Arkansas physician plans run for office

Bledsoe to seek state’s No. 2 job

Dr. Gregory Bledsoe, Arkansas surgeon general, is shown in this file photo.
Dr. Gregory Bledsoe, Arkansas surgeon general, is shown in this file photo.

The state's surgeon general, Greg Bledsoe of Little Rock, announced Thursday that he is running for lieutenant governor next year.

He is the second candidate to announce his bid for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in 2022. In August 2019, state Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, announced his plans for the post.

Bledsoe described himself as the most conservative candidate in the race. Rapert said he looks forward to contrasting his conservative record with Bledsoe's record of advising on the state's response to the covid-19 pandemic.

The lieutenant governor's position is considered to be part time. The annual salary is $45,344 this year.

"I am a physician, not a politician, and I do not see this campaign as a 'next step' in a political career," Bledsoe said in a written statement. "We need fresh ideas and new faces in our Capitol, not a revolving door of the same names and candidates for every office."

Bledsoe, whose mother is Sen. Cecile Bledsoe, R-Rogers, has served as surgeon general since 2015 under Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson. He said he plans to continue serving in that job while he's a candidate.

He is the medical director of the Emergency Department at St. Mary's Regional Medical Center in Russellville. He also is a strategic adviser with New Road Capital Partners and the founder of ExpedMed, a medical education company focused on expedition medicine, according to his campaign website. He is married with three daughters.

Bledsoe, 47, said he has spent 20 years working in busy emergency departments and "doing global health in the most remote and austere regions of the world."

"I believe deep and substantial private sector experience is a much better preparation for elected office than being a politician," he said. "Politicians politic. The private sector know how to get things done."

Bledsoe described himself as "the most conservative candidate in this race.

"I am not the most flamboyant, or the most bombastic, or the most dramatic, but I am definitely the most conservative," he said.

Bledsoe said he is "pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, Christian" and favors small government and low taxes.

"I strongly believe entrepreneurship and innovation are the keys to our continued success as a state, not bureaucracy and government regulation," he said.

Bledsoe said he is running for lieutenant governor because he believes "we are leaving significant opportunity on the table as a state."

In response, Rapert said he welcomes Bledsoe to the race.

"I look forward to differentiating my conservative record of protecting Arkansas consumers, promoting our state's energy resources, cutting taxes to help Arkansas families, fighting for our religious freedoms, and protecting the unborn with his record as Surgeon General advising on the state's response to COVID, including the use of certain therapies, business closures, and expenditure of CARES Act tax dollars," Rapert said in a written statement.

Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, also is considering running for lieutenant governor next year.

"I'm focused on [the current legislative] session and expect to make a decision after we adjourn. I do not have [a] specific timeline."

The current lieutenant governor -- Republican Tim Griffin of Little Rock -- has served in the position since 2015 and is barred from seeking reelection under the state's term-limits amendment.

Griffin is one of three announced Republican candidates for governor in 2022. The two others are Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a former press secretary to then-President Donald Trump.

Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Sulphur Springs, has said he's considering running for governor next year. Sanders is the daughter of former Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee and Hendren is a nephew of Hutchinson.

Hutchinson has been governor since 2015 and is barred from seeking reelection under term limits.

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