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Dustin McDaniel
Dustin McDaniel (born April 29, 1972, in Fayetteville, Arkansas) was the 55th Attorney General of Arkansas, serving from 2007-2015. A Democrat, McDaniel was first elected to the position in 2006 and took office the following January. He won re-election in 2010, defeating Green Party candidate Rebekah Kennedy on November 2, 2010. Due to term limits, McDaniel was ineligible for re-election 2014, and he left office when his second term expired in January 2015. He was succeeded by Republican Leslie Rutledge.
McDaniel was the youngest attorney general in the nation as of February 2012. During his tenure he founded the office’s first cyber crimes unit and won the largest pharmaceutical settlement in state history.[1][2]
Before becoming attorney general, McDaniel was a partner in the law firm of McDaniel and Wells, P.A. He also served one term in the Arkansas House of Representatives, from 2005 to 2007. He served as chair of the southern region of the National Association of Attorneys General and co-chair of the Democratic Association of Attorneys General. He was formerly a police officer in his hometown of Jonesboro, Ark.
McDaniel was barred by term limits from running for a third consecutive term as attorney general in the 2014 elections. He campaigned for the 2014 Democratic nomination for governor, but dropped out of the race on January 25, 2013.[3][4]
Biography
Arkansas' 55th Attorney General was born in Fayetteville but grew up in Jonesboro, where he attended public schools through high school. McDaniel decided to pursue higher education in state, earning both his Bachelor's degree and J.D. from the University of Arkansas, though not consecutively. Before entering law school, McDaniel began his career as a uniformed patrol officer for the Jonesboro Police Department. Upon receiving his law degree in Little Rock, the lifelong Arkansan returned to Jonesboro and joined the private practice law firm of McDaniel & Wells as a partner with his father, Bobby McDaniel.[5] Dustin McDaniel has received several awards during his career, including a Golden Gavel Award from the Arkansas Bar Association for serving as Chair of the Consumer Law Handbook Committee and a Distinguished Service Award from the Arkansas Bar Association for having the Consumer Law Handbook translated into Spanish.
Prior to becoming Attorney General of Arkansas, McDaniel served as legal Counsel for Craighead County Democratic Central Committee and as a member of the Democratic Party of Arkansas State Committee.
Education
- Bachelor's from University of Arkansas-Fayetteville
- J.D. from University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law
Political career
Attorney General (2007-2015)
McDaniel was first elected attorney general in November 2006, and he won re-election in the November 2010 general election over Green Party candidate Rebekah Kennedy. He was ineligible to run for a third term in 2014 and was succeeded by Republican Leslie Rutledge in January 2015.
Issues
Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act
On March 11, 2013, McDaniel, with 12 other state attorneys general, sent a letter to Congress in support of the Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act, a bill that sought to ban for-profit colleges from using federal funds for marketing and recruiting techniques.[6] Senators Kay R. Hagan (D-N.C.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who chaired the chamber's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, sponsored the bill. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) stated that the proposed law aimed to "ensure that scarce federal education dollars will be used to serve and educate students rather than to finance advertising campaigns, recruitment operations, and aggressive marketing."[7]
In the letter, the attorneys general wrote, "Federal taxpayers should not be asked to foot the bill for aggressive recruiting and deceptive sales tactics of colleges that have placed profits ahead of ensuring student success."[7] At the time, there were an estimated 3,000 for-profit schools nationwide.[8]
On March 12, 2013, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, but no subsequent action was taken and the bill died in committee.[9]
On April 23, 2013, a related bill — HR 340 — was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce's subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, but it also died in committee.[10]
Consumer protection lawsuit
McDaniel's suit against pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly won Arkansas over $18.5 million dollars, marking the largest pharmaceutical settlement in state history.[5]
Cyber-crime
McDaniel founded the office’s first cyber crimes unit to address the growing threat to children posed by internet predators.[11]
Second Amendment
McDaniel, an avid hunter, has expressed his support of Second Amendment rights on behalf of Arkansas at the U.S. Supreme Court.[5]
Arkansas House of Representatives (2004 - 2007)
McDaniel was elected in 2004 to serve as a representative for District 75 in the Arkansas House of Representatives, remaining in the position until 2007 when he ran for state Attorney General.
