Mike Ross (Arkansas)

Mike Ross

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Arkansas State Senate

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U.S. House Arkansas District 4

Successor: Tom Cotton

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Education

Bachelor's

University of Arkansas, Little Rock, 1987

Personal

Religion

Christian: Methodist

Profession

Business owner

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Mike Ross (b. August 2, 1961, in Texarkana, Arkansas) was a Democratic candidate for Governor of Arkansas in the 2014 elections. Ross lost the general election on November 4, 2014.

Ross is a former Democratic member of the U.S. House representing Arkansas's 4th Congressional District from 2001 to 2013.

Ross did not seek re-election in 2012, opting instead to take a job in the private sector as the senior vice president for government affairs and public relations for Southwest Power Pool. Ross was succeeded by Tom Cotton, a Republican, who won election to the U.S. House on November 6, 2012.

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Ross was a "centrist Democrat."

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Ross' academic, professional, and political career:

• 1987: Graduated from University of Arkansas, Little Rock with B.A.
• 1985-1989: Staff for office of the Lt. Governor of Arkansas
• 1991-2000: Arkansas State Senate
• 2001-2013: U.S. Representative from Arkansas

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2011-2012

• Energy and Commerce Committee
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Issues

Specific votes

Rep. Ross voted for TARP. According to a Gallup poll from September 13, 2010, 61 percent of Americans disapproved of TARP, while 37 percent approved.

Rep. Ross also voted for the auto bailout. As of September 13, 2010, 56 percent of Americans disapproved of the auto bailout, while 43 percent supported it.

In addition, Rep. Ross voted for the stimulus bill. Fifty-seven percent of U.S. voters believed that the stimulus had either hurt the economy (36 percent) or had no impact (21 percent). Thirty-eight percent believed the stimulus helped the economy.

Finally, Rep. Ross supported the "Cash for Clunkers" bill. According to a June 2009 Rasmussen Reports poll, 54 percent of likely U.S. voters opposed Cash for Clunkers, while 35 percent supported it.

Fiscal Cliff

Ross voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 172 Democrats who voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.

Earmarks

A Washington Post investigation in February 2012 revealed that 33 members of Congress helped direct more than $300 million in earmarks to public projects in close proximity to commercial and residential real estate owned by the lawmakers or their family members. According to the report, Ross helped secure about $2.6 million toward the construction of a railroad trestle in Prescott about one-third mile from a building he owns.

Sponsored legislation

Ross is co-sponsoring legislation which would require states to redraw boundaries by using an independent commission. Ross said that redistricting was responsible for making Congress more partisan by creating fewer competitive districts. He says that the process has created more safe seats for both parties, resulting in fewer moderate lawmakers willing to work with the opposite party. He said, "It used to be that we only did politics on even years and we'd actually make policy on odd years. Now we never make policy. It's politics 24-7 the entire two year term."

Elections

2014

See also: Arkansas Gubernatorial election, 2014

Ross ran for Governor of Arkansas in the 2014 election. He won the Democratic nomination in the primary on May 20, 2014, and faced Asa Hutchinson (R), Frank Gilbert (L) and Josh Drake (G) in the November 4 general election. He was defeated by Hutchinson. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.

Results

Primary election

Governor of Arkansas, Democratic Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Mike Ross	84.4%	129,437
Lynette Bryant	15.6%	23,906
Total Votes		153,343
Election results via Arkansas Secretary of State.

General election

Governor of Arkansas, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Asa Hutchinson	55.4%	470,429
	Democratic	Mike Ross	41.5%	352,115
	Libertarian	Frank Gilbert	1.9%	16,319
	Green	Josh Drake	1.1%	9,729
Total Votes				848,592
Election results via Arkansas Secretary of State

Race background

Democratic incumbent Gov. Mike Beebe was ineligible for re-election in 2014 due to term limits, setting the stage for a competitive race. Over a year before the election, polling figures and ratings reports - from sources such as The Washington Post, Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, Governing and Daily Kos - already labeled Beebe's seat as a "toss-up" and labeled Arkansas among the states most vulnerable to partisan switch in the 2014 gubernatorial election cycle.

Despite announcing in December 2012 that he would not run for governor in 2014, former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross (D) re-emerged as a potential candidate in the wake of state attorney general and expected front-runner Dustin McDaniel's exit from the race. "Dustin McDaniel getting out of the race has left a huge void which clearly none of the other candidates are filling or I wouldn't be getting all these calls from every corner of the state...I'm humbled by that and I feel a sense of duty and responsibility to the people of this state to at least reconsider my decision and I'm doing that," Ross said at U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor's (D-AR) re-election fundraiser in March 2013. Ross officially launched his campaign on April 17, 2013. The only other declared Democratic candidate at the time of his announcement, Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter, left the race in July when he found himself trailing in fundraising and threw his support behind Ross.

