2012 marked turning point for Arkansas Republicans

— The very bad year for Arkansas Democrats ended on an equally gloomy note.

Attorney General and gubernatorial hopeful Dustin McDaniel’s admission of an extramarital relationship with a Hot Springs attorney marked another low point in 2012 for a party that saw its legislative majority and sole congressional seat wiped out in an election by Republicans.

After all the votes were counted, Republicans held 51 of the 100 seats in the House and 21 of the 35 seats in the Senate. It marked the first time that Republicans controlled the House and Senate since Reconstruction and ended Arkansas’ place as the only former Confederate state where Democrats held the Legislature and the governor’s office.

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