Elections
2014
- See also: Arkansas Gubernatorial election, 2014
In June 2012, McDaniel filed paperwork to start raising money for his 2014 campaign for Governor of Arkansas.[12] He dropped out of the race on January 25, 2013. McDaniel had been considered the Democratic frontrunner, but reports that he had engaged in extra-martial relations with a Hot Springs attorney, Andi Davis,[13] whom he met around his 2010 re-election, affected his gubernatorial campaign. His official statement announcing his withdrawal from the race was sent to supporters through email the morning of January 25. McDaniel's statement explained, "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' future."[4]
2010
- See also: Arkansas Attorney General election, 2010
- 2010 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary[14]
- Dustin McDaniel ran unopposed in this contest
| 2010 Race for Attorney General - General Election[15] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party |  Dustin McDaniel
|
72.8% | |
| Green Party | Rebekah Kennedy | 26.8% | |
| Write-In | Marc Rosson | 0.4% | |
| Total Votes | 722,814 | ||
2006
| 2006 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary[16] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party | Dustin McDaniel
|
38.4%[17] | |
| Democratic Party | Paul Suskie | 32.0% | |
| Democratic Party | Robert Leo Herzfeld | 29.6% | |
| Total Votes | 271,782 | ||
| 2006 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary Runoff[18] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party | Dustin McDaniel
|
50.8% | |
| Democratic Party | Paul Suskie | 49.2% | |
| Total Votes | 171,334 | ||
| 2006 Race for Attorney General - General Election[19] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party | Dustin McDaniel
|
58.5% | |
| Republican Party | Gunner DeLay | 37.1% | |
| Green Party | Rebekah Kennedy | 4.4% | |
| Total Votes | 758,460 | ||
Campaign contributions
The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent 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, and 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.
| Dustin McDaniel campaign contribution history | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| 2012 | Attorney General of Arkansas |  |
$0 | |
| 2010 | Attorney General of Arkansas |  |
$1,405,030 | |
| 2008 | Attorney General of Arkansas | |
$299,390 | |
| 2006 | Attorney General of Arkansas | |
$1,501,685 | |
| 2004 | Arkansas House of Representatives, District 75 | |
$107,367 | |
| Grand total raised | $3,313,472 | |||
| Source: [[20] Follow the Money] | ||||
2014
According to an end-of-the-year finance disclosure report, McDaniel raised about $410,500 in the final quarter of 2012, leaving his campaign with around $1.1 million cash on hand going into 2013.[21] The report, running from October 1 to December 31, was his first since McDaniel admitted on December 18 to having an extramarital affair.[21] The report listed about $386,027 raised for the primary and $24,500 raised for a potential runoff.[21] A spokesperson for McDaniel's campaign confirmed that the campaign reached its fundraising goals for 2012.[21]
2006
Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. See the table below for more information about the campaign donors who supported Dustin McDaniel.[22] Click [show] for more information.
| Dustin McDaniel Campaign Contributions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 Arkansas Attorney General | 2010 Arkansas Attorney General | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total raised | 1,501,685 | $1,405,030 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total raised by opponents | $210,136 | $0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Top 5 contributors | Dustin McDaniel | $369,00 | Wilson & Associates | $6,400 | |||||||||||||||
| American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees | $6,000 | Wall-Mart and Tyson Foods | $6,000 each | ||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association | $4,000 | Meredith Catlett and Graham S Catlett and Bobby Ray McDaniel | $6,000 each | ||||||||||||||||
| Phillip Wells and Sean F Rommel and Bobby McDaniel and Michael S. Morton | $4,000 each | AT&T and Grant & Eisenhofer and Hewlett Packard | $6,000 each | ||||||||||||||||
| International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Force Consulting and Jack Wagoner III | $4,000 each | Bobby Ray McDaniel and Ark Monroe III | $6,000 | ||||||||||||||||
| Individuals | $693,103 | $533,635 | |||||||||||||||||
| Institutions | $377,456 | $438,658 | |||||||||||||||||
| In-state donations | $1,372,336 | $754,194 | |||||||||||||||||
