Mark Martin (Arkansas politician)

Mark Martin
33rd Secretary of State of Arkansas
Assumed office
January 11, 2011
Governor Mike Beebe
Asa Hutchinson
Preceded by Charlie Daniels
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
from the 87th district
In office
January 2005 – January 11, 2011
Preceded by ???
Succeeded by Justin Harris
Personal details
Born Mark Russell Martin
(1968-02-18) February 18, 1968
Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Sharon Marie Tilley
Children 3
Alma mater University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Religion Baptist

Mark Russell Martin (born February 18, 1968) is the Republican Secretary of State of Arkansas, a statewide position which he assumed in January 2011. He is a former three-term member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from District 87 in Washington County in northwestern Arkansas.

Background

A native of Kansas City, Kansas, Martin was reared in the Mississippi River delta country of eastern Arkansas. He graduated from Hughes High School in Hughes in St. Francis County. In 1998, he received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.[1]While in the United States Navy, Martin was a nuclear engineering laboratory technician. He since held numerous technology-oriented positions in private industry prior to the launching of his political career.[2]

Martin and his wife, the former Sharon Marie Tilley (also born 1968), have two daughters and one son. The family attends Legacy Baptist Church of Northwest Arkansas in Rogers. The Martins reside in Prairie Grove in Washington County though his duties often keep him in the capital city of Little Rock.[1]

Political life

Martin was first elected to the Arkansas House in 2004, when he defeated the Democrat Lloyd D. Keck of West Fork in Washington County, 5,738 (55.2 percent) to 4,667 (44.8 percent).[3]As a legislator, Martin served on the Budget, Insurance & Commerce, Education, and Advanced Communication & Information Technology committees and was the chairman of the Economic & Tax Policy Committee.[1] He was one of the first legislative bloggers in Arkansas, writing about his experience through a blog he called "Off the Marble".[4]

In the 2010 general election, Representative Martin defeated the Democrat Pat O'Brien, 392,468 (51.3 percent) to 372,123 (48.7 percent), to win the secretary of state's position vacated by Charlie Daniels, a term-limited Arkansas Democrat.[5]He was reelected in 2014, defeating former State Election Commissioner Susan Inman of Little Rock with almost 64 percent of the vote.

As Secretary of State, Martin is the chairman of the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners and the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission. He is a member of the Arkansas Board of Apportionment. A past board member of several engineering organizations, he also holds membership in the National Rifle Association and the American Legion. He is a member of the Association of Christian Design Professionals.[1]

Electoral history

Arkansas House of Representatives 87th District Republican Primary Election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Martin 553 71.08
Republican Leonard Frederick 225 28.92
Arkansas House of Representatives 87th District Election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Martin 5,738 55.15
Democratic Lloyd Keck 4,667 44.85
Arkansas House of Representatives 87th District Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Martin (inc.) 4,715 61.32
Independent Jimmie Johnson 2,974 38.68
Arkansas House of Representatives 87th District Election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Martin (inc.) 6,441 58.82
Democratic Earl Hunton 4,510 41.18
Arkansas Secretary of State Election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Martin 392,468 51.33
Democratic Pat O'Brien 372,123 48.67
Arkansas Secretary of State Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Martin (inc.) 506,384 60.61
Democratic Susan Inman 292,878 35.06
Libertarian Jacob Holloway 36,159 4.33

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mark Martin Biography". sos.arkansas.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Mark Martin". ballotpedia.org. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  3. ↑ "State Representative District 087 - Certified, November 2, 2004". sos.arkansas.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Lost his marbles". Arkansas Times. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Secretary of State - Certified, November 2010". sos.arkansas.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
Political offices
Preceded by
Charlie Daniels		 Secretary of State of Arkansas
2011–present 		Incumbent
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