John Thurston (politician)

John Manuel Thurston (born December 27, 1972) is the current Secretary of State of Arkansas; elected in November 2018, he has served in the position since January 2019.

John Thurston
34th Secretary of State of Arkansas
Incumbent
Assumed office January 15, 2019
Governor	Asa Hutchinson
Preceded by	Mark Martin
Land Commissioner of Arkansas
In office January 11, 2011 – January 15, 2019
Governor	Mike Beebe Asa Hutchinson
Preceded by	Mark Wilcox
Succeeded by	Tommy Land
Personal details
Born	John Manuel Thurston (1972-12-27) December 27, 1972 Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Joanna Thurston
Children	5
Education	Henderson State University Agape College

He previously served as Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. A Republican, he was first elected to that position in November 2010, took office in January 2011, and was reelected in November 2014 to a second term.[1]

Early life

Thurston graduated in 1991 from Sheridan High School in Grant County in southern Arkansas. He then attended Agape College in the capital city of Little Rock. He is a former licensed Christian minister and a Certified Religious Assistant in the Arkansas state prison system. He worked 13 years for Agape Church in Little Rock before entering politics.[1]

Lands Commissioner

Thurston is the first Republican to be elected as Land Commissioner since the office became elective in 1874.[2] In 2014, Thurston was elected as the president of the Western States Land Commissioners Association;[3] the organization's winter conference was held in Little Rock that year.[4]

Arkansas Secretary of State

Limited to two terms as state lands commissioner, Thurston announced in June 2016 he would run in 2018 for election as Arkansas secretary of state. As important issues, he cited election security, physical security, political accessibility, and redistricting of legislative boundaries.[5] Thurston faced Trevor Drown in the Republican primary election,[6] and was chosen as the Republican nominee.[7] Running against former Director of Elections, Susan Inman, as the Democratic nominee, Thurston won election on November 6, 2018, as the next Arkansas Secretary of State.[8]

Electoral history

2010 general election

Thurston counties in red, Bryant counties in blue (2010)

Commissioner of State Lands election[9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John M. Thurston	396,263	52.68
	Democratic	L.J. Bryant	355,996	47.32
Turnout			752,259	36.17
	Republican gain from Democratic

2014 general election

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	John Thurston (R)	Mark Robertson (D)	Elvis D. Presley (L)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	October 30–November 1, 2014	1,092	± 3%	45%	36%	9%	10%
Public Policy Polling	September 18–21, 2014	1,453	± 2.6%	38%	33%	7%	22%
Public Policy Polling	August 1–3, 2014	1,066	± 3%	40%	29%	10%	22%
Public Policy Polling	April 25–27, 2014	840	± 3.4%	28%	27%	17%	29%

Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands election, 2014[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Thurston (Incumbent)	471,848	57.17
	Democratic	Mark Robertson	302,048	36.59
	Libertarian	Elvis D. Presley	51,518	6.24
Majority			169,800	20.57%
Total votes			825,414	100
	Republican hold

2018 elections

References

1. "John Thurston, Commissioner of State Lands". Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
2. Reeves, Landon (May 2, 2014). "Meet your candidates: Early voting in May 20 election begins Monday". Carroll County News. Arkansas. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
3. "Thurston elected to head up commissioners' group". Associated Press. July 29, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
4. "WSLCA 2014 Winter Conference Agenda" (PDF). Texas General Land Office. January 12, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
5. Brantley, Max (June 2, 2016). "Good news from the secretary of state". Arkansas Times. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
6. "State Land Commissioner officially announces he will seek State Secretary of State's Office". Talk Business & Politics. October 23, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
7. Carroll, Scott. "Thurston wins Republican primary for Arkansas secretary of state". KATV. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
8. Clement, Katie. "John Thurston takes seat as Secretary of State". KATV. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
9. "2010 General Election Turnout Rates". February 4, 2012. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
10. "2010 General Election & Non Partisan Judicial Runoff Election Statewide Results by Contest". Arkansas Secretary of State. November 29, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
11. "November 4, 2014 General election and nonpartisan runoff election Official results". Arkansas Secretary of State. Retrieved November 23, 2014.

External links

• Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands

Political offices
Preceded by Mark Wilcox	Land Commissioner of Arkansas 2011–2019	Succeeded by Tommy Land
Preceded by Mark Martin	Secretary of State of Arkansas 2019–present	Incumbent