Keidra Burrell

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Keidra Burrell

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Law

Tulane Law School

Personal

Birthplace

New Orleans, La.

Religion

Christian

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Keidra Burrell (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Arkansas State Senate to represent District 27. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Burrell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Keidra Burrell earned a J.D. from Tulane Law School.

Elections

2020

See also: Arkansas State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Arkansas State Senate District 27

Incumbent Trent Garner defeated Keidra Burrell in the general election for Arkansas State Senate District 27 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Trent Garner (R)	61.1	19,892
		Keidra Burrell (D)	38.9	12,677

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 32,569
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Arkansas State Senate District 27

Keidra Burrell defeated Garry Smith in the Democratic primary for Arkansas State Senate District 27 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Keidra Burrell	66.3	4,582
		Garry Smith	33.7	2,324

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,906
= 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.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Trent Garner advanced from the Republican primary for Arkansas State Senate District 27.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Keidra Burrell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Burrell's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm Keidra Phillips-Burrell. I'm an attorney, a child development center owner & operator, and a wife & mother. My husband and I live in Pine Bluff, AR, with our children, and we love this community. I also served as Chief of Staff for the city of Pine Bluff's mayor's office. I believe everybody deserves access to healthcare, affordable childcare & pre-K, and good roads and internet access. South Arkansas is being left behind, and I'm running to make sure that we can bring good jobs to our region and rebuild our schools.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I'm a business owner - I know what our business community is going through during this COVID health and economic crisis. We need business-friendly tax policy, we need to empower employers to raise wages and provide benefits, and we need to create an environment in South Arkansas in which businesses can grow and thrive.
• As the owner and operator of child development centers, I see what access to excellent early education environments does for children and their families. Every family deserves access to excellent childcare & pre-K, and when working families can afford access to that opportunity they become economically empowered.
• As an attorney, I understand how to write laws. I understand how to negotiate. I understand how to bring parties together to find common ground. I'll take that experience with me into the Arkansas legislature.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about fully-funding Arkansas public schools, creating access to excellent and affordable pre-K and childcare, and expanding access to healthcare and life-saving prescription drugs. I am passionate about equipping employers to pay their workers living wages and meaningful benefits. I know that small businesses make South Arkansas go - this year has shaken our small business community, and we have to get business owners the relief they need.

I'm passionate about South Arkansas families - we need to build a region where people don't have to leave to live their dreams. I want my children to grow up and make a life here, and I'll work hard to make sure every child in South Arkansas has the same opportunities here that are afforded to children in other parts of the state.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to the great American leaders who value bipartisanship and listening. South Arkansas can't move forward unless every voice at the table is valued, heard, and incorporated into the path forward.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I think some of the most important qualities in a leader are the willingness to listen to opposing views and the desire to do what's right, even when it's politically hard to do so.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I think it's beneficial for legislators to have experience in government, but that doesn't mean that change isn't needed. I've got experience in municipal politics with the Pine Bluff mayor's office. I believe in government. I believe the state government should work for the people on issues that actually affect peoples' lives. But it all goes wrong with politicians in power start using their position to simply accumulate more power.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

We absolutely must protect and double down on funding Arkansas's public schools. They're under attack, and we only move every child in Arkansas forward if every child in Arkansas has the same opportunities, regardless of their ZIP code. Our public school students are the future of our state's economy - we need them to be educated, informed, innovative, and creative. Public schools is where Arkansas's children pick up those skills.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Redistricting should be done by a nonpartisan commission, not by party bosses who are interested in securing their own power. Right now in Arkansas, partisan gerrymandering has disenfranchised voters and diluted the vote of communities of color. It shouldn't be that way.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

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Footnotes

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Current members of the Arkansas State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Blake Johnson

Minority Leader:Greg Leding

Senators

District 1

Ben Gilmore (R)

District 2

Matt Stone (R)

District 3

Steve Crowell (R)

District 4

Jimmy Hickey (R)

District 5

Terry Rice (R)

District 6

Matt McKee (R)

District 7

Alan Clark (R)

District 8

Stephanie Flowers (D)

District 9

Reginald Murdock (D)

District 10

Ronald Caldwell (R)

District 11

Ricky Hill (R)

District 12

Jamie Scott (D)

District 13

Jane English (R)

District 14

Clarke Tucker (D)

District 15

Fredrick Love (D)

District 16

Kim Hammer (R)

District 17

Mark Johnson (R)

District 18

Jonathan Dismang (R)

District 19

Dave Wallace (R)

District 20

Dan Sullivan (R)

District 21

Blake Johnson (R)

District 22

John Payton (R)

District 23

Scott Flippo (R)

District 24

Missy Irvin (R)

District 25

Breanne Davis (R)

District 26

Vacant

District 27

Justin Boyd (R)

District 28

Bryan King (R)

District 29

Jim Petty (R)

District 30

Greg Leding (D)

District 31

Clint Penzo (R)

District 32

Joshua Bryant (R)

District 33

Bart Hester (R)

District 34

Jim Dotson (R)

District 35

Tyler Dees (R)

Republican Party (28)

Democratic Party (6)

Vacancies (1)