Bart Hester

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

American politician

Preceded byRedistricted

Constituency1st district (2013–2023)
33rd district (2023–present)

BornBart Franklin Hester
(1977-12-09) December 9, 1977 (age 48)

Bart Hester
Hester in 2019

President pro tempore of the Arkansas Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office January 9, 2023
Preceded by	Jimmy Hickey
Member of the Arkansas Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 2013
Preceded by	Redistricted
Constituency	1st district (2013–2023) 33rd district (2023–present)

Personal details
Born	Bart Franklin Hester (1977-12-09) December 9, 1977 (age 48) Cave Springs, Arkansas, U.S.
Party	Republican
Children	4
Education	University of Arkansas (BS)

Bart Franklin Hester (born December 9, 1977)^[1] is an American politician serving as a member of the Arkansas Senate from the 33rd district and a Republican. A real estate agent and former baseball player, has served since 2013, and was nominated president pro tempore of the Senate for the 94th Arkansas General Assembly.

A native of Conway, Arkansas, Hester graduated from Green Forest High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. For three years, Hester played on the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team.^[2]

Career

Since 2005, Hester has worked as a real estate agent. He was elected to the Arkansas Senate in November 2012 and assumed office on January 14, 2013.^[3] From 2013 to 2015, Hester served as vice chair of the House Children and Youth Committee. During the 2017 legislative session, he served as chair of the House Public Retirement and Social Security Programs Committee. Since 2021, Hester has served as chair of the House Senate Efficiency Committee. Hester has also served as majority leader of the Senate.^[4] In 2022, Hester was chosen as President Pro Tempore for the 2023 session.^[5]

On May 1st, 2024, Hester accused former Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Chris Jones of taking a “Pro Hamas Terrorist” position.^[6] Jones sued Hester for defamation, but dropped the lawsuit in 2025.^[7]

In 2025, after the University of Arkansas hired law professor Emily Suski as the dean of its law school, Hester led a group of legislators in threatening to withhold the university's funding after it was revealed that Suski had submitted an amicus bief to the United States Supreme Court in support of allowing transgender female athletes to compete in the same competitions as cisgender women. This led to Suski's offer being rescinded.^[8]^[9]^[10]

References

↑ "Arkansas State Sen. Bart Hester - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
↑ "Bart Hester". Arkansas Senate. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
↑ "Bart Hester's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
↑ "Bart Hester". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
↑ Wickline, Michael R. (2023-01-09). "Arkansas Senate elects Hester as president pro tempore; Shepherd elected House speaker for 3rd time". Arkansas Online. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
↑ "Former Arkansas governor candidate suing Arkansas Senate president pro tempore for defamation". KNWA FOX24. 2024-05-09. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
↑ Campbell, Matt (1 May 2025). "Chris Jones drops defamation lawsuit over 'Hamas' tweet from Sen. Bart Hester". Arkansas Times. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
↑ It's the New York Times. Choke, autocite. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/us/politics/university-of-arkansas-dean-emily-suski-transgender.html. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
↑ "Hester says he urged University of Arkansas to rescind offer to Emily Suski over transgender athlete stance | Arkansas Democrat Gazette". www.arkansasonline.com. 2026-01-15. Retrieved 2026-01-15.
↑ "State rep claims U of A law school dean had offer revoked due to stance on trans athletes". 5newsonline.com. 2026-01-14. Retrieved 2026-01-15.

Arkansas Senate

Preceded by

Jimmy Hickey

President pro tempore of the Arkansas Senate
2023–present

Incumbent

v t e Statewide elected officials and legislative leaders of Arkansas
U. S. senators	John Boozman Tom Cotton
State government	Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Governor Leslie Rutledge, Lieutenant Governor Cole Jester, Secretary of State Tim Griffin, Attorney General John Thurston, Treasurer Dennis Milligan, Auditor Tommy Land, Land Commissioner
Senate	Leslie Rutledge, President Bart Hester, President pro tempore Blake Johnson, Majority Leader Greg Leding, Minority Leader
House	Brian S. Evans, Speaker Vacant, Speaker pro tempore Howard Beaty, Majority Leader Andrew Collins, Minority Leader
Supreme Court	Karen R. Baker, Chief Justice Courtney Rae Hudson Rhonda K. Wood Shawn Womack Barbara Womack Webb J. Cody Hiland Nicholas Bronni, Associate Justices

