Robert Wayne Tullis (born 1950/51) is an American politician of the Libertarian Party. He is a former mayor of

Mineral Springs, Arkansas Mineral Springs is a city in Howard County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,208 at the 2010 census. Geography Mineral Springs is located in southern Howard County at (33.876358, -93.918599). Arkansas Highway 27 runs through the ...

, serving from 2015 to 2019, and a former member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

, serving from 1979 until 1993.

Biography

Tullis was born to Denzil Tullis and Nina Whitmore Tullis. He served in the House from 1979 until 1993 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, representing the 86th district, which comprised parts of

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

and Sevier counties. In 1994, Tullis mounted a campaign for

Arkansas State Auditor The Arkansas state auditor (formally known as the auditor of state) is a constitutional officer within the executive branch of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Thirty-five individuals have occupied the office of state auditor since statehood. The incu ...

, losing narrowly in the Democratic primary to Gus Wingfield. In 2010, he was the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

nominee for

Arkansas State Treasurer The treasurer of Arkansas acts as the head banker for the State of Arkansas, handling deposits, withdrawals, redemptions of state warrants, and investments of state funds. The position was created in 1819 when Arkansas became a Territory (countr ...

, losing to Democratic incumbent Martha Shoffner. The same year, Tullis ran for mayor of Mineral Springs. While he finished in first place with 46% of the vote, since he did not attain a majority a runoff election was necessary, which he lost. In 2012, Tullis ran for

Arkansas's 4th congressional district Arkansas's 4th congressional district is a congressional district located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Notable towns in the district include Camden, Arkansas, Camden, Hope, Arkansas, Hope, Hot Springs, Arkansas, Hot ...

. After initially exploring a run as a Republican and Libertarian, he later endorsed Republican candidate Beth Anne Rankin. Tullis later decided to run as a Libertarian as Rankin failed to win the Republican nomination. He lost to Republican

Tom Cotton Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician and United States Army, Army veteran serving since 2015 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Arkansas. A memb ...

. In 2014, Tullis unsuccessfully sought the Libertarian nomination for Treasurer. That same year, he was elected mayor of Mineral Springs. He chose not to seek re-election in 2018. Tullis was the only Libertarian holding elected office in Arkansas during his time as mayor of Mineral Springs.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tullis, Bobby 1950s births Arkansas Democrats Arkansas Greens Arkansas Libertarians Candidates in the 1994 United States elections Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Candidates in the 2012 United States elections Libertarian Party (United States) officeholders Mayors of places in Arkansas Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives People from Howard County, Arkansas Living people 20th-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly