Linda Collins-Smith

Linda Collins-Smith

Republican Party

Prior offices

Arkansas State Senate District 19

Successor: James Sturch

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Elections and appointments

Last election

May 22, 2018

Personal

Religion

Christian: Baptist

Profession

Business owner

Contact

Personal website

Personal Facebook

Linda Collins-Smith (Republican) was a former member of the Arkansas State Senate, representing District 19. Collins-Smith was defeated in the primary on May 22, 2018. She was first elected in 2014.

Collins-Smith previously served in the Arkansas House of Representatives, representing District 80 from 2011 to 2013.

Collins-Smith switched parties on August 10, 2011. At a news conference, she stated "I have not left the Democratic Party, but the party left me," complaining that the Democratic Party had moved too far left for her to remain in the party.

Collins-Smith died on June 4, 2019.

Biography

When she served in the state government, Collins-Smith's professional experience included working as owner and operator of Days Inn and Suites of Pocahontas and president/founder of Randolph County Tourism.

Committee assignments

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Arkansas committee assignments, 2017
• City, County and Local Affairs
• Judiciary, Vice chair
• Joint Energy
• Joint Energy

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Collins-Smith served on the following committees:

Arkansas committee assignments, 2015
• Children and Youth
• City, County and Local Affairs
• Judiciary, Vice chair
• Joint Performance Review

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Collins-Smith served on these committees:

Arkansas committee assignments, 2011
• City, County and Local Affairs
• Joint Energy
• Revenue and Taxation

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2018

See also: Arkansas State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Arkansas State Senate District 19

James Sturch defeated Susi Epperson in the general election for Arkansas State Senate District 19 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Sturch (R)	72.9	18,563
		Susi Epperson (D)	27.1	6,914

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,477 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Arkansas State Senate District 19

Susi Epperson advanced from the Democratic primary for Arkansas State Senate District 19 on May 22, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Susi Epperson

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Arkansas State Senate District 19

James Sturch defeated incumbent Linda Collins-Smith in the Republican primary for Arkansas State Senate District 19 on May 22, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Sturch	52.9	5,309
		Linda Collins-Smith	47.1	4,735

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 10,044
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2014

See also: Arkansas State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the Arkansas State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014; a runoff election took place on June 10, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 3, 2014. James McLean was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Linda Collins-Smith was unopposed in the Republican primary. Collins-Smith defeated McLean in the general election.

Arkansas State Senate, District 19 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Linda Collins-Smith	58.3%	14,647
	Democratic	James McLean	41.7%	10,481
Total Votes				25,128

2012

See also: Arkansas State Senate elections, 2012

Following redistricting, Collins-Smith was placed in the same district as Republican incumbent Lori Benedict. She decided to run for District 19 of the Arkansas State Senate, instead of running for re-election. She ran unopposed in the May 22 Republican primary and was defeated by incumbent David Wyatt in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Collins-Smith discusses at a press conference in August 2011 her switch from the Democratic Party to the GOP.

Arkansas State Senate, District 19, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	David Wyatt Incumbent	51.2%	15,442
	Republican	Linda Collins-Smith	48.8%	14,716
Total Votes				30,158

2010

See also: Arkansas House of Representatives elections, 2010

Collins-Smith defeated Jan Ziegler in the May 18 primary. She then defeated Keith Sloan in the November 2 general election.

Arkansas House of Representatives, District 80 General Election (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Linda Collins-Smith (D)		4,195
Keith Sloan (R)		3,877

Arkansas House of Representatives, District 80 Democratic Primary (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Linda Collins-Smith (D)		2,901
Jan Ziegler (D)		2,598

Campaign themes

2014

Collins-Smith's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

Obamacare

• Excerpt: "I will press our Congressional leaders for full repeal of Obamacare, and I will fight for a truly affordable quality healthcare system."

Jobs

• Excerpt: "I will fight to reduce government restrictions and put our citizens back to work."

Gun Rights

• Excerpt: "I'll NEVER compromise away your right to keep and bear arms."

​Right to Life

• Excerpt: "I believe common decency demands that we protect all our children, born and unborn, from the moment of conception."

Education

• Excerpt: "I will work to support our schools and improve the quality and content of their curriculums."

2012

Collins-Smith's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

Jobs

• Excerpt: "I will fight to reduce government restrictions and put our citizens back to work."

