Lynette Bryant
Lynette "Doc" Bryant was a Democratic candidate for Governor of Arkansas in the 2014 elections.[1] She lost the Democratic nomination in the primary on May 20, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Bryant also sought election in 2010 on the Democratic ticket for District 31 of the Arkansas House of Representatives. The primary election was on May 18, 2010, and the general election was on November 2, 2010.
Elections
2014
- See also: Arkansas Gubernatorial election, 2014
- See also: States with gubernatorial term limits
Bryant ran for Governor of Arkansas.[1] The office was open because incumbent Gov. Mike Beebe (D) was barred from seeking re-election in 2014 by term limits.
Bryant lost in the Democratic primary on May 20, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
- Democratic primary
| Governor of Arkansas, Democratic Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Mike Ross |
84.4% | 129,437 | ||
| Lynette Bryant | 15.6% | 23,906 | ||
| Total Votes | 153,343 | |||
| 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]
2010
Bryant was defeated by Debbie Murphy and Scott Pace in the May 18 primary.[27]
| Arkansas House of Representatives, District 31 Democratic Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Debbie Murphy (D)
|
1,570 | |||
| Scott Pace (D)
|
1,074 | |||
| Lynette Bryant (D) | 784 | |||
| H.R. Maxwell (D) | 599 | |||
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.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Lynette + Bryant + Arkansas + Governor"
See also
- Governor of Arkansas
- Arkansas Gubernatorial election, 2014
- Arkansas House of Representatives elections, 2010
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Arkansas Secretary of State, "2014 Preferential Primary Elections & Non Partisan General Election, Candidate Information: Lynette "Doc" Bryant," accessed March 3, 2014
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, 2010 Primary Results, accessed July 10, 2012
