Republican Attorney General Leslie Rutledge on Tuesday defeated Democratic rival Kelly Krout and Libertarian Frank Gilbert for lieutenant governor.
Rutledge became the first woman elected as Arkansas’ lieutenant governor.
With 53% of the votes counted, unofficial returns in the lieutenant governor’s race were:
Rutledge 325,895
Krout 172,819
Gilbert 18,115
With Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ winas the first woman to be elected Arkansas governor, Rutledge said she and Sanders will be the first women in the history of the United States to be independently elected to the offices of governor and lieutenant governor of a state.
Rutledge of Maumelle, Krout of Lowell and Gilbert of Little Rock vied for state government’s second-ranking elected post, which is considered part-time and carries a state-paid salary of $46,704 a year.
Republican Tim Griffin of Little Rock has served as lieutenant governor for the past eight years and was elected Tuesday to a four-year term as attorney general.
Under the Arkansas Constitution, the position’s duties are to preside over the 35-member Senate with a tie-breaking vote and to serve as governor if the state’s chief executive is impeached, removed from office, dies or is otherwise unable to discharge the office’s duties.
Two of the state’s governors during the past 30 years were lieutenant governors first.
In 1992, Democratic Gov. Bill Clinton left to become president, clearing the way for Democratic Lt. Gov. Jim Guy Tucker to become governor. In 1996 Tucker resigned because of felony convictions, allowing Mike Huckabee, the Republican lieutenant governor at the time, to become governor.
Rutledge has served as the state’s attorney general since 2015.
In July 2020, she initially announced her bid for the Republican nomination for governor. In November 2021, she abandoned the governor’s race to run for lieutenant governor instead.
In the May 24 Republican primary, she won more than 50% of the vote against five other candidates, including state Sen. Jason Rapert of Conway, state Surgeon General Greg Bledsoe of Little Rock, former state Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb of Benton, Washington County Judge Joseph Wood of Fayetteville and businessman Chris Bequette of Little Rock.
During her campaign for lieutenant governor, Rutledge said she wants to be known as the economic ambassador for Arkansas to help Sanders create more jobs in the state.
She also said she wants to work with others to phase out the state income tax, roll back state regulations, provide more school choice and more opportunities for workforce development to enable high school graduates to go directly into the workforce, and protect the state’s conservative values.
Rutledge raised and spent more money than either Krout or Gilbert, according to their latest campaign finance reports.
Rutledge reported raising $614,609 in contributions and spending $159,884 in the general election through Oct. 29, after she reported raising and spending $515,334 in the primary election.
Krout reported raising $268,670 in contributions and spending $233,166 through Oct. 29 during the primary and general elections.
Gilbert reported raising $3,229 in contributions and spending $921 through Oct. 29 during the primary and general election campaigns.
