John Cooper (Arkansas politician)
| John R. Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Arkansas Senate from the 21st district |
|
|
Assumed office January 2014 |
|
| Preceded by | Paul Bookout |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1947 Heber Springs, Arkansas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Betty Sue Cooper |
| Children | Darren Robert Cooper |
| Residence |
Jonesboro |
| Occupation | Retired employee of American Telephone & Telegraph; Primitive Baptist Minister |
Jonesboro
Craighead County
Arkansas, USA
Former residence:
John R. Cooper (born 1947), is a Republican member of the Arkansas State Senate and a retiree from American Telephone and Telegraph in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
On January 14, 2014, Cooper won a special election for the District 21 seat for Craighead County in northeastern Arkansas. The seat had opened when the Democrat Paul Bookout of Jonesboro, reelected in 2012 and a former Senate President, resigned in the summer of 2013 under an ethics cloud.
With a turnout of approximately 17 percent in the special election, Cooper defeated the Democratic nominee, Steven Eric Rockwell (born 1954), 4,314 (57.2 percent) to 3,227 (42.8 percent). Rockwell manages his family printing and publishing business in Jonesboro and called himself a "centrist" in the race. Retiring Democratic Governor Mike Beebe cut ads for Rockwell.
To gain his party's endorsement for state senator, Cooper first defeated two other Republicans, Chad Niell and Dan Sullivan, who was elected as a state representative for House District 53 later in the year. Cooper also carried the support of the Tea Party movement. Until Bookout's resignation, Cooper had intended to run in 2014 for the District 59 seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives. He lost a race in 2012 for that same House seat against the Democrat Butch Wilkins, who was term-limited in 2014.
...
Wikipedia