The 2014 Arkansas Attorney General election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the attorney general of Arkansas.
Republican nominee Leslie Rutledge was elected to the office, the first woman elected to the office and the first Republican to be elected to the office since 1874 (during the reconstruction period). Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Dustin McDaniel was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office.
Democratic nominee Nate Steel, state representative
Republican primary Candidates Patricia Nation, attorney Leslie Rutledge, lawyer David Sterling, attorney Declined to run J. Cody Hiland, Faulkner County prosecutor Marvin Childers, former state representative and president of The Poultry Federation Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin oferror PatriciaNation LeslieRutledge DavidSterling Undecided Talk Business/Hendrix College April 29, 2014 1,516 ± 2.5% 10% 9% 21% 60% Primary results
Runoff results Rutledge and Sterling contested a runoff, which was characterized as a "full-fledged street brawl." Outside groups spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on attack ads and both candidates "question[ed] each others' conservative credentials and political experience." Nation endorsed Rutledge, who handily defeated Sterling.
Libertarian nominee Aaron Cash
General election In September 2014, Pulaski County Clerk Larry Crane cancelled Rutledge's voter registration after it was revealed that she was registered to vote in several other states. Rutledge, who has an Arkansas voter registration card, had cancelled her Pulaski County voter registration in July 2008 and registered to vote in Washington, D.C., instead. However, she did not vote in any elections in D.C., instead voting via absentee ballot in the 2008 general election in Pulaski County. She then registered to vote in Virginia in September 2010. If she remains unregistered, she would be ineligible to serve as Attorney General as the Arkansas Constitution states "No persons shall be elected to, or appointed to fill a vacancy in, any office who does not possess the qualifications of an elector." Rutledge denounced Crane for using "partisan politics to disenfranchise a voter in an attempt to hijack an election." Crane responded that he "did what the law requires" and invited Rutledge to re-register. Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin oferror NateSteel (D) LeslieRutledge (R) AaronCash (L) Undecided Public Policy Polling October 30–November 1, 2014 1,092 ± 3% 40% 44% 7% 8% Suffolk September 20–23, 2014 500 ± 4.4% 36% 36% 5% 23% Public Policy Polling September 18–21, 2014 1,453 ± 2.6% 35% 41% 7% 17% Gravis Marketing September 8–11, 2014 902 ± 4% 33% 42% 3% 22% Answers Unlimited September 7–9, 2014 600 ± 3.5% 37% 34% 5% 24% Public Policy Polling August 1–3, 2014 1,066 ± 3% 32% 38% 10% 20% Gravis Marketing July 7–8, 2014 987 ± 3% 41% 51% 8% — Results
By county CountyNate SteelDemocraticLeslie RutledgeRepublicanAaron CashLibertarianMarginTotal#%#%#%#%Arkansas2,44148.53%2,40847.87%1813.60%-33-0.66%5,030Ashley2,80545.77%3,12951.05%1953.18%3245.29%6,129Baxter4,14628.20%9,81166.74%7435.05%5,66538.54%14,700Benton20,13932.50%37,61160.69%4,2246.82%17,47228.19%61,974Boone2,74025.68%7,12766.79%8037.53%4,38741.12%10,670Bradley1,31946.59%1,40049.45%1123.96%812.86%2,831Calhoun72044.80%81150.47%764.73%915.66%1,607Carroll3,06738.45%4,43755.62%4735.93%1,37017.17%7,977Chicot2,30966.64%1,07330.97%832.40%-1,236-35.67%3,465Clark3,97657.98%2,65438.70%2283.32%-1,322-19.28%6,858Clay1,85047.09%1