The Constitution

• Excerpt: "The Constitution of the United States is the most sublime outline for benign human government ever devised. It should be required learning and taught repeatedly at every level of our educational systems, both public and private."

The People Rule

• Excerpt: "This is my pledge to you: I will not forget who elected me."

Political Integrity

• Excerpt: "I will NEVER change what I stand for, or play with words, to gain a few votes."

Right to Life

• Excerpt: "I will never vote to allow tax dollars to be spent, directly or indirectly, to fund abortions, and I will always vote to restrict access to this barbaric practice."

Campaign finance summary

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Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Arkansas

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.

2018

In 2018, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from February 12 through March 12. The legislature held a special session from March 13 to March 15.

• National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to small business issues.

• The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the 91st Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 9 through May 1. The Legislature held a special session from May 1 to May 3. Americans for Prosperity Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Conduit for Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to conservative issues with "a focus on small business." Family Council Action Committee Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].

In 2016, the 90th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from April 13 through May 9. The Legislature held a three-day special session from April 6 to April 8 over healthcare. The Legislature held a second special session from May 19 to May 23 over transportation. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].
In 2015, the 90th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 12 through April 2. Arkansas Citizen's First Congress Legislators are scored on the bills that the Arkansas Citizens First Congress found most important. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2014

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show].
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].

In 2013, the 89th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 14 through May 17. Advance Arkansas Institute Legislators are scored on their votes on the principles the organization seeks to promote, which the Advance Arkansas Institute lists as "free markets, individual liberty and limited transparent government." Arkansas Citizen's First Congress Legislators are scored on the bills that the Arkansas Citizens First Congress found most important. Arkansas Learns Legislators are scored on the bills specifically supported by Arkansas Learns. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2012

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show].
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].

In 2011, the 88th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 10 to April 27. Advance Arkansas Legislators are scored on their votes on the principles the organization seeks to promote, which the Advance Arkansas Institute lists as "free markets, individual liberty and limited transparent government." Arkansas Citizen's First Congress Legislators are scored on the bills that the Arkansas Citizens First Congress found most important.

2016 Republican National Convention

See also: Republican National Convention, 2016

Collins-Smith was a district-level delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Arkansas. Collins-Smith was one of 15 delegates from Arkansas bound by state party rules to support Ted Cruz at the convention. Cruz suspended his campaign on May 3, 2016. At the time, he had approximately 546 bound delegates. For more on what happened to his delegates, see this page.

Delegate rules

See also: RNC delegate guidelines from Arkansas, 2016 and Republican delegates from Arkansas, 2016

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

See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

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.

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.

See also

• Arkansas State Legislature
• Arkansas State Senate
• Arkansas Senate Committees
• Arkansas state legislative districts

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Linda Collins-Smith's campaign website
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions: 2010

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by David Wyatt (D)	Arkansas State Senate District 19 2015–2019	Succeeded by James Sturch (R)
Preceded by David Cook (D)	Arkansas House District 80 2011–2013	Succeeded by Charlene Fite (R)

[show]

Current members of the Arkansas State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Blake Johnson

Minority Leader:Greg Leding

Senators

District 1

Ben Gilmore (R)

District 2

Matt Stone (R)

District 3

Steve Crowell (R)

District 4

Jimmy Hickey (R)

District 5

Terry Rice (R)

District 6

Matt McKee (R)

District 7

Alan Clark (R)

District 8

Stephanie Flowers (D)

District 9

Reginald Murdock (D)

District 10

Ronald Caldwell (R)

District 11

Ricky Hill (R)

District 12

Jamie Scott (D)

District 13

Jane English (R)

District 14

Clarke Tucker (D)

District 15

Fredrick Love (D)

District 16

Kim Hammer (R)

District 17

Mark Johnson (R)

District 18

Jonathan Dismang (R)

District 19

Dave Wallace (R)

District 20

Dan Sullivan (R)

District 21

Blake Johnson (R)

District 22

John Payton (R)

District 23

Scott Flippo (R)

District 24

Missy Irvin (R)

District 25

Breanne Davis (R)

District 26

Gary Stubblefield (R)

District 27

Justin Boyd (R)

District 28

Bryan King (R)

District 29

Jim Petty (R)

District 30

Greg Leding (D)

District 31

Clint Penzo (R)

District 32

Joshua Bryant (R)

District 33

Bart Hester (R)

District 34

Jim Dotson (R)

District 35

Tyler Dees (R)

Republican Party (29)

Democratic Party (6)