Ross overtook Lynette "Doc" Bryant for the Democratic nomination in the May 20, 2014 primary election. Former U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson defeated businessman Curtis Coleman in the Republican primary, earning the chance to win back the office for their party.

The Libertarian Party and the Green Party selected their candidates for governor by convention. Libertarian nominee Frank Gilbert and Green Party nominee Josh Drake appeared on the November 4 general election ballot with Ross and Hutchinson.

Money in the race

On May 13, 2014, candidates were required to file pre-primary campaign finance reports detailing their fundraising and expenditures since April 1. Before winning their respective parties' nominations on May 20, Mike Ross (D) and Asa Hutchinson (R) both reported spending more than they took in over the previous month. Ross outraised Hutchinson $491,000 to $240,375, and Hutchinson outspent Ross by about $80,000. A large portion of each candidates' campaign expenditures went toward television advertisements. This was especially true for Hutchinson, who spent $439,000 airing his ads across Arkansas—more than triple what Ross spent.

Heading into the May 20 primaries, Ross reported a remaining balance of $2 million, compared to Hutchinson's remaining balance of $904,000. Defeated GOP primary challenger Curtis Coleman raised $62,060 and spent $72,622 in April 2014, while Ross' Democratic primary opponent Lynette Bryant failed to file by the reporting period deadline.

McDaniel cancels campaign

In June 2012, term-limited Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel (D) filed paperwork to start raising money for his 2014 gubernatorial campaign. McDaniel had been considered the Democratic frontrunner, but revelations that he had engaged in extra-martial relations with a Hot Springs attorney, Andi Davis, whom he met around his 2010 re-election, led to his withdrawal from the race. He dropped out of the race on January 25, 2013, explaining in an e-mail to supporters, "I had hoped that I could shape the 2014 gubernatorial debate with my vision for the future. Unfortunately, I am now convinced that if I run for Governor, this campaign would be about me personally, rather than Arkansas's future."

Ballot access for political parties

See also: Process for establishing a political party in Arkansas

In Arkansas, the process to establish a political party is tied to the votes cast in a presidential or gubernatorial election. In order to initially put candidates on the ballot, political parties must submit a petition with 10,000 signatures. Then, in order to maintain that status beyond the election year in which they submit such a petition, their candidate for governor or president must receive at least 3 percent of the votes cast for that office.

In 2012, both the Libertarian and Green parties of Arkansas qualified to put candidates on the ballot, but their candidates did not receive enough votes for the parties to maintain their ballot status. In the fall of 2013, both parties submitted new petitions and were qualified to put candidates on the 2014 ballot. In order to maintain their status as political parties without needing to petition for the 2016 elections, their candidates for governor had to receive at least 3 percent of the vote. Frank Gilbert (L) earned 1.9 percent of the vote and Josh Drake (G) earned 1.1 percent of the vote.

According to an April 2014 poll, the likelihood of the Libertarian and Green Parties to maintain their status in the state depended on who the Democratic and Republican Parties ran in the gubernatorial election. With nominees Republican Asa Hutchinson and Democrat Mike Ross on the ballot, 3 percent of those polled said they would vote for the Libertarian candidate and 2 percent said they would vote for the Green Party candidate. Had Democrat Lynette Bryant advanced with Hutchinson, those likely to vote for the Libertarian candidate remained the same while those likely to vote for the Green Party candidate rose to 4.5 percent. If Republican Curtis Coleman ran against Ross, those polled were more likely to vote for both the Libertarian and Green Party candidates when compared to a ballot including front-runners Ross and Hutchinson, who secured their respective parties' nominations the month after the poll was taken.

Polls

General election
All candidates

Governor of Arkansas: Four-way race
Poll	Asa Hutchinson (R)	Mike Ross (D)	Joshua Drake (G)	Frank Gilbert (L)	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Opinion Research Associates, Inc. October 25-26, 2014	42%	44%	1%	2%	11%	+/-5	401
NBC News/Marist October 24, 2014	47%	44%	2%	2%	5%	+/-3.9	621
Talk Business & Politics/Hendrix College October 15-16, 2014	49%	41%	2%	2.5%	5.5%	+/-2.2	2,075
Suffolk/USA Today September 20-23, 2014	43%	41%	2%	3%	11%	+/-4.4	500
Public Policy Polling September 18-21, 2014	44%	38%	2%	3%	13%	+/-2.6	1,453
Gravis Marketing September 8-11, 2014	46%	42%	0%	2%	10%	+/-4.0	902
Southern Progress Poll September 7-9, 2014	44%	44%	2%	2%	8%	+/-3.5	600
AVERAGES	45%	42%	1.57%	2.36%	9.07%	+/-3.66	936
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