| Out-of-state donations | $123,125 | $241,284 | |||||||||||||||||
Noteworthy events
Redistricting lawsuit
On May 9, 2012, McDaniel gave testimony in response to Sen. Jack Crumbly's (D) lawsuit against Arkansas' Board of Apportionment, made up of the governor, secretary of state and the attorney general, for allegedly "improperly diluting the black vote in their district."[23] The Senator and other district residents who brought the suit sought to have the district boundaries redrawn to rectify the alleged dilution. McDaniel testified in court that in 2011, Sen. Crumbly threatened to interfere with the attorney general's presumed 2014 gubernatorial run if McDaniel would not help him redraw the new Senate electoral map to increase the percentage of voting-age Black residents in his eastern Arkansas district. Crumbly denied the claims. Because of the board's redrawn map, the Black voting-age population in Crumbly's district dropped from 55 percent to just less than 53 percent; Crumbly had wanted 60 percent. In addition to defending the board against accusations that it violated the Voting Rights Act, McDaniel said of the map he helped create: “Is it drawn such that an African-American candidate can be elected and that the citizens in that district can vote for the candidate of their choice? Absolutely...I think it was a fair district at 55 percent, and I think it’s a fair district for Mr. Crumbly at 53 percent.”[23]
Consumer Protection Division campaign
On March 5, 2012, McDaniel announced a $350,000 campaign to promote his office's consumer protection division, using settlement money leftover from a 2010 lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company. The Got Your Back, Arkansas campaign included print ads, television and radio spots, and a website. Predicted 2014 gubernatorial competitor Lt. Gov. Mark Darr posted on Twitter expressing the belief that McDaniel was using his office's access to state funds for political gain. McDaniel maintained that the only purpose of "Got Your Back, Arkansas" was "to better equip Arkansans to avoid pitfalls and we want them to know we can help each of them as consumers in the marketplace today."[24]
ACORN score
The June 2008 Survey and Scorecard report published by the social justice organization ACORN gave McDaniel an A- letter grade. According to the group, the report was published to shine the spotlight on state attorneys general "leading the fight to protect homeowners from joining the flood of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure."[25][26]
Initiated Act 1 lawsuit
On November 4, 2008, Initiated Act 1 of Arkansas, a citizen-initiated state statute, which made it illegal for any individuals cohabiting outside of a valid marriage to adopt or provide foster care to minors, was passed with fifty-seven percent of the public vote. Nearly two months later, opponents, including the ACLU, filed a lawsuit in Pulaski County Circuit Court asking a judge to strike down the measure on the grounds that it violated federal and state constitutional rights to equal treatment and due process. On March 17, a Pulaski County circuit judge ruled the case should go to trial and threw out a portion of the lawsuit.
As State Attorney General, McDaniel’s office served as the defense attorney in representing the state of Arkansas against this suit. McDaniel also chaired the McDaniel Leadership PAC, which contributed $1,000 to support Arkansas Families First in their campaign against Initiated Act 1.[27] McDaniel did not recuse himself from the case, saying that he could not "see any reason why we would not be able to vigorously and diligently defend the constitutionality of this act despite the fact that I opposed it on policy grounds."[28]
2016 Democratic National Convention
- Delegate to the 2016 DNC (click to expand)
- See also: Democratic National Convention, 2016
Dustin McDaniel Democratic National Convention, 2016 Status: Superdelegate State: Arkansas Supporting: Hillary Clinton Delegates to the DNC 2016 Calendar and delegate rules overview • Types of delegates • State election law and delegates • Superdelegates by state McDaniel was a superdelegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention from Arkansas.[29] McDaniel was one of five superdelegates from Arkansas. Superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention were not bound by the results of their state’s primary or caucus to support a specific presidential candidate. McDaniel supported Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.[30] Clinton formally won the Democratic nomination for president on July 26, 2016.[31]
What is a superdelegate?
