Josh Drake
Josh Drake was a Green Party candidate for Governor of Arkansas in the 2014 elections.[1] Josh Drake lost the general election on November 4, 2014.
Elections
2014
- See also: Arkansas Gubernatorial election, 2014
Drake ran as a Green Party candidate for election to the office of Governor of Arkansas. He faced Mike Ross (D), Asa Hutchinson (R) and Frank Gilbert (L) in the general election, which was won by Hutchinson. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Results
| Governor of Arkansas, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Asa Hutchinson |
55.4% | 470,429 | |
| Democratic | Mike Ross | 41.5% | 352,115 | |
| Libertarian | Frank Gilbert | 1.9% | 16,319 | |
| Green | Josh Drake | 1.1% | 9,729 | |
| Total Votes | 848,592 | |||
| Election results via Arkansas Secretary of State | ||||
Race background
Democratic incumbent Gov. Mike Beebe was ineligible for re-election in 2014 due to term limits. Over a year before the election, polling figures and ratings reports - from sources such as The Washington Post, Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, Governing and Daily Kos - labeled Beebe's seat as a "toss-up" and labeled Arkansas among the states most vulnerable to partisan switch in the 2014 gubernatorial election cycle.[2][3][4][5]
Despite announcing in December 2012 that he would not run for governor in 2014, former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross (D) re-emerged as a potential candidate in the wake of state attorney general and expected front-runner Dustin McDaniel's exit from the race.[6][7][8] "Dustin McDaniel getting out of the race has left a huge void which clearly none of the other candidates are filling or I wouldn't be getting all these calls from every corner of the state...I'm humbled by that and I feel a sense of duty and responsibility to the people of this state to at least reconsider my decision and I'm doing that," Ross said at U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor's (D-AR) re-election fundraiser in March 2013.[9] Ross officially launched his campaign on April 17, 2013. The only other declared Democratic candidate at the time of his announcement, Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter, left the race in July and went on to support Ross.[10][11]
Ross overtook Lynette "Doc" Bryant for the Democratic nomination in the May 20, 2014 primary election.[12] Former U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson defeated businessman Curtis Coleman in the Republican primary.[10]
The Libertarian Party and the Green Party selected their candidates for governor by convention. Libertarian nominee Frank Gilbert and Green Party nominee Josh Drake appeared on the November 4 general election ballot with Ross and Hutchinson.[13][14][15]
Money in the race
On May 13, 2014, candidates were required to file pre-primary campaign finance reports detailing their fundraising and expenditures since April 1. Before winning their respective parties' nominations on May 20, Mike Ross (D) and Asa Hutchinson (R) both reported spending more than they took in over the previous month. Ross raised $491,000, while Hutchinson raised $240,375. A large portion of each candidates' campaign expenditures went toward television advertisements.[16]
Heading into the May 20 primaries, Ross reported a remaining balance of $2 million, while Hutchinson had a remaining balance of $904,000. Defeated GOP primary challenger Curtis Coleman raised $62,060 and spent $72,622 in April 2014, while Ross' Democratic primary opponent Lynette Bryant failed to file by the reporting period deadline.[17][16]
McDaniel cancels campaign
In June 2012, term-limited Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel (D) filed paperwork to start raising money for his 2014 gubernatorial campaign.[18] McDaniel had been considered the Democratic frontrunner, but accounts that he had engaged in extra-martial relations with a Hot Springs attorney, Andi Davis, whom he met around his 2010 re-election, led to his withdrawal from the race.[19] He dropped out of the race on January 25, 2013, explaining in an e-mail to supporters, "I had hoped that I could shape the 2014 gubernatorial debate with my vision for the future. Unfortunately, I am now convinced that if I run for Governor, this campaign would be about me personally, rather than Arkansas's future."[20]
Ballot access for political parties
In Arkansas, the process to establish a political party is tied to the votes cast in a presidential or gubernatorial election. In order to initially put candidates on the ballot, political parties must submit a petition with 10,000 signatures. Then, in order to maintain that status beyond the election year in which they submit such a petition, their candidate for governor or president must receive at least 3 percent of the votes cast for that office.[21][22]
In 2012, both the Libertarian and Green parties of Arkansas qualified to put candidates on the ballot, but their candidates did not receive enough votes for the parties to maintain their ballot status. In the fall of 2013, both parties submitted new petitions and were qualified to put candidates on the 2014 ballot.[23][24][25] In order to maintain their status as political parties without needing to petition for the 2016 elections, their candidates for governor had to receive at least 3 percent of the vote. Frank Gilbert (L) earned 1.9 percent of the vote and Josh Drake (G) earned 1.1 percent of the vote.
