Matthew Shepherd (Arkansas)
2023 - Present
2025
2
Matthew Shepherd (Republican Party) is a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, representing District 97. He assumed office on January 9, 2023.
Shepherd (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Arkansas House of Representatives to represent District 97. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Shepherd was elected speaker of the House in March 2018 to replace former Rep. Jeremy Gillam (R). Shepherd was sworn into the office on June 15, 2018.[1] On April 24, 2020, Shepherd was unanimously re-elected as speaker-designate of the House for the legislative session beginning in 2021.[2]
Prior to becoming speaker of the House, Shepherd served two terms as the chairman of the Arkansas House Judiciary Committee. For more on his committee assignments, click here.
In a January 2019 interview with Talk Business & Politics, Shepherd said he planned to work closely with the governor and the Senate Majority Leader Jim Hendren. He also said one of his main goals was to pass ethics reform legislation.[3]
Biography
Matthew Shepherd was born in El Dorado, Arkansas. Shepherd graduated from El Dorado High School in 1994. He earned a B.A. in history and political science from Ouachita Baptist University in 1998 and a J.D. from the University of Arkansas in 2001.[4]
Shepherd's career experience includes working as an attorney. He has served as the president of the El Dorado Boys & Girls Club Alumni Association and on the boards of the Arkansas Baptist Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado, and El Dorado Fifty for the Future.[4]
Committee assignments
2023-2024
Shepherd was assigned to the following committees:
- House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee
- Public Transportation Committee
- Joint Budget Committee
2021-2022
Shepherd was assigned to the following committees:
- House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee
- House Judiciary Committee
- House Management Committee
- Joint Budget Committee
2019-2020
Shepherd was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Budget Committee
- Legislative Printing Requirements and Specifications Committee
- House City, County and Local Affairs Committee
- House Judiciary Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development |
| • Judiciary, Chair |
| • Joint Budget |
| • Joint Budget |
| • Joint Energy |
| • Joint Energy |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Shepherd served on the following committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development |
| • Judiciary, Chair |
| • Joint Budget |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Shepherd served on the following committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development, Chair |
| • Joint Budget |
| • Joint Energy |
| • Judiciary |
| • Lottery Commission Legislative Oversight |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Shepherd served on these committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development |
| • Lottery Commission Legislative Oversight |
| • Joint Energy |
| • Judiciary |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: Arkansas House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 97
Incumbent Matthew Shepherd defeated O'Dell Carr in the general election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 97 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Matthew Shepherd (R) | 69.5 | 7,876 | |
| O'Dell Carr (D) | 30.5 | 3,456 | ||
| Total votes: 11,332 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 97
O'Dell Carr advanced from the Democratic primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 97 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | O'Dell Carr | |
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 97
Incumbent Matthew Shepherd advanced from the Republican primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 97 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Matthew Shepherd | |
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Shepherd in this election.
2022
See also: Arkansas House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 97
Incumbent Matthew Shepherd won election in the general election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 97 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Matthew Shepherd (R) | 100.0 | 9,896 | |
| Total votes: 9,896 | ||||
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Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Matthew Shepherd advanced from the Republican primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 97.
2020
See also: Arkansas House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 6
Incumbent Matthew Shepherd won election in the general election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 6 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Matthew Shepherd (R) | 100.0 | 11,610 | |
| Total votes: 11,610 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Matthew Shepherd advanced from the Republican primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 6.
2018
General election
The general election was canceled. Incumbent Matthew Shepherd won election in the general election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 6.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 6
Incumbent Matthew Shepherd advanced from the Republican primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 6 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Matthew Shepherd | |
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2016
Ballotpedia's analysis revealed that only 42 of the 100 seats up for election in 2016 involved competition between Democrats and Republicans. This made it numerically impossible for Democrats to take control of either Arkansas legislative chamber in 2016.
The reason for the low competition was that candidates were in safe districts for their parties. Between 1972 and 2014, an upward trend in uncontested state legislative elections occurred.
