member of the Arkansas State Senate, representing District 21. He assumed office on January 29, 2014. He left office on January 11, 2021.
Cooper (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Arkansas State Senate to represent District 21. He lost in the Republican primary on March 3, 2020.
He was first elected to the chamber in a special election on January 14, 2014.
Biography
John Cooper is a U.S. Army veteran and was deployed in Germany where he worked in communications. He was first elected to represent District 21 of the Arkansas Senate in 2012.[1]
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Cooper was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Budget Committee
- Legislative Joint Auditing Committee
- Senate Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee, Chair
- Senate Judiciary Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development, Vice chair |
| • Public Health, Welfare and Labor |
| • Joint Budget |
| • Joint Budget |
| • Joint Performance Review |
| • Joint Performance Review |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Cooper served on the following committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development |
| • Public Health, Welfare and Labor |
| • Joint Performance Review |
| • Joint Energy |
| • Joint Budget |
| • Legislative Council |
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
2020
See also: Arkansas State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Arkansas State Senate District 21
Dan Sullivan won election in the general election for Arkansas State Senate District 21 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Dan Sullivan (R) | 100.0 | 28,542 |
| Total votes: 28,542 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Arkansas State Senate District 21
Dan Sullivan defeated incumbent John Cooper in the Republican primary for Arkansas State Senate District 21 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dan Sullivan | 58.6 | 5,493 |
 | John Cooper | 41.4 | 3,883 | |
| Total votes: 9,376 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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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.[2]
Incumbent John Cooper ran unopposed in the Arkansas State Senate District 21 general election.[3]
| Arkansas State Senate, District 21 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican |  John Cooper Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Arkansas Secretary of State | ||
Incumbent John Cooper ran unopposed in the Arkansas State Senate District 21 Republican Primary.[4][5]
| Arkansas State Senate, District 21 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | John Cooper Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
John Cooper (R) defeated Steve Rockwell (D) in the special election, which took place on January 14.[6] Rockwell and Radius Baker advanced past Gene Roebuck and Ray Kidd in the Democratic primary.[7] Rockwell defeated Baker in the Democratic primary runoff.[8] Dan Sullivan and Cooper advanced past Chad Niell in the Republican primary.[7] Cooper defeated Sullivan in the Republican primary runoff.[8][9]
The seat was vacant following Paul Bookout's (D) resignation on August 21, 2013, after he was fined $8,000 by the Arkansas Ethics Commission for spending campaign funds on personal items.[10]
A special election for the position of Arkansas State Senate District 21 was called for January 14, with a primary on October 8, 2013. A primary runoff took place on November 12, 2013. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was September 6, 2013.[10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Cooper |
57.2% | 4,318 | |
| Democratic | Steve Rockwell | 42.8% | 3,235 | |
| Total Votes | 7,553 | |||
2012
Cooper ran in the 2012 election for Arkansas House of Representatives, District 59. Cooper ran unopposed in the May 22 Republican primary and was defeated by Butch Wilkins (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[11][12][13]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Butch Wilkins Incumbent |
53.7% | 4,390 | |
| Republican | John R. Cooper | 46.3% | 3,790 | |
| Total Votes | 8,180 | |||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John Cooper 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 scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Arkansas General Assembly in 2020.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to small business issues.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Arkansas General Assembly in 2019.
- Americans for Prosperity - Arkansas — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Conduit for Commerce — Legislators are scored on whether their votes on bills deliver "more economic freedom for all Arkansans."
- Family Council Action Committee — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to "promoting, protecting, and strengthening traditional family values."
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Arkansas General Assembly in 2018.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to small business issues.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Arkansas General Assembly in 2017.
- Americans for Prosperity - Arkansas — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Conduit for Commerce — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to conservative issues with "a focus on small business."
- Family Council Action Committee — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Arkansas General Assembly in 2016.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Arkansas General Assembly in 2015.
- Arkansas Citizens First Congress — Legislators are scored on the bills that the Arkansas Citizens First Congress found most important.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
In 2014, the Arkansas General Assembly was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Profile from Open States
- Campaign contributions via OpenSecrets
Footnotes
- ↑ Arkansas State Legislature, "Senator John Cooper," accessed October 5, 2019
- ↑ 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, "Official special election results," accessed January 30, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 therepublic.com, "GOP, Democrats each headed to runoff for Ark. Senate seat in special election," October 8, 2013
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 kait8.com, "AR State Senate District 21 Primary Final Results," November 12, 2013
- ↑ sos.arkansas.gov, "Official candidate list," accessed September 9, 2013
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 arkansasmatters.com, "Gov. Beebe Sets Special Election to Replace Recently Resigned Senator," August 28, 2013
- ↑ 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
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Paul Bookout (D) |
Arkansas State Senate District 21 January 2014-2021 |
Succeeded by Dan Sullivan (R) |