According to an April 2014 poll, the likelihood of the Libertarian and Green Parties to maintain their status in the state depended on who the Democratic and Republican Parties ran in the gubernatorial election. With nominees Republican Asa Hutchinson and Democrat Mike Ross on the ballot, 3 percent of those polled said they would vote for the Libertarian candidate and 2 percent said they would vote for the Green Party candidate. Had Democrat Lynette Bryant advanced with Hutchinson, those likely to vote for the Libertarian candidate remained the same while those likely to vote for the Green Party candidate rose to 4.5 percent. If Republican Curtis Coleman ran against Ross, those polled were more likely to vote for both the Libertarian and Green Party candidates when compared to a ballot including front-runners Ross and Hutchinson, who secured their respective parties' nominations the month after the poll was taken.[26]
Polls
General election
All candidates
| Governor of Arkansas: Four-way race | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Asa Hutchinson (R) | Mike Ross (D) | Joshua Drake (G) | Frank Gilbert (L) | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||
| Opinion Research Associates, Inc. October 25-26, 2014 | 42% | 44% | 1% | 2% | 11% | +/-5 | 401 | ||||||||||||
| NBC News/Marist October 24, 2014 | 47% | 44% | 2% | 2% | 5% | +/-3.9 | 621 | ||||||||||||
| Talk Business & Politics/Hendrix College October 15-16, 2014 | 49% | 41% | 2% | 2.5% | 5.5% | +/-2.2 | 2,075 | ||||||||||||
| Suffolk/USA Today September 20-23, 2014 | 43% | 41% | 2% | 3% | 11% | +/-4.4 | 500 | ||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling September 18-21, 2014 | 44% | 38% | 2% | 3% | 13% | +/-2.6 | 1,453 | ||||||||||||
| Gravis Marketing September 8-11, 2014 | 46% | 42% | 0% | 2% | 10% | +/-4.0 | 902 | ||||||||||||
| Southern Progress Poll September 7-9, 2014 | 44% | 44% | 2% | 2% | 8% | +/-3.5 | 600 | ||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 45% | 42% | 1.57% | 2.36% | 9.07% | +/-3.66 | 936 | ||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
**Due to the nature of the comparison, a placeholder figure of 0% is assigned to candidates not included in any given match-up round
Hutchinson vs. Ross (April 2014 - present)
| Governor of Arkansas: Hutchinson vs. Ross | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Asa Hutchinson (R) | Mike Ross (D) | Don't know | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| University of Arkansas October 21-27, 2014 | 50% | 39% | 11% | +/-3.6 | 747 | ||||||||||||||
| New York Times/CBS News/YouGov September 20-October 1, 2014 | 49% | 38% | 13% | +/-2 | 1,991 | ||||||||||||||
| Public Policy Poll August 1-3, 2014 | 43% | 38% | 12% | +/-3 | 1,066 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports May 27-28, 2014 | 48% | 41% | 6% | +/-4 | 750 | ||||||||||||||
| NBC/Marist April 30-May 4, 2014 | 49% | 42% | 7% | +/-2.9 | 876 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 47.8% | 39.6% | 9.8% | +/-3.1 | 1,086 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Hutchinson vs. Ross (February 2014 - April 2014)
| Governor of Arkansas: Hutchinson vs. Ross | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Asa Hutchinson (R) | Mike Ross (D) | Don't know | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Public Policy Poll April 25-27, 2014 | 46% | 38% | 16% | +/-3.4 | 840 | ||||||||||||||
| New York Times/Kaiser Family Foundation Poll April 8-15, 2014 | 41% | 40% | 16% | +/-4.0 | 857 | ||||||||||||||
| Opinion Research Associates April 1-8, 2014 | 39% | 45% | 17% | +/-5.0 | 400 | ||||||||||||||
| Hendrix College/Talk Business April 3-4, 2014 | 43% | 44% | 8% | +/-3.0 | 1,068 | ||||||||||||||
| OnMessage March 11-13, 2014 | 44% | 36% | 15% | +/-4.0 | 600 | ||||||||||||||