The Democratic Party of Arkansas focused its 2016 efforts on the state’s House of Representatives. Without the numbers to win the state Senate, H.L. Moody, communications director for the Democratic Party of Arkansas, told Ballotpedia that the party’s goal was to “start building back where we can,” beginning with the House.
Ballotpedia spoke to political analyst Richard Winger, who said that the early primary deadline for the 2016 elections was a possible factor as well, making it difficult for Democrats to recruit candidates early.
The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing period began at noon local time on November 2, 2015, and ended at noon local time on November 9, 2015.[5]
Incumbent Matthew Shepherd ran unopposed in the Arkansas House of Representatives District 6 general election.[6]
| Arkansas House of Representatives, District 6 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican |  Matthew Shepherd Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Arkansas Secretary of State | ||
Incumbent Matthew Shepherd ran unopposed in the Arkansas House of Representatives District 6 Republican Primary.[7][8]
| Arkansas House of Representatives, District 6 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Matthew Shepherd Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Arkansas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014; a runoff election took place where necessary on June 10, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 3, 2014. Incumbent Matthew Shepherd was unopposed in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[9][10]
2012
Shepherd ran for re-election in the 2012 election for Arkansas House of Representatives, District 6. Shepherd ran unopposed in the May 22 Republican primary and defeated Peter Sam Cyphers]] (I) in the November 6, 2012 general election as well.[11][12][13]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Matthew Shepherd Incumbent |
82.4% | 10,051 | |
| Independent | Peter Sam Cyphers | 17.6% | 2,149 | |
| Total Votes | 12,200 | |||
2010
Shepherd defeated Ken Bridges in the November 2 general election.[14]
| Arkansas House of Representatives, District 6 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Matthew Shepherd (R)
|
4,780 | |||
| Ken Bridges (D) | 2,074 | |||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Matthew Shepherd did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Matthew Shepherd did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Matthew Shepherd did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Arkansas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 9 to May 1.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from February 14 to March 15.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 11 to October 15.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from April 8 to April 24.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 14 through April 24.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from February 12 through March 12. The legislature held a special session from March 13 to March 15.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the 91st Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 9 through May 1. The Legislature held a special session from May 1 to May 3.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the 90th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from April 13 through May 9. The Legislature held a three-day special session from April 6 to April 8 over healthcare. The Legislature held a second special session from May 19 to May 23 over transportation.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 90th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 12 through April 2.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Arkansas General Assembly was in session from February 10 to March 20. Ballotpedia staff did not find any state legislative scorecards published for this state in 2014. If you are aware of one, please contact editor@ballotpedia.org to let us know. |
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 89th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 14 through May 17.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Arkansas General Assembly was in session from February 13 to March 13. Ballotpedia staff did not find any state legislative scorecards published for this state in 2012. If you are aware of one, please contact editor@ballotpedia.org to let us know. |
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the 88th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 10 to April 27.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Shepherd and his wife, Alie, have three children.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Arkansas House of Representatives District 97 |
Officeholder Arkansas House of Representatives District 97 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Arkansas Times, "Shepherd becomes House Speaker; defers ethics rule change questions," June 15, 2018
- ↑ Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, "Arkansas House Speaker Matthew Shepherd re-elected," April 24, 2020
- ↑ Talk Business & Politics, "Pragmatic approach: Senate President Jim Hendren & Speaker of the House Matthew Shepherd lead the 92nd General Assembly," January 30, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Arkansas House of Representatives, "Matthew J. Shepherd," accessed April 4, 2023
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2016 Election Dates," accessed November 17, 2015
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election and Nonpartisan Runoff Election," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Candidate Information," accessed July 25, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Results," accessed April 19, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Candidate Information," accessed March 5, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 26, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Election Results 2012," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2012 Election candidates," March 8, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official election results," accessed December 13, 2013
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Ballotpedia, "Arkansas's Freedom Scorecard," accessed July 10, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Harlan Breaux (R) |
Arkansas House of Representatives District 97 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Arkansas House of Representatives District 6 2011-2023 |
Succeeded by Harlan Breaux (R) |