Superdelegates in 2016 were automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention, meaning that, unlike regular delegates, they were not elected to this position. Also unlike regular delegates, they were not required to pledge their support to any presidential candidate, and they were not bound by the results of their state's presidential primary election or caucus. In 2016, superdelegates included members of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic members of Congress, Democratic governors, and distinguished party leaders, including former presidents and vice presidents. All superdelegates were free to support any presidential candidate of their choosing at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.[32]
Arkansas primary results
- See also: Presidential election in Arkansas, 2016
Arkansas Democratic Primary, 2016 Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates 
Hillary Clinton 66.3% 144,580 22 Bernie Sanders 29.7% 64,868 10 Martin O'Malley 1.3% 2,764 0 John Wolfe 1.2% 2,541 0 James Valentine 0.8% 1,687 0 Rocky De La Fuente 0.8% 1,680 0 Totals 218,120 32 Source: The New York Times Delegate allocation
Arkansas had 37 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 32 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide primary results.[36][37]
Five party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.[36][38]
Contact information
Capitol Address:
Office of the Attorney General
323 Center Street, Suite 200
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Phone: (501) 682-2007
Toll Free Phone: (800) 482-8982
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Dustin McDaniel Arkansas Attorney. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Attorney General of Arkansas
- Governor of Arkansas
- Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
- Arkansas Secretary of State
External links
- Official Arkansas Attorney General website
- Dustin McDaniel's Facebook profile
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004
- Dustinmcdaniel.com 2010 Campaign website
The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine was used to recall this version of the website from February 17, 2010.
Footnotes
- ↑ Press Release, "ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE LAUNCHES CYBER CRIMES UNIT," June 02, 2011
- ↑ Arkansas Office of the Attorney General, "About the AG," accessed February 7, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ The Republic, "Arkansas attorney general announces bid for Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2014," June 13, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Arkansas Times, "McDaniel officially announces he's out of governor's race," accessed January 25, 2013
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Dustin McDaniel, "About Dustin," accessed February 7, 2012
- ↑ The Library of Congress, "Bill Text 113th Congress (2013-2014) S.528.IS," March 12, 2013
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Boston Globe, "Attorney generals to Congress: Don’t let for-profit colleges use federal grants and loans for advertising," March 17, 2013
- ↑ Commonwealth of Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, "Letter to Congress," March 11, 2013
- ↑ Congress.gov, "All Bill Information (Except Text) for S.528 - Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "All Bill Information (Except Text) for H.R.340 - Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ Office of the AG, "Cyber Safety," accessed February 7, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ 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
- ↑ AR Elections - 2010 Preferential Primary Election and Non Partisan Judicial General Election
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State - 2010 General Election Results
- ↑ AR Elections - 2006 Preferential Primary and Non-Partisan Judicial General Election
- ↑ Even though Dustin McDaniel received the most votes, he failed to receive over fifty percent of those votes required by Arkansas state law. A runoff election between the top two vote recipients, therefore, was required to decide who went on to the general election.
- ↑ AR Elections - 2006 General Primary Runoff
- ↑ AR Elections - 2006 General Election and Non Partisan Judicial Runoff Election
- ↑ Follow The Money, "Career fundraising for Dustin McDaniel," accessed June 25, 2013
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 National Journal, "Embattled McDaniel Raises More Than $400,000," accessed January 16, 2013
- ↑ Follow the Money.org, "Home," accessed May 7, 2021
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 The Courier, "Attorney general Crumbly made political threats over lines," May 9, 2012
- ↑ The Northwestern, "Ark. AG's office ads spark criticism from Lt. Gov.," March 5, 2012
- ↑ ACORN "Attorneys General Take Action: Real Leadership in Fighting Foreclosures," June 2008
- ↑ Majority in Mississippi, "Jim Hood Received An 'A' From ACORN In 2008," 17 Sept. 2009
- ↑ The Tolbert Report, "Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s Conflict of Interest (UPDATE)," December 31, 2008
- ↑ Arkansas Times, "McDaniel responds," January 2, 2009
- ↑ Ballotpedia's list of superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention is based on our own research and lists provided by the Democratic National Committee to Vox.com in February 2016 and May 2016. If you think we made an error in identifying superdelegates, please send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.
- ↑ Arkansas Online, “Arkansas’ superdelegates plan to back Clinton next year,” November 13, 2015
- ↑ To find out which candidate a superdelegate supported, Ballotpedia sought out public statements from the superdelegate in other media outlets and on social media. If we were unable to find a public statement that clearly articulated which candidate the superdelegate supported at the national convention, we listed that superdelegate as "unknown." If you believe we made an error in identifying which candidate a superdelegate supported, please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Presidential Nominating Process and the National Party Conventions, 2016: Frequently Asked Questions," December 30, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "2016 Election Center," March 1, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, “Election 2008: Arkansas Primary Results,” accessed February 29, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Arkansas Exit Polls," March 1, 2016
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
- ↑ The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
- ↑ Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mike Beebe (D) |
Arkansas Attorney General 2006–2015 |
Succeeded by Leslie Rutledge (R) |