,84146.86%2386.06%-9-0.23%3,929Cleburne2,91329.73%6,25663.85%6296.42%3,34334.12%9,798Cleveland1,00437.31%1,58758.97%1003.72%58321.66%2,691Columbia3,04940.80%4,17655.88%2483.32%1,12715.08%7,473Conway2,97647.53%2,96547.36%3205.11%-11-0.18%6,261Craighead10,73743.09%12,88251.70%1,2985.21%2,1458.61%24,917Crawford4,93530.78%10,03462.58%1,0666.65%5,09931.80%16,035Crittenden5,87556.02%4,33141.30%2812.68%-1,544-14.72%10,487Cross2,54948.95%2,45247.09%2063.96%-97-1.86%5,207Dallas1,16749.41%1,11447.16%813.43%-53-2.24%2,362Desha2,15865.24%1,06032.04%902.72%-1,098-33.19%3,308Drew2,51048.82%2,47248.08%1593.09%-38-0.74%5,141Faulkner12,96538.70%18,72155.88%1,8175.42%5,75617.18%33,503Franklin2,10738.89%2,96854.78%3436.33%86115.89%5,418Fulton1,27338.24%1,87256.23%1845.53%59917.99%3,329Garland11,74938.50%17,12556.12%1,6405.37%5,37617.62%30,514Grant1,84034.59%3,17459.67%3055.73%1,33425.08%5,319Greene4,42740.90%5,85054.05%5465.04%1,42313.15%10,823Hempstead2,45146.32%2,67550.56%1653.12%2244.23%5,291Hot Spring3,97842.77%4,77251.31%5505.91%7948.54%9,300Howard2,55670.43%1,01728.02%561.54%-1,539-42.41%3,629Independence3,02928.95%6,92366.16%5124.89%3,89437.21%10,464Izard1,64338.27%2,43556.72%2155.01%79218.45%4,293Jackson1,96548.14%1,91046.79%2075.07%-55-1.35%4,082Jefferson13,20566.69%6,05530.58%5412.73%-7,150-36.11%19,801Johnson2,73042.23%3,27850.71%4567.05%5488.48%6,464Lafayette1,06045.09%1,21251.55%793.36%1526.47%2,351Lawrence2,02544.64%2,20448.59%3076.77%1793.95%4,536Lee1,71866.69%81231.52%461.79%-906-35.17%2,576Lincoln1,43647.04%1,46748.05%1504.91%311.02%3,053Little River1,85446.40%2,00850.25%1343.35%1543.85%3,996Logan2,54639.82%3,36852.67%4807.51%82212.86%6,394Lonoke5,78829.99%12,37664.12%1,1375.89%6,58834.13%19,301Madison2,06840.86%2,69553.25%2985.89%62712.39%5,061Marion1,42928.93%3,20164.80%3106.28%1,77235.87%4,940Miller3,91234.65%7,03062.26%3493.09%3,11827.61%11,291Mississippi5,24352.54%4,21642.25%5205.21%-1,027-10.29%9,979Monroe1,31655.88%97541.40%642.72%-341-14.48%2,355Montgomery1,16540.44%1,55654.01%1605.55%39113.57%2,881Nevada1,31348.38%1,29847.83%1033.80%-15-0.55%2,714Newton90730.33%1,87662.74%2076.92%96932.41%2,990Ouachita3,88750.23%3,54145.76%3114.02%-346-4.47%7,739Perry1,43640.58%1,87753.04%2266.39%44112.46%3,539Phillips3,81667.64%1,65529.33%1713.03%-2,161-38.30%5,642Pike1,49548.46%1,46647.52%1244.02%-29-0.94%3,085Poinsett2,70543.31%3,17550.84%3655.84%4707.53%6,245Polk1,97731.55%3,82361.00%4677.45%1,84629.46%6,267Pope5,54632.80%10,29760.90%1,0666.30%4,75128.10%16,909Prairie1,00638.22%1,47456.00%1525.78%46817.78%2,632Pulaski74,87059.61%45,90936.55%4,8253.84%-28,961-23.06%125,604Randolph2,16943.69%2,46149.57%3356.75%2925.88%4,965Saline13,26133.79%23,62160.19%2,3656.03%10,36026.40%39,247Scott1,09536.02%1,75057.57%1956.41%65521.55%3,040Searcy78526.43%1,96666.20%2197.37%1,18139.76%2,970Sebastian10,99134.89%18,52158.79%1,9936.33%7,53023.90%31,505Sevier1,76150.11%1,63146.41%1223.47%-130-3.70%3,514Sharp1,95935.01%3,31159.17%3265.83%1,35224.16%5,596St. Francis3,74363.20%2,03134.30%1482.50%-1,712-28.91%5,922Stone1,46833.15%2,69460.83%2676.03%1,22627.68%4,429Union4,64038.80%6,91357.80%4073.40%2,27319.01%11,960Van Buren2,13636.62%3,28056.23%4177.15%1,14419.61%5,833Washington25,03046.59%25,28247.05%3,4176.36%2520.47%53,729White6,29929.17%14,06465.13%1,2325.71%7,76535.96%21,595Woodruff1,35063.71%67231.71%974.58%-678-32.00%2,119Yell2,17242.26%2,68552.24%2835.51%5139.98%5,140Totals360,68043.21%430,79951.61%43,2455.18%70,1198.40%834,724 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
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