50 Best State GOP Electoral Successes - Arkansas

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Next in our continuing "50 Best" series, we honor the Razorback state of Arkansas. Historically known for the successes of some powerful Democrats, such as former president Bill Clinton (D - Playboy Mansion) and his political mentor J. William Fulbright, Arkansas Republicans had seen rare victories until recently. Until one-termer Tim Hutchinson, the GOP hadn't had a U.S. Senator representing the state in 120 years. And for 92 years up until 1967 Arkansas didn't have a single U.S. Rep under the GOP banner. That is, until John Paul Hammerschmidt, who went on to represent Arkansas' 3rd Congressional district for 13 terms until his retirement in 1993.

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Arkansas: If I Had a Hammerschmidt

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Hammerschmidt was born in Harrison, which is tucked in NW Arkansas, in 1922. He founded the Hammerschmidt Lumber Company and became its president. He was also president of the Construction Products Company and the president of the Arkansas Lumber Dealers Association and the Southwestern Lumberman's Association (wiki/John_P._Hammerschmidt).

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Hammerschmidt was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, and 1984. He was twice the state chairman of the Arkansas Republican State Central Committee, having served from 1964 to 1966 and again from 2002-2004 (ibid). Since retiring from Congress, he has continued public service by chairing the Northwest Arkansas Council and the March of Dimes Arkansas Citizen of the Year Dinner (www.northark.edu/), as well as serving on boards of directors for several corporations and as Trustee for two different Arkansas universities . Although that resume is impressive in its own right, it was his electoral success as a Republican in a historically-stubborn Democrat state that earns him our "50 Best" honor.
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In 1966, Hammerschmidt was the Republican nominee for Arkansas's 3rd congressional district, located in the northwestern part of the state. He defeated incumbent James William Trimble by over 9,000 votes and thus became the first Republican to represent Arkansas since Reconstruction. AR-3 has always been a somewhat conservative district and has only voted Democrat for president twice since 1952, so he was a good fit ideologically. Although he won all but two of his races by a 2-to-1 margin, the closest campaign of his 13 races came in the GOP bloodbath of 1974, in which the party had to lick it wounds in the wake of Watergate. In that race he would defeat a 28-year-old University of Arkansas law professor and relative unknown, Bill Clinton, by only several thousand votes. Hammerschmidt faced criticism from the young upstart for being one of the few Republicans to stand by Richard Nixon following the explosion of the Watergate scandal (wiki). Ironically, the Congressman would retire from elective office the same year his 1974 opponent would be sworn in 42nd President of the United States, not having a chance to vote against any of Mr. Clinton's ambitious and polarizing agenda.

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Since Hammerschmidt's 1966 election to CONgress, Arkansas has seen six more Republicans represent the state (in 3 of its 5 districts). One could argue that he softened the GOP brand in the state which had been a party wasteland for over a century. Also, in 1978, Hammerschmidt faced token opposition from real estate broker William C. Mears and used his election resources to help the Republican gubernatorial nominee, A. Lynn Lowe, win in Boone County. For his unprecedented success in the state as a Republican, his relative ease in winning reelection twelve times, his defeat of a future POTUS (to whom campaigning was like swimming was to sharks), and for improvement of the GOP brand under his watch, John Paul Hammerschmidt earns the honor of the best GOP success story from Arkansas over the last 50 years.

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Honorable Mention: Former Governor Mike Huckabee; former Congressman, Admin of the DEA, and undersecretary for Homeland Security, Asa Hutchinson.

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Next Week: California, here we come.

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- 50 Best