Mike Beebe (D)

Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe handily defeated Republican Asa Hutchinson to give Democrats control of the governorship. Beebe replaces Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), who was term-limited and in office since 1996. Beebe, 59, is a veteran politician who has been in public office for 24 years. Hutchinson, a former congressman and Department of Homeland Security official, was the first opponent Beebe had ever faced.

The race was the most expensive in state history, with the candidates spending a combined $8.8 million and each drawing campaign visits from such party luminaries as former president Bill Clinton and President Bush.

Beebe promised to phase out the state's 6-cent tax on groceries and expand pre-kindergarten programs. He also tried to neutralize any advantage Hutchinson had with conservative voters in a state that has trended Republican in recent years by proclaiming his support for gun and property rights and for reinstating a state law banning gay foster parents.