Lieutenant Governor
Kelly Krout
Kelly Krout (D) officially announced her bid for the Arkansas Lieutenant Governor’s Office in September 2021. Krout, a Russellville native, resides in Lowell with her husband and their sons. She and her husband have served as foster parents for several years and have helped reunite many children with their families. They have seven sons, two of which were adopted out of the system.
While working with the child welfare system, Krout gained unique insight into how these systems work and where they need improvement. She cares deeply about helping families navigate the foster care system, which is why she wrote children’s books to help kids and families understand the process. While her books have been used by counselors and therapists to help children, she feels she needs to do more for her community. She is now studying to earn her graduate degree in social work, which has helped spark her passion for policy.
AMP: Why are you running? What are some of your goals?
Krout: I’m running because Arkansas deserves leaders who are willing to do the right thing. I’m running because I have seen firsthand how people are struggling in our state, and I know we can do better. I want to advocate for improving systems like the foster-care and criminal-justice systems, so families and children can do well here. I’m also excited to get people involved who maybe feel like politics was not accessible to them. I find that when people know what’s going on and how to get involved, they will. That’s part of how we change the electorate –– by adding to it.
AMP: What will you bring to the field that your opponents will not?
Krout: I bring a unique perspective as a former foster parent. I’ve seen how families and kids struggle within some of these clunky systems in our state and how we need true systemic change to make opportunities accessible for everyone. I understand how trauma can impact someone and perpetuate difficult situations, and we need to be more sensitive to that. I bring creativity not just in my campaigning style, but in outside-the-box ideas for improving our state. We can’t keep doing things the same way it’s always been done. It’s just not working for everyone.
AMP: What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment, personally or professionally?
Krout: I have enjoyed campaigning so much, and part of what makes that so rewarding is hearing that I helped encourage and empower someone to run for office. I’ve had several people reach out and tell me that I am the reason they decided to run, and a couple of them have already won seats. It really feels like I am getting to be a part of a movement, and that’s an amazing thing. I truly believe that our government needs to be accessible to everyday people, and that it should be representative of who it is serving – everyday people.
Leslie Rutledge
Leslie Rutledge (R) is the current Attorney General of Arkansas. Sworn into office in 2015, she is the first woman and first Republican in Arkansas history to be elected to the office. Rutledge is a lawyer and former prosecutor whose law practice focused on administrative law, state and local government, and election law. A seventh-generation Arkansan, Rutledge grew up on a cattle farm and attended school at the Southside School District in Independence County. She learned the importance of hard work and service from her mother, an elementary school teacher, and her father, a lawyer and a judge.
Rutledge graduated from the University of Arkansas and the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. She is admitted to practice law in Arkansas, Washington D.C., and before the U.S. Supreme Court. Her service has extended to community organizations including the Junior League of Little Rock, Alpha Delta Pi Alumni, National Rifle Association and Women in Networking in Central Arkansas. Rutledge is a member of the Arkansas Bar Association, UALR Bowen School of Law Alumni Board, Federalist Society and Republican National Lawyers Association.
AMP: Why are you running? What are some of your goals?
Rutledge: I am running for lieutenant governor to continue defending Arkansans’ constitutional rights, such as the Second Amendment and religious liberties – protecting the rights of the unborn, creating jobs by eliminating over-regulation, decreasing taxes and ensuring every child has a quality education. As lieutenant governor, I will use my experience as attorney general for the previous eight years to support the conservative policies of my longtime friend, Sarah Sanders, as governor, and the members of the General Assembly.
AMP: How does your extensive political experience give you an advantage over your opponents?
Rutledge: Having served as the attorney general for eight years, I have gained immeasurable knowledge and experience regarding the day-to-day work of the State of Arkansas and have been intricately involved in all major legislation since 2015. Likewise, I have traveled the state each year working side-by-side with local officials in all 75 counties to make our communities stronger.
AMP: What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment, personally or professionally?
