John Thurston (politician)
| John Thurston | |
|---|---|
| Commissioner of State Lands of Arkansas | |
|
Assumed office January 11, 2011 | |
| Governor |
Mike Beebe (2011–2015) Asa Hutchinson (2015–present) |
| Preceded by | Mark Wilcox |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
circa 1973 Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Joanna |
| Children | 5 |
| Residence | Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Alma mater | Sheridan High School (1991); Agape College |
| Religion | Christian (Agape Church) |
John M. Thurston (born c. 1973) is the current Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. A Republican, he was first elected in November 2010, taking office in January 2011, and was reelected in November 2014 to a second term.[1]
Thurston was previously a licensed minister and was a Certified Religious Assistant in the Arkansas state prison system.[1] He was 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]
Limited to two terms as Commissioner of State Lands, Thurston announced in June 2016 his plans to run for election as Secretary of State of Arkansas in 2018, citing election security, physical security, political accessibility, and redistricting as important issues.[5]
Electoral history
2010 general election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John M. Thurston | 396,263 | 52.68 | |
| Democratic | L.J. Bryant | 355,996 | 47.32 | |
| Voter turnout | 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% |
| 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 | ||||
References
- 1 2 "John Thurston, Commissioner of State Lands". Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
- ↑ Reeves, Landon (May 2, 2014). "Meet your candidates: Early voting in May 20 election begins Monday". Carroll County News. Arkansas. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
- ↑ "Thurston elected to head up commissioners' group". Associated Press. July 29, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
- ↑ "WSLCA 2014 Winter Conference Agenda" (PDF). Texas General Land Office. January 12, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
- ↑ Brantley, Max (June 2, 2016). "Good news from the secretary of state". Arkansas Times. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
- ↑ "2010 General Election Turnout Rates". February 4, 2012. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
- ↑ "2010 General Election & Non Partisan Judicial Runoff Election Statewide Results by Contest". Arkansas Secretary of State. November 29, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ↑ "November 4, 2014 General election and nonpartisan runoff election Official results". Arkansas Secretary of State. Retrieved November 23, 2014.