Arkansas gubernatorial election, 1982

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Arkansas gubernatorial election, 1982
Flag of Arkansas (1924-2011).svg
  1980 November 2, 1982 1984  
  Bill Clinton.jpg Frank D. White 1995.jpg
Nominee Bill Clinton Frank D. White
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote431,855357,496
Percentage54.71%45.29%

82ARGovCounties.PNG
Election results by county

Governor before election

Frank D. White
Republican

Elected Governor

Bill Clinton
Democratic

The Arkansas gubernatorial election of 1982 was the second since Reconstruction in which an incumbent was defeated; the preceding election was the first.

Contents

One-term Democratic Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton regained the position after having narrowly been defeated by Republican Frank D. White at the previous election. Clinton continued to serve this office until shortly after he was later elected to the presidency in 1992.

Democratic Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. The Democrats' dominant worldview was once social conservatism and economic liberalism while populism was its leading characteristic in the rural South. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate in the Progressive Party, beginning a switch of political platforms between the Democratic and Republican Party over the coming decades, and leading to Woodrow Wilson being elected as the first fiscally progressive Democrat. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social liberal platform, supporting social justice.

Bill Clinton 42nd president of the United States

William Jefferson Clinton, commonly known as Bill Clinton, is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Prior to the presidency, he was the governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981, and again from 1983 to 1992, and the attorney general of Arkansas from 1977 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, Clinton was ideologically a New Democrat and many of his policies reflected a centrist "Third Way" political philosophy.

Frank D. White American politician

Frank Durward White was an American banker and politician who served as the 41st governor of Arkansas. He served a single two-year term from 1981 to 1983. He is one of two people to have defeated Bill Clinton in an election, the other being the late U.S. Representative John Paul Hammerschmidt of Arkansas' 3rd congressional district.

Democratic nomination

Joe Edward Purcell was Acting Governor of Arkansas for six days in 1979 as well as Arkansas Attorney General from 1967–1971 and the 13th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas from 1975–1981.

Republican nomination

Frank D. White – Incumbent Governor

Campaign

Bill Clinton, one of the youngest ex-governors in the nation, at the age of 36, was running to reclaim his political career. Frank White easily won renomination from the Republican party.

White was hurt politically due to several unpopular decisions that he made, and Clinton ran an aggressive campaign. [1]

Result

Bill Clinton, who was defeated in the last election, won the election, and elected again in 1984, 1986, and 1990, until his presidential victory in November 1992.

Arkansas gubernatorial election, 1982 [2] (p36)
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Democratic Bill Clinton 431,85554.71%
Republican Frank D. White (Incumbent)357,49645.29%
Democratic gain from Republican Swing

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References

  1. Dillard, Tom W. "Frank Durward White (1933–2003)". The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture . Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  2. "1982 Arkansas Elections" (PDF). Arkansas Secretary of State. May 1983. Retrieved October 29, 2016.