Mathew W. "Mat" Pitsch (born ) is an American politician who most recently served as a member of the

Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

from the 8th district. Elected in November 2018, he was in office from January 14, 2019 to January 9, 2023. Pitsch was a 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 ...

from 2015 to 2019.

Early life and education

Pitsch was born in

Buffalo, Wyoming Buffalo is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 4,415 at the 2020 census, down from 4,585 at the 2010 census. The city had experienced an economic boom due to methane production from the C ...

and raised in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

. He earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in engineering management from the

Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T or S&T) is a public research university in Rolla, Missouri. It is a member institution of the University of Missouri System. Most of its 6,456 students (2023) study engineering, busin ...

. The university honored Pitsch in 2005, including him among the first inductees into its Academy of Engineering Management.

Career

Prior to entering politics, Pitsch worked as the executive director of Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority and dean of the College of Applied Science and Technology at the

University of Arkansas–Fort Smith The University of Arkansas–Fort Smith (UAFS) is a public university in Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States. Part of the University of Arkansas System, UAFS is the sixth-largest university in Arkansas with a fall 2020 enrollment of approximate ...

. He was elected to the

in November 2018 and assumed office on January 14, 2019. In February 2021, Pitsch declared his candidacy for

treasurer of Arkansas 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 ...

in the 2022 election. He was endorsed by incumbent treasurer

Dennis Milligan Dennis Lee Milligan (born October 24, 1957) is the current Arkansas State Auditor following the 2022 election. He previously served as Treasurer of Arkansas. For that position he won the Republican Party nomination in the primary election on ...

. In the Republican primary, Pitsch lost the nomination nearly 3:1 to Arkansas House representative Mark Lowery. By June 2023, Pitsch became the director of government affairs for the secretary of state's office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitsch, Mathew 1960s births Republican Party Arkansas state senators Living people Missouri University of Science and Technology alumni People from Buffalo, Wyoming People from Fort Smith, Arkansas University of Arkansas–Fort Smith people 21st-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly