From the Arkansas Advocate:
A state senator plans to step down to join Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office, the state’s top lawyer announced Friday.
Republican Sen. Ben Gilmore of Crossett will join Griffin’s office on July 1 as a senior advisor, a release said. It was unclear when Gilmore’s resignation would take effect.
“Ben’s extensive experience dealing with numerous public policy issues at the state and federal level gives him unique insights and will be a force multiplier for our office,” Griffin said.
With Gilmore’s resignation, Republicans will hold a 28-6 majority in the state Senate.
The soon-to-be-former senator is currently the co-chair of the Arkansas Legislative Council and the chair of the Senate Children and Youth Committee. He said he was “thrilled and deeply grateful” for the opportunity to join Griffin’s office in the statement.
Since his 2020 election, Gilmore sponsored several pieces of legislation targeting the state’s incarceration system. He was a critic of the Arkansas Board of Corrections and what he and other Republicans called “catch and release” policies while a member of the Senate.
Gilmore was also the lead sponsor of the Protect Arkansas Act, a 2023 truth-in-sentencing law that lengthened sentences for many felonies and for repeat offenders, while also requiring people convicted of certain crimes to serve more of their imposed sentences before becoming eligible for parole. Gilmore was Griffin’s communications director and deputy chief of staff during his stint as lieutenant governor.
Griffin, a Republican former congressman, was first elected attorney general in 2022 and is running unopposed for reelection.
The second-term senator — who has self-identified as someone who is passionate about recidivism issues — has also argued that more needed to be done to support incarcerated people and help them stay out of prison after being released.
He collaborated with Democratic Sen. Clarke Tucker on legislation targeting the high number of offenders returning to incarceration that has driven prison population growth and they served together on the state’s Recidivism Reduction Task Force.
“Some things shouldn’t be partisan issues,” he told the Arkansas Advocate last year of his legislative work with Tucker. “The programming in the prisons are not meeting the needs.”
Gilmore represents Arkansas Senate District 1, which contains all of Ashley, Bradley, Chicot and Cleveland Counties as well as parts of Drew, Grant, Jefferson and Lincoln Counties. State law prohibits those elected to a constitutional office from taking a job with a state agency while in office.
When asked for further comment, Gilmore referred the Advocate to the statement released by Griffin’s office.
When asked if a special election to fill Gilmore’s seat would be held prior to the start of the 2027 legislative session, Sam Dubke, a spokesperson for Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said her office did not have anything to share yet.
Gilmore is the brother of Jon Gilmore, who was a deputy chief of staff for former Gov. Asa Hutchinson and is the owner of the Gilmore Davis Barker Group, a lobbying and campaign strategy firm.