Rutledge: When it comes to accomplishments, nothing will ever surpass becoming a mom to Julianna in July of 2018.
Having been elected as the first woman and first Republican ever to become attorney general, the expectations were high, and my team met them all at full speed. During my tenure as attorney general, Arkansas was named the most pro-life state two years in a row; we had the largest consumer lawsuit in the history of Arkansas and more Medicaid fraud convictions in our first four years than the previous 16 years combined; we won unanimously at the Supreme Court of the United States in the landmark case of Rutledge v. PCMA; carried out four of eight executions scheduled in the spring of 2017; secured hundreds of millions of dollars against bad businesses; drafted laws to protect young girls in sports and the elderly from abuse; supported veterans and law enforcement officers with millions in resources and countless hours of free training; protected Arkansas’ farmers and small businesses; raised awareness of missing persons and prescription drug abuse; produced and distributed hundreds of thousands of “Laura’s Cards” to support victims of domestic violence; beat illegal federal mandates from the Obama and Biden administrations; personally argued and won a criminal case at the Arkansas Supreme Court, assisted 10 times more Arkansans than previous years; and decreased the budget 10 percent.
Chris Bequette
Chris Bequette (R) followed his parents to the University of Arkansas where, like his father, he played football for the Razorbacks. A four-year letterman as an offensive guard and defensive tackle from 1983-87, the Hogs went 35-13-1 and appeared in four straight bowl games including the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day, 1987. He earned his undergraduate degree in three years and over the course of his final two seasons on the team, attended law school. He graduated with his law degree from the UA in 1989 and is licensed to practice in Arkansas and Missouri.
After coaching football for two seasons at Appalachian State University, Bequette returned to Arkansas to work as a deputy prosecuting attorney in Little Rock. In 1995, he entered the financial services industry, and since 2007 has been the owner of a wealth management practice. Bequette lives in Little Rock and is engaged in various charitable endeavors including Knights of Columbus. Bequette is the uncle of fellow Razorback football alum, Jake Bequette, who is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent John Boozman.
AMP: Why are you running?
Bequette: After nine years of Republicans controlling state government, all I have seen is, with few exceptions, Republicans governing like Democrats. Everywhere I look, again with few exceptions, I still see the Democrat Party version of state government firmly in place. Republicans have utterly failed to reverse, unwind, undo, cut and dismantle this Democrat version and implement a Republican version of state government with winning Republican policies and principles.
AMP: Roughly 10 years ago, legislation was introduced but not advanced to abolish the lieutenant governor’s office. Why is this office important?
Bequette: So long as the Lieutenant Governor’s Office exists, I see it as a tremendous public platform to advocate for winning Republican policies and principles while holding Republicans accountable for governing like real Republicans, so these winning policies are implemented everywhere to unleash liberty, safety and prosperity like never before in our state’s 185-year history. I should also note that I am the only candidate for lieutenant governor who will not take a salary, have an office budget or any staff, nor receive any type of taxpayer reimbursement for expenses. The cost to run the office for each year I serve will be zero.
Lastly, I will allow my physical office in the State Capitol to be turned into the State Capitol Chapel, since there currently is not one.
AMP: What distinguishes your candidacy?
Bequette: Since I’m a businessman and not a career lifetime politician, I’m not looking for my next taxpayer paycheck or desperately trying to remain in office and relevant as a politician. That would be the rest of the field. Moreover, I’m the only candidate in this race who is calling out and exposing the Republicans governing for the last nine years who have implemented very few Republican policies.
While they pat themselves on the back and sing, “Kumbaya,” for keeping in place the Democrat Party version of state government, I’m detailing how this is a massive betrayal, a real “emperor-has-no-clothes” moment. As I’ve said, Republicans have governed like Democrats, merely content to manage what Democrats built up over the previous 140 years, and have barely done anything to implement Republican policies. I truly believe Republican voters are sick and tired of these fake, phony, Democrat-Lite, big government, RINO [Republicans in Name Only] Republicans.