v t e Presidents of state senates
United States Senate: ▌JD Vance (R), ▌Chuck Grassley (R)
AL ▌Ainsworth (R), ▌Gudger (R) AK ▌Stevens (R) AZ ▌Petersen (R), ▌Shope (R) AR ▌Rutledge (R), ▌Hester (R) CA ▌Kounalakis (D), ▌Limón (D) CO ▌Coleman (D), ▌Kipp (D) CT ▌Bysiewicz (D), ▌Looney (D) DE ▌Gay (D), ▌Sokola (D) FL ▌Albritton (R), ▌Brodeur (R) GA ▌Jones (R), ▌Walker (R) HI ▌Kouchi (D) ID ▌Bedke (R), ▌Anthon (R) IL ▌Harmon (D), ▌Cunningham (D) IN ▌Beckwith (R), ▌Bray (R) IA ▌Sinclair (R), ▌Rozenboom (R) KS ▌Masterson (R) KY ▌Stivers (R), ▌Givens (R) LA ▌Henry (R), ▌Barrow (D) ME ▌Daughtry (D) MD ▌Ferguson (D), ▌Augustine (D) MA ▌Spilka (D), ▌Brownsberger (D) MI ▌Gilchrist (D), ▌Moss (D) MN ▌Champion (DFL), ▌Rest (DFL) MS ▌Hosemann (R), ▌Kirby (R) MO ▌Wasinger (R), ▌O'Laughlin (R) MT ▌Regier (R), ▌Bogner (R) NE ▌Kelly (R), ▌Arch (R)* NV ▌Anthony (R), ▌Dondero Loop (D) NH ▌Carson (R), ▌Abbas (R) NJ ▌Scutari (D), ▌Turner (D) NM ▌Morales (D), ▌Stewart (D) NY ▌Delgado (D), ▌Stewart-Cousins (D) NC ▌Hunt (D), ▌Berger (R) ND ▌Strinden (R), ▌Bekkedahl (R) OH ▌McColley (R), ▌Reineke (R) OK ▌Pinnell (R), ▌Paxton (R) OR ▌Wagner (D), ▌Manning (D) PA ▌Davis (D), ▌Ward (R) RI ▌Lawson (D), ▌Gallo (D) SC ▌Alexander (R) SD ▌Venhuizen (R), ▌Karr (R) TN ▌McNally (R), ▌Haile (R) TX ▌Patrick (R), ▌Perry (R) UT ▌Adams (R) VT ▌Rodgers (R), ▌Baruth (D) VA ▌Hashmi (D), ▌Lucas (D) WA ▌Heck (D), ▌Conway (D) WV ▌Smith (R), ▌Taylor (R) WI ▌Felzkowski (R), ▌Testin (R) WY ▌Biteman (R) Federal districts: DC ▌Mendelson (D), ▌Bonds (D) Territories:** AS ▌Fruean (I) GU ▌Blas (D)* MP ▌King-Nabors (R) PR ▌Rivera Schatz (NPP/R), ▌Ríos (NPP/D) VI ▌Potter (D)*
Italics indicate presidents pro tempore *Unicameral body

v t e Members of the Arkansas Senate
94th General Assembly (2023) President of the Senate Leslie Rutledge (R) President pro tempore Bart Hester (R) Majority Leader Blake Johnson (R) Minority Leader Greg Leding (D)
▌Ben Gilmore (R) ▌Matt Stone (R) ▌Steve Crowell (R) ▌Jimmy Hickey Jr. (R) ▌Terry Rice (R) ▌Matt McKee (R) ▌Alan Clark (R) ▌Stephanie Flowers (D) ▌Reginald Murdock (D) ▌Ron Caldwell (R) ▌Ricky Hill (R) ▌Linda Chesterfield (D) ▌Jane English (R) ▌Clarke Tucker (D) ▌Fredrick Love (D) ▌Kim Hammer (R) ▌Mark Johnson (R) ▌Jonathan Dismang (R) ▌David Wallace (R) ▌Dan Sullivan (R) ▌Blake Johnson (R) ▌John Payton (R) ▌Scott Flippo (R) ▌Missy Irvin (R) ▌Breanne Davis (R) ▌Brad Simon (R) ▌Justin Boyd (R) ▌Bryan King (R) ▌Jim Petty (R) ▌Greg Leding (D) ▌Clint Penzo (R) ▌Joshua P. Bryant (R) ▌Bart Hester (R) ▌Jim Dotson (R) ▌Tyler Dees (R)
Majority caucus: ▌Republican (29) Minority caucus: ▌Democratic (6) Arkansas General Assembly House Senate List of past assemblies

Bart Hester

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