**Due to the nature of the comparison, a placeholder figure of 0% is assigned to candidates not included in any given match-up round Hutchinson vs. Ross (April 2014 - present)

Governor of Arkansas: Hutchinson vs. Ross
Poll	Asa Hutchinson (R)	Mike Ross (D)	Don't know	Margin of error	Sample size
University of Arkansas October 21-27, 2014	50%	39%	11%	+/-3.6	747
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov September 20-October 1, 2014	49%	38%	13%	+/-2	1,991
Public Policy Poll August 1-3, 2014	43%	38%	12%	+/-3	1,066
Rasmussen Reports May 27-28, 2014	48%	41%	6%	+/-4	750
NBC/Marist April 30-May 4, 2014	49%	42%	7%	+/-2.9	876
AVERAGES	47.8%	39.6%	9.8%	+/-3.1	1,086
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Hutchinson vs. Ross (February 2014 - April 2014)

Governor of Arkansas: Hutchinson vs. Ross
Poll	Asa Hutchinson (R)	Mike Ross (D)	Don't know	Margin of error	Sample size
Public Policy Poll April 25-27, 2014	46%	38%	16%	+/-3.4	840
New York Times/Kaiser Family Foundation Poll April 8-15, 2014	41%	40%	16%	+/-4.0	857
Opinion Research Associates April 1-8, 2014	39%	45%	17%	+/-5.0	400
Hendrix College/Talk Business April 3-4, 2014	43%	44%	8%	+/-3.0	1,068
OnMessage March 11-13, 2014	44%	36%	15%	+/-4.0	600
Impact February 10, 2014	42%	42%	17%	+/-2.83	1,202
Rasmussen Reports February 4-5, 2014	41%	44%	12%	+/-4.5	500
Public Policy Polling/Americans United for Change December 13-15, 2013	44%	43%	14%	+/-3.1	1,004
Talk Business/Hendrix College Poll October 8, 2013	41%	37%	22%	+/-4.0	603
Talk Business/Hendrix College February 20, 2013	43%	38%	19%	+/-3.8	675
AVERAGES	42.4%	40.7%	15.6%	+/-3.76	774.9
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

In the first TV ad of Ross' campaign, term-limited Gov. Mike Beebe discusses why he believes Ross should succeed him as governor - Posted to YouTube 1/5/14

Ross talks about plans to cut taxes for middle class and prioritize education in Middle Class Families - Posted to YouTube May 21, 2014

2012

Ross did not seek re-election in 2012. Tom Cotton (R) defeated Gene Jeffress (D), Joshua Drake (G) and Bobby Tullis (L) in the general election.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Ross won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Beth Anne Rankin and Josh Drake in the general election.

U.S. House, Arkansas District 4 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mike Ross Incumbent	57.5%	102,479
	Republican	Beth Anne Rankin	40.2%	71,526
	Green	Josh Drake	2.3%	4,129
Total Votes				178,134

Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.

Analysis

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Ross paid his congressional staff a total of $995,469 in 2011. He ranked 74th on the list of the lowest paid Democratic representative staff salaries and ranked 265th overall of the lowest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Arkansas ranked 38th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.

Net worth

See also: Changes in Net Worth of U.S. Senators and Representatives (Personal Gain Index) and Net worth of United States Senators and Representatives

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Ross' net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $128,010 and $479,999. That averages to $304,004.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic representatives in 2010 of $4,465,875.

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Ross ranked 180th in the liberal rankings in 2012.

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Ross ranked 192nd in the liberal rankings in 2011.

Voting with party

November 2011

Mike Ross voted with the Democratic Party 56.6 percent of the time, which ranked 190 among the 192 House Democratic members as of 2011.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.

Email [email protected] to notify us of updates to this biography.

Ross and his wife, Holly, have two children.

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term Mike + Ross + Arkansas + Governor

Mike Ross News Feed

See also

• Governor of Arkansas
• Arkansas Gubernatorial election, 2014

External links

Campaign links

• Mike Ross for Governor 2014 Official campaign website

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

• Biographies:
  • U.S. Congress
• Political profiles:
  • GovTrack
  • OpenCongress
  • Project Vote Smart
• Financial (federal level):
  • FEC contributions
  • OpenSecrets.org
  • LegiStorm.com
• Interest group ratings:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions:
  • On The Issues
  • Project Vote Smart
• Public statements:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Voting record:
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Washington Post
• Media appearances:
  • C-SPAN
• Media coverage:
  • Washington Post

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Jay Dickey	U.S. House - Arkansas District 4 2001-2013	Succeeded by Tom Cotton

[show]

Arkansas' current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

John Boozman (R)

Tom Cotton (R)

Representatives

District 1

Rick Crawford (R)

District 2

French Hill (R)

District 3

Steve Womack (R)

District 4

Bruce Westerman (R)

Republican Party (6)