James Ray "Jim" Caldwell | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Arkansas Senate from the 9th (then Benton and Carroll counties) district | |
| In office January 1, 1969 – December 31, 1978 | |
| Preceded by | Russell Elrod |
| Succeeded by | Kim Hendren |
| Chair of the Arkansas Republican Party | |
| In office March 1973 – December 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Charles T. Bernard |
| Succeeded by | Lynn Lowe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1936 Dardanelle, Yell County Arkansas, U.S. |
| Spouse | Laferne Muller Caldwell |
| Children | Four daughters |
| Residence(s) | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Alma mater | Central High School (Tulsa) Harding University |
| Occupation | Minister; After-dinner speaker |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Air Force |
James Ray Caldwell, known as Jim R. Caldwell (born 1936), is a retired Church of Christ minister in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was a Republican member of the Arkansas State Senate from 1969 to 1978, the first member of his party to sit in the legislative upper chamber in the 20th century. His first two years as a senator corresponded with the second two-year term of Winthrop Rockefeller, the first Republican governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. Caldwell was closely allied with Rockefeller during the 1969-1970 legislative sessions.