Mike Ross (politician)

Mike Ross
Official portrait, 2011
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arkansas's 4th district
In office
January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2013
Preceded byJay Dickey
Succeeded byTom Cotton
Personal details
Born
Michael Avery Ross

(1961-08-02) August 2, 1961 (age 63)
Texarkana, Arkansas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
Holly Hempen
(m. 1983; div. 2021)
Krystal H. Thrailkill
(m. 2022)
Children2
EducationUniversity of Arkansas at Little Rock (BA)
Signature

Michael Avery Ross (born August 2, 1961) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. representative for Arkansas's 4th congressional district from 2001 to 2013 and was his party's nominee for governor of Arkansas in 2014. He is currently the last Democrat to have represented Arkansas in the House of Representatives. He was also a member of the Arkansas Senate from 1991 to 2001, a member of the Nevada County Quorum Court from 1983 to 1985, and a small business owner.

On July 25, 2011, Ross announced that he would not seek reelection to the House in 2012.[1] He instead became the Democratic nominee for governor of Arkansas in the general election scheduled for November 4, 2014. He faced the Republican nominee, former U.S. Representative Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas's 3rd congressional district, who had previously lost the 2006 gubernatorial election to Democrat Mike Beebe.[2] Ross lost to Hutchinson, ending his undefeated electoral streak.

Ross is an officer and senior vice president at Little Rock-based Southwest Power Pool, which manages the electric grid and operates the wholesale electric market for all or parts of 14 states.[3]

  1. ^ Millman, Joel; Glueck, Katie. "Two Democrats Bow Out of Re-Election Bids," Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2011.
  2. ^ "Arkansas Primary Election Results, May 20, 2014". KATV. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  3. ^ Michael Avery Ross "Arkansas Encyclopedia", April 13, 2016.