Jonathan Barnett
Jonathan Barnett is a former Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, representing District 87 from 2009 to 2015. He served as Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore from 2009 to 2013. Barnett did not seek re-election in 2014.
Barnett began serving as national committeeman of the Arkansas Republican Party when he was in the Arkansas House of Representatives.[1] He was also on the 2016 Republican National Convention's Standing Committee on Rules.[1]
Career
Early Career
In 1977, Jonathan Barnett graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in business from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.[1] While in college from 1974 to 1977, Barnett was elected to the Siloam Springs city council.[2][3] In 1976, he went to the Republican National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri, as a Ronald Reagan delegate.[2]
Political career
Barnett was president of his own construction firm, Jonathan Barnett Enterprises, which specializes in commercial and residential construction.[3][1] While Barnett spent his life working in construction, he also continued to be active in politics. In 1992, Barnett was Mike Huckabee's (R) U.S. Senate campaign chairman. The following year, during a special election, Barnett served as the chair for Huckabee's lieutenant governor campaign. In 1996, he served as the chair of Huckabee's 1996 gubernatorial campaign.[1]
In 1996, Barnett was appointed director of Arkansas State Building Services, and, in 1997 served as chairman of the State Building Services Council. In that same year, he was appointed to the Governor’s Citizen’s Council on Highways and Transportation.[3] In January 1999, Huckabee appointed Barnett to a 10-year term on the Arkansas State Highway Commission. In that time, he was chairman of the Special Committee on Commissions and served on the boards of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.[1]
Barnett has served on the National Council of State Legislatures Energy Task Force. In 2014, he was the chairman of the Arkansas Boys State, a youth immersion program that seeks to teach high school juniors about civics.[4][1]
State Republican Party
While serving as State Representative, Barnett also served as the Arkansas Republican Party national committeeman. Barnett has attended nine Republican National Conventions as a delegate as well as having served on the Platform Committee four times.[1]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Barnett served on the following committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Public Transportation, Chair |
| • Joint Budget |
| • Insurance and Commerce |
| • Advanced Communications and Information Technology, Alternate |
| • Joint Advanced Communications and Information Technology, Alternate |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Barnett served on these committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Joint Energy |
| • Insurance and Commerce |
| • Legislative Facilities |
| • Management |
| • Public Transportation, Chair |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Barnett served on these committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs |
| • Public Transportation |
Issues
Sponsored legislation
Barnett's sponsored legislation includes:
- HB 1612 - "TO COMPLY WITH FEDERAL LAW IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR RECEIPT OF FEDERAL HIGHWAY FUNDS."
- HB 2209 - "TO EXEMPT EARTH MISSION, INC. FROM THE SALES AND USE TAX."
- HB 2210 - "TO EXEMPT THE MASONIC LODGE OF ARKANSAS FROM THE PROPERTY TAX."
For a full listing of sponsored bills, see the House site.
Elections
2012
Barnett ran for re-election in the 2012 election for Arkansas House of Representatives, District 87. Barnett ran unopposed in the May 22 Republican primary and ran unchallenged in the November 6, 2012, general election as well.[5][6][7]
2010
Barnett won re-election to the 97th District seat in 2010. He faced no opposition.[8]
2008
On November 4, 2008, Barnett won election to the 97th District Seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives, running unopposed in the general election.[9]
Barnett raised $0 for his campaign.[10]
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Arkansas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the Arkansas General Assembly was in session from February 10 to March 20.
Ballotpedia staff did not find any state legislative scorecards published for this state in 2014. If you are aware of one, please contact editor@ballotpedia.org to let us know.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 89th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 14 through May 17.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2012, the Arkansas General Assembly was in session from February 13 to March 13. Ballotpedia staff did not find any state legislative scorecards published for this state in 2012. If you are aware of one, please contact editor@ballotpedia.org to let us know. |
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the 88th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 10 to April 27.
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2016 Republican National Convention
- See also: Republican National Convention, 2016
Barnett was an RNC delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Arkansas. Arkansas sent 40 delegates to the national convention. Sixteen delegates from Arkansas were pledged to Donald Trump; fifteen were pledged to Ted Cruz; and nine delegates were pledged to Marco Rubio. Ballotpedia was not able to identify to which candidates Arkansas' three RNC delegates—Doyle Webb, Barnett, and Jonelle Fulmer—were allocated.