They want Republicans who have an “R” behind their name not out of convenience but out of a deep-abiding conviction in Republican policies and principles of governance.
Doyle Webb
Doyle Webb (R) is the former head of the Republican Party of Arkansas, a former state senator, and he served as chief of staff to former Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller. He earned his law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1981 and became the first Republican justice of the peace and state senator elected in Saline County.
Webb served as chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas from 2008-2020, where he would run for re-election five times unopposed. When he was first elected in 2008, Arkansas Republicans held 28 out of 100 seats in the state House and eight out of 35 seats in the state Senate. At the end of his tenure, those numbers were 78/100 and 28/35, respectively. Every congressional, senatorial and constitutional office was also held by Republicans for the first time in the state’s history.
In addition, Webb was the longest serving party chairman in the nation, in addition to serving as Republican National Committee’s general counsel from 2017-2021.
AMP: Why are you running?
Webb: I am running to be lieutenant governor because I believe Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders needs a reliable conservative in her corner. We face the threat of federal overreach every day from the Biden Administration. Now is not the time for big egos — we need people who put service above self. I know that my record reflects that value and many others. My ethos has always been fighting to preserve life, liberty and lower taxes. That vision is one that Arkansans support overwhelmingly. We need a lieutenant governor who can be a fair arbiter day in, day out, presiding over the state Senate.
We need a lieutenant governor who will work with our new governor, not at odds when the doors are closed. I know that I am the most qualified person in this race, with legislative experience in county and state government, time spent in the Office of Lieutenant Governor, and executive experience as chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas when we transformed Arkansas to being a bright red state. Many people may not know, but I have also practiced law for 25 years, owned a family flower shop business and managed an extensive real estate portfolio in my home of Saline County. I know that I am the right candidate for such a time as this.
AMP: Roughly 10 years ago, legislation was introduced but not advanced to abolish the lieutenant governor’s office. Why is this office important?
Webb: When I think about the importance of the lieutenant governor’s office, a particular day comes to mind. On 9/11, while I was serving in the state Senate, I received a phone call from my future boss, the late Lt. Gov. Win Paul Rockefeller. At the time of the attacks at ground zero, Gov. Mike Huckabee was out of state at a Southern governor’s conference. Under the law at the time, that made Lt. Gov. Rockefeller the acting governor. He wanted to know immediately what legal grounds he had as governor to protect the state of Arkansas. Those were serious times that called for serious leadership. For over 1,500 days, I served as chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Rockefeller, and every day we had to be prepared for what could happen at a moment’s notice. The lieutenant governor has a tremendous responsibility in advising the governor and legislators in both chambers.
AMP: How can your experience leading the RPA give you an advantage?
Webb: I believe my experience as chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas for 12 years gives me a great advantage when it comes to laying out and delivering on a vision to move Arkansas forward. When I was first elected RPA chairman in 2008, Arkansas was a dark blue state. We controlled zero election commissions, no statewide offices and were actually in debt.
My vision was one of transparency and moving Arkansas to be the bright red beacon I knew it could be. We transformed Arkansas and now have all statewide and federal offices with Republican officials, have produced 12 balanced budgets and clean audits and built a multimillion-dollar party headquarters, debt free. I also never used party money to advance my political career, and Arkansans have my commitment to never use taxpayer money for personal benefit. All of these achievements at the RPA we accomplished together, and that is how we will win this race as we continue to move Arkansas forward.
Joseph Wood
Joseph Wood (R) Washington County Judge Joseph Wood and his family moved to Washington County in 1997. Wood previously served Arkansas as the Deputy Secretary of State for Business and Commercial Services and Education Divisions. In this role, he helped Arkansans turn ideas into businesses and worked to remove government barriers and red tape to make the state more business friendly. Wood previously served as the head of International Recruiting and Staffing for Walmart, as the District Human Resources Director for Home Depot, and he also launched his own career consulting small business.
