Editing Newton County, Arkansas (section)

==Government==
[[File:Newton County Courthouse (Arkansas) 005.jpg|right|thumb|Courtroom interior at the Newton County Courthouse]]
{{see also|Government of Arkansas|County judge|Quorum Court}}
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 Newton County Quorum Court has nine members. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the ''county judge'', who serves as the [[chief operating 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>
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+Newton County, Arkansas Elected countywide officials<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Newton {{!}} Association of Arkansas Counties |url=https://www.arcounties.org/counties/newton/ |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=www.arcounties.org}}</ref><ref name=":1">https://www.arcounties.org/site/assets/files/6033/november_races.pdf</ref>
!Position
!Officeholder
!Party
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|County Judge
|Warren Campbell
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|County/Circuit Clerk
|Donnie Davis
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|Sheriff
|Glenn Wheeler
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|Treasurer
|Vickie Bartholomew
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|Collector
|Nedra Daniels
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|Assessor
|Stephen Willis
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|Coroner
|Cody Middleton
|Republican
|}
The composition of the Quorum Court following the 2024 elections is 8 Republicans and 1 Independent. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Newton County, Arkansas, elections, 2024 |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Newton_County,_Arkansas,_elections,_2024 |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}</ref>

* District 1: Jamie Mefford (R)
* District 2: Richard Campbell (R)
* District 3: Terry Clark (R)
* District 4: Dennis Sain (I)
* District 5: Jerry Lee (R)
* District 6: Chris Martin (R)
* District 7: Steven Adams (R)
* District 8: Arlis Jones (R)
* District 9: John David Phillips (R)

Additionally, the townships of Newton 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 |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=What is a Constable? |language=en}}</ref> The township constables as of the 2024 elections are:<ref name=":2" />

* Hickory Grove: Charles Moore (R)
* Hudson: Marvin Wilson (R)
* Jackson: Joe Phillips (R)
* Jefferson: Jayson Flud (R)
* Pleasant Hill: Johnny Bohannon (R)
* Richland: Lee Young (R)
* Western Grove: Gary Waters (R)

===Politics===
Along with adjacent Searcy County, Newton is unique among Arkansas counties in being traditionally [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] in political leanings even during the overwhelmingly Democratic "[[Solid South]]" era. This Republicanism resulted from their historical paucity of [[slavery in the United States|slaves]], in turn created by infertile soils unsuitable for intensive cotton farming, and produced support for [[Union (American Civil War)|the Union]] during the Civil War.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} These were the only two counties in Arkansas to be won by [[Alf Landon]] in 1936,<ref>[http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1936.htm Geographie Electorale]</ref> [[Wendell Willkie]] in 1940, [[Charles Evans Hughes]] in 1916, and even [[Calvin Coolidge]] in 1924. Since the Civil War the only Democrats to gain an absolute majority of Newton County's vote have been [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in 1932 and [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1976.<ref>Menendez, Albert J.; ''The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States'', 1868-2004, pp. 149-153 {{ISBN|0786422173}}</ref> In [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]], the [[Party for Socialism and Liberation|Socialism and Liberation]] candidate, [[Gloria La Riva]], had the notable achievement of winning the precinct of Murray, ahead of major party candidates [[Barack Obama]] and [[John McCain]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ark.org/arelections/index.php?ac:show:trackit=1&add=1&elecid=181&contestid=6&countyid=51&pollid=15|title = Arkansas Secretary of State}}</ref> The Republican nominee has received over sixty percent in all Presidential elections from 2000 to 2020 inclusive.<ref>[http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html?scp=1&sq=%22election%20map&st=cse The New York Times electoral map (Zoom in on Arkansas)]</ref> In 2016, Newton County voted over 76 percent for [[Donald Trump]], while [[Hillary Clinton]] received just 18 percent.

The county is in [[Arkansas's 1st congressional district]], which from [[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction]] until 2010 sent only Democrats to the U.S. House. That year, it elected Republican [[Rick Crawford (politician)|Rick Crawford]], who currently holds the seat as to date. In the [[Arkansas House of Representatives]] Newton County is represented by Steven Walker.
The state senator, [[Missy Irvin|Missy Thomas Irvin]], is also a Republican.
{{PresHead|place=Newton 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|3,063|644|63|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|3,192|709|97|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|2,875|699|179|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|2,508|993|160|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|2,588|1,182|190|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|2,779|1,506|93|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|2,529|1,205|193|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|1,927|1,631|596|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|1,730|1,765|649|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|2,504|1,489|46|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|2,749|1,414|10|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|2,423|1,436|174|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|1,611|1,840|0|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|1,924|831|0|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|1,467|852|567|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|1,357|1,374|38|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|1,814|844|29|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|1,481|832|3|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|1,728|1,107|3|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|879|848|21|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|934|710|6|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|1,392|1,202|24|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1936|Republican|1,053|938|0|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|540|941|29|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|1,316|533|8|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|578|298|68|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|828|486|60|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|675|550|0|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|285|290|247|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|582|377|40|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|645|280|17|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|690|443|3|Arkansas}}
{{PresFoot|1896|Republican|733|659|12|Arkansas}}