Ronnie Spence
Ronnie Spence was a 2016 Republican candidate for District 57 of the Arkansas House of Representatives. He ran unsuccessfully for the same seat in 2012 and State legislative elections, 2014.
Biography
Spence's professional experience includes working as a substitute teacher and founding the Paragould Pee Wee Football Association.[1]
Campaign themes
2014
Spence's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[2]
Uncompromising Integrity
- Excerpt: "Ronnie intends to bring honesty and integrity to Little Rock, where he will represent all of the people of District 57 with a conviction that he will do the very best to represent the hardworking people of Arkansas that honored him with their vote."
No Excuses Leadership
- Excerpt: "To lead and make the tough decisions that protect the unborn, maintain high morals and values, fight against Obama Care and the radical programs coming from the White House."
Believe in Better
- Excerpt: "Arkansas best days are not behind but ahead! Our economy will bounce back, create lots of good paying jobs, have world class education for all children."
Let’s Get to work
- Excerpt: "Jobs, jobs, jobs will be the immediate focus, bringing more and better jobs to Greene County and the rest of the state, from day one. Let’s get to work putting Arkansasans back to work!"
Elections
2016
Ballotpedia's analysis revealed that only 42 of the 100 seats up for election in 2016 involved competition between Democrats and Republicans. This made it numerically impossible for Democrats to take control of either Arkansas legislative chamber in 2016.
The reason for the low competition was that candidates were in safe districts for their parties. Between 1972 and 2014, an upward trend in uncontested state legislative elections occurred.
The Democratic Party of Arkansas focused its 2016 efforts on the state’s House of Representatives. Without the numbers to win the state Senate, H.L. Moody, communications director for the Democratic Party of Arkansas, told Ballotpedia that the party’s goal was to “start building back where we can,” beginning with the House.
Ballotpedia spoke to political analyst Richard Winger, who said that the early primary deadline for the 2016 elections was a possible factor as well, making it difficult for Democrats to recruit candidates early.
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 Mary Broadaway (D) did not seek re-election.
Jimmy Gazaway defeated Frankie Gilliam in the Arkansas House of Representatives District 57 general election.[4]
| Arkansas House of Representatives, District 57 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Jimmy Gazaway |
65.97% | 6,496 | |
| Democratic | Frankie Gilliam | 34.03% | 3,351 | |
| Total Votes | 9,847 | |||
| Source: Arkansas Secretary of State | ||||
Frankie Gilliam ran unopposed in the Arkansas House of Representatives District 57 Democratic Primary.[5][6]
| Arkansas House of Representatives, District 57 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Frankie Gilliam (unopposed) | |
Jimmy Gazaway defeated Shawn Strouss and Ronnie Spence in the Arkansas House of Representatives District 57 Republican Primary.[5][6]
| Arkansas House of Representatives, District 57 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Jimmy Gazaway |
64.69% | 2,580 | |
| Republican | Shawn Strouss | 19.53% | 779 | |
| Republican | Ronnie Spence | 15.77% | 629 | |
| Total Votes | 3,988 | |||
2014
Elections for the Arkansas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014; a runoff election took place where necessary on June 10, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 3, 2014. Incumbent Mary Broadaway was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Ronnie Spence was unopposed in the Republican primary. Broadaway defeated Spence in the general election.[7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mary Broadaway Incumbent |
56.2% | 4,181 | |
| Republican | Ronnie Spence | 43.8% | 3,258 | |
| Total Votes | 7,439 | |||
2012
Spence ran in the 2012 election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 57. He was challenged by Mary Broadaway (D) and Wes Eddington (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mary Broadaway |
54.5% | 4,920 | |
| Republican | Wes Eddington | 40.3% | 3,640 | |
| Independent | Ronnie C. Spence | 5.2% | 470 | |
| Total Votes | 9,030 | |||
2010
Spence was defeated by incumbent Democrat Billy Gaskill in the November 2 general election.[11]
| Arkansas House of Representatives, District 78 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Billy Gaskill (D)
|
3,848 | |||
| Ronnie Spence (I) | 2,430 | |||
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google News search for the term "Ronnie + Spence + Arkansas + House"
See also
- Arkansas House of Representatives elections, 2016
- Arkansas State Legislature
- Arkansas House of Representatives
- Arkansas House of Representatives District 57
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ ronniespence.com, "Meet Ronnie Spence," accessed April 9, 2014
- ↑ ronniespence.com, "On The Issues," accessed April 9, 2014
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Arkansas Secretary of State, "Candidate Information," accessed July 25, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Arkansas Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Results," accessed April 19, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Candidate Information," accessed March 5, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 26, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Election Results 2012," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Candidate Information," accessed July 3, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official election results," accessed December 13, 2013