Wood is an advocate for children in foster care. He was born in Chicago and placed in an orphanage at birth, and then adopted at age 10. He grew up with two brothers and a sister in the tough neighborhoods of Chicago, where his adoptive mother was an educator and his adoptive father a construction worker. They instilled in him the values of a good education, hard work and community service. Wood wrote the foreword to America’s 20/20 Vision: The Plan, and authored two children’s books, Saving Joey and Adopting Joey, based on his true-life story.
AMP: Why are you running? What are some of your goals?
Wood: I am running to bring my real-world executive experience in both private and public sectors, with a proven record of success, to all of Arkansas. My goal is to increase leadership and opportunities through cutting government waste, reducing red tape for businesses to grow, managing budgets and infrastructure and improving veteran services, as I have done in my role as deputy secretary of state, and continue to do now in my second term as Washington County Judge.
My focus as Washington County judge has been on bringing economic growth and cutting waste within Arkansas’ fastest growing county. In the first two years, we cut $1.75 million from the budget, saving taxpayers hard-earned income, which is especially critical in these tough economic times. My goal is to bring this same commitment to economic growth to all Arkansans while also decreasing the tax burden. Arkansas has a large surplus in the budget at the moment, and as the next lieutenant governor, my focus will be on returning some of that back to our citizens.
During the 2016 election, I received a record number of votes, becoming the first African American county judge in Washington County’s history and the first Republican county judge in 39 years. I have worked hard to represent all people in Arkansas as deputy secretary and now as Washington County judge. I will focus on bringing that same commitment to leadership to everyone as lieutenant governor.
Federal overreach into private life and private business is at an all-time high. As Washington County judge, I was the first elected official to stand up and stop federal mandates on county employees. I have a proven record of supporting business, and as the next lieutenant governor, I will continue to stand up to support the choices of all Arkansans and businesses
AMP: What will you bring to the field that your opponents will not?
Wood: My leadership experience as an executive in both the private and public sectors make me uniquely qualified to be the next lieutenant governor. Every day, as the county judge of our state’s third-largest county and one of the fastest growing counties in the country, I work on issues important to all Arkansans. My role is very similar to the role of governor: My daily focus is on developing and improving infrastructure, presiding over the quorum court, managing budgets, leading through disasters and crises, election security improvements, driving efficiencies in departments, ensuring public safety and leading 3,100 counties in the country as chairman of the Community, Economic and Workforce Development Committee for the National Association of Counties.
As the former head of International Recruiting and Staffing at Walmart, my job was to find the right talent for the opportunity, then put them in the position to be successful for both themselves as well as for Walmart. The lieutenant governor position is one that requires skill in working with people and ensuring Arkansans are in the right position to be successful in the future. I have unrivaled experience working with people from all backgrounds, bringing them together, and producing a successful outcome. I am able to bring substantial executive experience by leveraging my corporate executive experience and my experience as deputy secretary of state as well as Washington County judge. As the only candidate working with the federal and state government through the pandemic, I focus every day on protecting our citizens and businesses. Currently, I am working to drive economic development to get our citizens back to work. As Washington County judge, I will be ready on day one to step into the executive leadership role.
Secretary of State
Eddie Joe Williams
Eddie Joe Williams (R) is a former Arkansas state senator and mayor of Cabot. He was appointed by former President Donald Trump to represent the White House on energy issues related to 16 states including Arkansas, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Williams was first elected to the state Senate in 2010 and was the first elected Republican Majority Leader since Reconstruction. He served as chairman of the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs and on the Governor’s Transformation Team to further efforts in working to reduce the size of state agencies. As a state senator, he sponsored legislation targeting cost savings in state agencies and restructured government departments to increase efficiency.
Before election to the Senate, Williams was elected to three terms on the Cabot City Council and served as mayor from 2007-2010. He worked for Union Pacific Railroad for 35 years where he wore many hats, working his way up from laborer to Regional Director of Transportation. A veteran of the U.S. Army and Air National Guard, Williams has served on several boards including Lonoke County Safe Haven, a domestic shelter; Cabot Parks and Recreation; Swamp Angels, a board to support retired ministers; Child Advocate Centers of Arkansas; and numerous church boards.