During the convention, after former Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz's failure to endorse Donald Trump, Barnett walked off the convention floor, later telling CNN that Cruz is "self-centered. It's all about Ted Cruz. All he did is ruin his political career. I think he's finished."[12]
RNC Rules Committee
- See also: RNC Rules Committee, 2016
Barnett was a member of the RNC Rules Committee, a 112-member body responsible for crafting the official rules of the Republican Party, including the rules that governed the 2016 Republican National Convention.[13]
Appointment process
The convention Rules Committee in 2016 consisted of one male and one female delegate from each state and territorial delegation. The Rules of the Republican Party required each delegation to elect from its own membership representatives to serve on the Rules Committee.
Delegate rules
Congressional district delegates from Arkansas to the Republican National Convention were elected at district conventions in April 2016, while at-large delegates were elected by the Arkansas Republican State Committee at a state convention in May 2016. Arkansas GOP rules in 2016 required delegates to the convention to vote for the candidate whom they designated on their delegate-filing form through the first round of voting. The rules allowed delegates to vote for a different candidate on the first ballot only if their designated candidate released them prior to the first round of voting or if their designated candidate "withdrew" from the race.
Arkansas primary results
- See also: Presidential election in Arkansas, 2016
| Arkansas Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
 Donald Trump |
32.8% | 133,144 | 16 | |
| Ted Cruz | 30.5% | 123,873 | 15 | |
| Marco Rubio | 24.9% | 101,235 | 9 | |
| Ben Carson | 5.7% | 23,173 | 0 | |
| John Kasich | 3.7% | 15,098 | 0 | |
| Mike Huckabee | 1.2% | 4,703 | 0 | |
| Jeb Bush | 0.6% | 2,406 | 0 | |
| Rand Paul | 0.3% | 1,127 | 0 | |
| Chris Christie | 0.2% | 651 | 0 | |
| Carly Fiorina | 0.1% | 409 | 0 | |
| Rick Santorum | 0.1% | 286 | 0 | |
| Lindsey Graham | 0.1% | 250 | 0 | |
| Bobby Jindal | 0% | 167 | 0 | |
| Totals | 406,522 | 40 | ||
| Source: The New York Times | ||||
Delegate allocation
Arkansas had 40 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 12 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's four congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; the highest vote-getter in a district received two of that district's delegates, and the second highest vote-getter received the remaining delegate. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote in a district, he or she received all three of that district's delegates.[14][15]
Of the remaining 28 delegates, 25 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 15 percent of the statewide vote in order to receive any at-large delegates. Each candidate who met the 15 percent threshold received one delegate. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the statewide vote, he or she was allocated the remaining at-large delegates. If no candidate won a majority of the statewide vote, the unallocated at-large delegates were divided proportionally among those candidates who met the 15 percent threshold. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.[14][15]
See also
- Arkansas House of Representatives
- House Committees
- Arkansas State Legislature
- Arkansas state legislative districts
- Republican Party of Arkansas
- Ronald Reagan
External links
- Arkansas Republican Party
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 GOP, "Jonathan Barnett," accessed April 19, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 John Brown University, "Political Engagement," June 30, 2011
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department," accessed April 19, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Boys State, "Home," accessed April 19, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Election Results 2012," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2012 Election candidates," March 8, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official election results," accessed December 13, 2013
- ↑ VoteNaturally.org, "2008 general election results, Arkansas," November 4, 2008
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Arkansas House spending, 2008," November 4, 2008
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Ballotpedia, "Arkansas's Freedom Scorecard," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ CNN, "Defiant Ted Cruz stands by refusal to endorse Trump after being booed during convention speech," July 22, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia's list of 2016 RNC Rules Committee members is based on an official list from the Republican National Committee obtained by Ballotpedia on June 24, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Justin T. Harris (R) |
Arkansas House District 87 2013–2015 |
Succeeded by Robin Lundstrum (R) |
| Preceded by - |
Arkansas House District 97 2009–2013 |
Succeeded by Bob Ballinger (R) |
| ||||||||||||||||
