Darr narrowly won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in 2010. He defeated subsequent State Representative Donnie Copeland of North Little Rock, 64,883 votes (51.9 percent) to 60,072 votes (48.1 percent).[3]
Darr was elected Lieutenant Governor on November 2, 2010, the youngest Republican to date to win a statewide race in his state. Prior to the election, he had never before run for public office.
On August 12, 2013, Darr announced his candidacy for Arkansas's 4th congressional district.[4] He ended his candidacy after questions were raised about campaign expenditures during his 2010 campaign for lieutenant governor.[5] On August 29, 2013, Darr ended his campaign for Congress.[6]
Scandal and resignation
In late November 2013, questions of ethics violations arose after Darr reportedly filed incorrect and misleading campaign financial disclosure statements.[7] Darr maintained his innocence, but state Democrats and fellow Republicans threatened impeachment proceedings if Darr did not step down.
An ethics commission accused Darr of breaking the Arkansas Code eleven times and using approximately $31,572.74 from his campaign funds for personal expenses. On December 30, 2013, he signed a letter stating he would pay the state's $11,000 Ethics Commission fine but maintained his mistakes were unintentional. Darr announced on January 10, 2014 that he would resign from his office effective February 1, 2014.[8][9]
Darr failed to officially notify GovernorMike Beebe, a Democrat, that he was resigning. Beebe was the only constitutional officer who could declare the office vacant. Darr did forward copies to Republican elected state officials. He did not immediately pay the $11,000 Ethics Commission fine, but according to The Baxter Bulletin, local officials have said he will "pay soon".[10] Darr and his wife filed for bankruptcy in June 2015.[11][12]
^http://www.arktimes.com, Lt. Gov. Mark Darr accepts $11,000 fine for multiple ethics law violations; blames "recordkeeping" By Max Brantley on Mon, December 30, 2013, [1]
