Introduction
John M. Thurston (born c. 1973) is the current Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. A Republican, he was first elected in November 2010, taking office in January 2011, and was reelected in November 2014 to a second term.
Thurston was previously a licensed minister and was a Certified Religious Assistant in the Arkansas state prison system. He was the first Republican to be elected as Land Commissioner since the office became elective in 1874. In 2014, Thurston was elected as the president of the Western States Land Commissioners Association; the organization's winter conference was held in Little Rock that year.
Limited to two terms as Commissioner of State Lands, Thurston announced in June 2016 his plans to run for election as Secretary of State of Arkansas in 2018, citing election security, physical security, political accessibility, and redistricting as important issues.
Electoral history
2010 general election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John M. Thurston | 396,263 | 52.68 | |
| Democratic | L.J. Bryant | 355,996 | 47.32 | |
| Voter turnout | 36.17% | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||
2014 general election
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
John Thurston (R) |
Mark Robertson (D) |
Elvis D. Presley (L) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling | October 30–November 1, 2014 | 1,092 | ± 3% | 45% | 36% | 9% | 10% |
| Public Policy Polling | September 18–21, 2014 | 1,453 | ± 2.6% | 38% | 33% | 7% | 22% |
| Public Policy Polling | August 1–3, 2014 | 1,066 | ± 3% | 40% | 29% | 10% | 22% |
| Public Policy Polling | April 25–27, 2014 | 840 | ± 3.4% | 28% | 27% | 17% | 29% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Thurston (Incumbent) | 471,848 | 57.17 | |
| Democratic | Mark Robertson | 302,048 | 36.59 | |
| Libertarian | Elvis D. Presley | 51,518 | 6.24 | |
| Majority | 169,800 | 20.57% | ||
| Total votes | 825,414 | 100 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||