Editing Woodruff County, Arkansas (section)

==Government==
{{see also|Government of Arkansas}}
The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the [[Constitution of Arkansas]] and the [[Arkansas Code]]. The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are called justices of the peace and are elected from county districts every even-numbered year. The number of districts in a county vary from nine to fifteen, and district boundaries are drawn by the county election commission. The Woodruff County Quorum Court has nine members. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the county judge, who serves as the chief executive officer of the county. The county judge is elected at-large and does not vote in quorum court business, although capable of vetoing quorum court decisions.<ref>{{ Cite encyclopedia |title= Quorum Courts |url= http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=6348 |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]] |publisher= [[Butler Center for Arkansas Studies]] at the [[Central Arkansas Library System]] |date= March 24, 2014 |last= Teske |first= Steven |access-date= January 23, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{ Cite encyclopedia |title= Office of County Judge |url= http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=5720 |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]] |publisher= Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System |date= August 28, 2015 |last= Goss |first= Kay C. |access-date= January 23, 2016 }}</ref>

Woodruff County, [[Solid South|like most rural white Southern counties]], leaned heavily [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] for most of its history, particularly in the [[Jim Crow laws|Jim Crow]] and immediate post-Jim Crow eras. From [[1880 United States presidential election in Arkansas|1880]] to 2012, the county failed to back the Democratic nominee in a presidential election only twice: in [[1968 United States presidential election in Arkansas|1968]], when it backed the third-party candidacy of [[George Wallace]] (who was otherwise affiliated with the Democratic Party) and in [[1972 United States presidential election in Arkansas|1972]], when it and every other county in the state backed [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Richard Nixon]] amidst a national landslide. In [[2016 United States presidential election in Arkansas|2016]] and [[2020 United States presidential election in Arkansas|2020]], it voted for Republican [[Donald Trump]] amidst large Republican gains in rural areas across the nation. The 2020 election marked a historic shift, as the county swung substantially to the right despite Trump losing the national election. This marked the first time in history that a Democrat was elected president without carrying Woodruff County, and Trump's 28-point win was the largest Republican margin in the county's history.

Despite Woodruff County's Republican trend at the state and federal levels, many Democratic and Independent politicians still hold numerous local offices. As of 2025, the Quorum Court is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, meanwhile the majority of countywide officials are [[Independent politician|independents]].

Woodruff County is represented in the 10th district of the [[Arkansas Senate]] by Republican [[Ron Caldwell]], a [[real estate]] businessman from [[Wynne, Arkansas|Wynne]] in [[Cross County, Arkansas|Cross County]], and in the 61st district of the [[Arkansas House of Representatives]] by Republican Jeremiah Moore, a real estate broker from [[Clarendon, Arkansas|Clarendon]] in [[Monroe County, Arkansas|Monroe County]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jeremiah Moore - Arkansas House of Representatives |url=https://www.arkansashouse.org/district/61 |access-date=September 7, 2023 |website=www.arkansashouse.org}}</ref> The county is part of the [[Arkansas's 1st congressional district|1st congressional district]] in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]], and is represented by Republican [[Rick Crawford (politician)|Rick Crawford]].
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+Woodruff County, Arkansas Elected countywide officials<ref>{{Cite web |title=Woodruff {{!}} Association of Arkansas Counties |url=https://www.arcounties.org/counties/woodruff/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=www.arcounties.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Election Night Reporting |url=https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/AR/Woodruff/115842/web.307039/#/summary?v=314140/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=results.enr.clarityelections.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Election Night Reporting |url=https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/AR/Woodruff/74906/Web02.203317/#/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=results.enr.clarityelections.com}}</ref><ref>https://www.arcounties.org/site/assets/files/6033/november_races.pdf</ref>
!Position
!Officeholder
!Party
|-style="background-color: #999999;
|[[County judge|County Judge]]
|[[Michael John Gray]]
|[[Independent politician|Independent]]
|-style="background-color: #999999;
|[[Municipal clerk|County Clerk]]
|Jackie Meredith
|Independent
|-style="background-color: #999999;
|[[Court clerk|Circuit Clerk]]
|Lori Grisham
|Independent
|-style="background-color: #999999;
|[[Sheriff]]/[[Tax collector|Collector]]
|Phil Reynolds
|Independent
|-style="background-color: #999999;
|[[Treasurer]]
|Carrie Woodall
|Independent
|-style="background-color: #999999;
|[[Tax assessment|Tax Assessor]]
|Leslie Collins
|Independent
|-
|[[Coroner]]
|Brad Bevills
|(Unknown)
|}
The composition of the Quorum Court after the 2024 elections is 4 Democrats, 4 Republicans, and 1 Independent. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Woodruff County, Arkansas, elections, 2024 |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Woodruff_County,_Arkansas,_elections,_2024 |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}</ref>
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
*District 1: Thomas Gaines (R)
*District 2: Brian Austin (R)
*District 3: Kenny Simons (R)
*District 4: Freddie Hudson (D)
*District 5: Charlie Dallas (R)
*District 6: Bill Crawford (D)
*District 7: John Berry Beard III (I)
*District 8: Harold "Bo" Collins (D)
*District 9: Robert Gibbs (D)
}}Additionally, the townships of Woodruff County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by the [[Constitution of Arkansas]]. Constables are largely of historical significance as they were used to keep the peace in rural areas when travel was more difficult.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a Constable? |url=https://www.uaex.uada.edu/business-communities/ced-blog/posts/2022/may/what-is-a-constable.aspx |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241213015100/https://www.uaex.uada.edu/business-communities/ced-blog/posts/2022/may/what-is-a-constable.aspx |archive-date=2024-12-13 |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=What is a Constable? |language=en}}</ref> The township constables as of the 2024 elections are:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Woodruff County, Arkansas, elections, 2024 |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Woodruff_County,_Arkansas,_elections,_2024 |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}</ref>

* Augusta Township: Joe Atkins (D)
* Cotton Plant Township: Allen Holmes (R)
* McCrory Township: Johnnie Jay Hodge (R)
{{PresHead|place=Woodruff County, Arkansas|source=<ref name="DL">{{cite web|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|access-date=November 18, 2016}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|1,513|760|45|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|1,543|856|77|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|1,347|1,118|106|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|1,227|1,340|118|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|1,206|1,412|143|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|1,021|1,972|33|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|898|1,699|54|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|598|2,044|210|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|676|2,589|230|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|1,097|1,924|13|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1984|Democratic|1,675|2,055|29|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|1,204|2,452|100|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|848|3,040|5|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|1,989|1,183|50|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|625|1,270|1,734|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|1,366|2,307|20|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|667|1,613|255|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|992|1,630|53|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|818|2,017|4|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|207|1,008|614|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|279|1,377|6|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|193|1,280|8|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|253|1,473|13|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|135|1,864|23|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|452|1,163|2|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|254|762|31|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|943|1,049|40|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|438|935|0|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|473|903|323|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|752|1,046|64|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|578|861|49|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1900|Democratic|549|990|7|Arkansas}}
{{PresFoot|1896|Democratic|620|1,478|9|Arkansas}}