AMP: Why are you running against a same-party incumbent?
Williams: From being elected mayor of Cabot to state senator and becoming Republican Senate Majority Leader, I have fought for the growth of the Republican Party and the election of its candidates for as long as I can remember. A Republican Party has won the House, Senate, governorship and seven constitutional offices within the last decade.
As I traveled the state fundraising for candidates and for the Republican Party and meeting voters from every corner, I felt as though they needed someone to be their voice. We don’t need people who run because no one else will or people who run because it’s convenient; we need true leaders who run to change their state government for the better. We need leaders to change state government to work better and more efficiently for the people who elect them to office. As Republicans, we have the opportunity through primaries to put that best candidate forward from any given field. I would not be running in the Republican primary if I and my supporters didn’t feel I had the best private- and public-sector experience, that my post within state government and working on behalf of an appointment within the federal government, were essential and valuable tools to lead as their secretary of state.
What many people forget is that the Republican Party has not always been the dominant party in our state. It has only been since 2015 that the House, Senate and governorship have all been led by Republicans. When I began my political career in 2003, the political landscape was much different than it is today. My fellow Republicans and I had to face an uphill battle as we campaigned, fundraised and talked to supporters. Of course, I am proud and thankful for the successes and dominance of the Republican Party in Arkansas today, but these supermajorities have made us too comfortable.
It was not that long ago that Republicans were the minority party, and it could happen again if we get too complacent and lose our drive and determination. We can no longer, as a state, as a country or as elected officials, sit back in comfort when the people elect us to do a job. We must work harder than ever before to restore their faith in their elected representatives. I will reinvigorate the Secretary of State’s Office with a renewed commitment to conservative principles and improved government responsiveness for Arkansans.
AMP: What distinguishes your candidacy?
Williams: My supporters, family, longtime associates and others within the Republican Party whom I have campaigned alongside and worked with for decades feel as though we need someone not only with experience but with character and leadership. I have 35 years working in the private sector with the railroad, where I worked my way up through the company thanks to a strong work ethic and eagerness to succeed. When I retired, I was regional transportation director. I feel as though my many decades in leadership within the private sector, and as the Republican Senate Majority Leader in 2012, the first one since reconstruction, have given me the tools to best manage employees and budgets.
Being married to my wife of 49 years, a father to four beautiful daughters and a grandfather to 11, explains my character to those I have come across in my lifetime. As a Christian, my family, faith and foundations within my church are paramount to my life. Being appointed by then President Donald J. Trump, one of two constitutional officer candidates running in Arkansas to have worked for the previous president, gave me the insight on energy issues that affect Arkansans each and every day. My almost three and a half years appointed to the Southern States Energy Board by the president helped lead our country to energy independence and gave every Arkansan the ability to have more expendable income with lower energy prices during my appointment.
AMP: Should the role of the office be modified or expanded in any way?
Williams: Our government and constitutional offices shouldn’t be expanded; they should be prioritized and run properly within the state constitution and the duties they are assigned. We should have effective leaders who are responsive to the environments and changes around them and leaders who don’t hesitate to act quickly and intuitively when dangerous situations occur to protect our capitol grounds and all personnel, property or visitors within them.
As secretary of state, I understand the constitutional responsibilities and duties, and I will not hesitate to make the right choices, reach out to our fellow constitutional officers and elected officials to solve the tough issues and make the hard calls. A secretary of state should not wait for hours as the property we are elected to defend is defaced and vandalized as our police force is overrun, as it was recently. I understand the role of secretary of state is clearly defined. The person our fellow Arkansans elect should speak with and defend the voters who choose them as their elected leader. I will work hard every day to assure Arkansans the mistakes or inexperience of my opponents do not define who I am as a man. The will of the voters and their voices will be heard and valued.