| Impact February 10, 2014 | 42% | 42% | 17% | +/-2.83 | 1,202 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports February 4-5, 2014 | 41% | 44% | 12% | +/-4.5 | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling/Americans United for Change December 13-15, 2013 | 44% | 43% | 14% | +/-3.1 | 1,004 | ||||||||||||||
| Talk Business/Hendrix College Poll October 8, 2013 | 41% | 37% | 22% | +/-4.0 | 603 | ||||||||||||||
| Talk Business/Hendrix College February 20, 2013 | 43% | 38% | 19% | +/-3.8 | 675 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 42.4% | 40.7% | 15.6% | +/-3.76 | 774.9 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google News search for the term "Josh + Drake + Arkansas + Governor"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Independent Political Report, "The Green Party of Arkansas Announces Candidates for Governor and U S Senate," November 23, 2013
- ↑ University of Virginia Center for Politics: Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2013-2014 Gubernatorial Races," April 29, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The Fix's top gubernatorial races," September 27, 2013
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections gubernatorial race ratings: Initial ratings for 2013-14," October 6, 2013
- ↑ Governing Politics, "2013-2014 Governor's Races: Who's Vulnerable?" December 12, 2012
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedarkbus - ↑ Talk Business.net, "Stars aligning for Mike Ross to reconsider running for governor," December 20, 2012
- ↑ Arkansasonline.com, "Governor's race follow up," February 12, 2013
- ↑ The Associated Press - My San Antonio, "Analysis: Dem. race for Ark. gov. in '14 unsettled," March 24, 2013
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Arkansas Business, "Bill Halter Quits Race for Governor to Avoid 'Divisive Primary'," July 29, 2013
- ↑ The Arkansas Times, "Mike Ross pitches for moderate vote in announcing for governor," April 17, 2013
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2014 Preferential Primary Elections & Non Partisan General Election, Candidate Information: Lynette "Doc" Bryant," accessed March 3, 2014
- ↑ Times Record, Election 2014: Libertarian Frank Gilbert Announces Bid For Arkansas Governor, October 17, 2013
- ↑ thv11.com, "Libertarian Party holds annual state convention," February 22, 2014
- ↑ Independent Political Report, "The Green Party of Arkansas Announces Candidates for Governor and U S Senate," November 23, 2013
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 The Republic, "Democrat Mike Ross raises $491K in April for Arkansas governor bid, Hutchinson raises $240K," May 13, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Online, "2014 Campaign Contributions, Governors Race," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas News Bureau, "McDaniel raises $1 million for governor’s race," October 15, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas Times, "McDaniel admits 'inappropriate interaction' with Hot Springs lawyer," December 18, 2013
- ↑ Arkansas Times, "McDaniel officially announces he's out of governor's race," January 25, 2013
- ↑ Arkansas Code, "Title 7, Section 1-101-21," accessed December 3, 2013
- ↑ Arkansas House Bill 2036, "An Act To Amend the Law Concerning Certain Procedural Dates In Election; To Amend the Law Concerning Certain Petitions; And For Other Purposes," Approved April 18, 2013
- ↑ Libertarian Party of Arkansas Website, "History of the Libertarian Party of Arkansas," accessed December 5, 2013
- ↑ Green Party of Arkansas Website, "Ballot Access," accessed December 5, 2013
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin, "New Political Party Petition--Green Party," November 6, 2013
- ↑ UALR Public Radio, "Poll: Ross, Hutchinson In Virtual Dead Heat In Governor’s Race," April 6, 2014
