Gus Wingfield
| Gus Wingfield | |
|---|---|
| Arkansas State Treasurer | |
|
In office 2003–2007 |
|
| Preceded by | Jimmie Lou Fisher |
| Succeeded by | Martha Shoffner |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 17, 1926 Antoine, Arkansas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Alice Wingfield |
| Residence | Delight, Arkansas |
Gus Wingfield (born September 17, 1926) is a former one term Arkansas State Treasurer, and two term Arkansas State Auditor, 1994-2003. He served from 2003-2007.
Wingfield was born in Antoine, Arkansas and went to a public school in the nearby town of Delight, Arkansas. He served in the Air Force, and is a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. After the Korean War he attended college at the Southern Technical Institute in Dallas, Texas, and later went to the University of Arkansas.
Wingfield became a respected employee at the Bank of Delight, where his saviness and intelligence, as well as his well connected family, helped him quickly rise the ranks. In 1968, he was hired as Executive Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors. He went on to hold that position for over 22 years, until he retired to serve as State Auditor.
He was elected in the mid-1970s to the Delight School Board. In 1978 he lost his first race for the Arkansas General Assembly by just over 300 votes. In 1980 he ran again and won the District 18 seat. He served a total of 14 years a State Representative, during which he became highly respected, and well known within Democratic circles, which helped him in the 1994 primary for State Auditor.
He left the State House of Representatives to run for State Auditor in the Republican year of 1994, however, their gains in Arkansas were minimal. The most competitive part of the race was the primary, which he narrowly won, defeating fellow State Representative Bobby Tullis by just over 3 percentage points. He went on to easily win the General Election, defeating the Republican candidate 63-37. He went on to serve two terms as State Auditor.
In 2002, When Democrat Jimmie Lou Fisher, the long time State Treasurer of Arkansas, having served the maximum number of terms under the 1994 terms limits approved by Arkansas voters, ran against incumbent Republican Mike Huckabee, Gus Wingfield ran for her open State Treasurer Seat. He won the Democratic primary easily, and ended up winning what was a surprisingly competitive and close statewide race against Randy Bynum. Wingfield took only 57% of the vote in that election, which turned out to be his smallest margin in the three statewide elections he has run, and in his entire political career.
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