Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin has been elected Arkansas' new lieutenant governor.
Griffin defeated Democrat John Burkhalter and Libertarian Chris Olson in Tuesday's contest. The two-term congressman succeeds former Lt. Gov. Mark Darr, who resigned earlier this year amid an ethics investigation.
Griffin opted not to run for re-election to Congress, saying he wanted to spend more time in Little Rock with his family. He entered the lieutenant governor's race in February after Darr's resignation.
The congressman was on the House Ways and Means Committee, becoming the first Republican from Arkansas to serve on the tax-writing panel.
Griffin says creating jobs will be his key priority as lieutenant governor. He says Arkansas needs to revamp its laws and policies to make them more business-friendly to attract companies to the state.
