Joseph K. Wood

Joseph Wood was born in Chicago.^[1] He was abandoned as a newborn and lived in an orphanage until his adoption. He is the author of a book series about a child who is adopted.^[2] He graduated from Iowa State University in 1987 and Ecclesia College in 2016.^[1]

In 2008, Wood lost a campaign to be state party chair of the Arkansas Republican Party to Doyle Webb.^[3] He was elected Washington County judge in 2016 and reelected in 2018.^[2] He was the first Black judge elected in Arkansas.^{[citation needed]} He lost the Republican primary in the 2022 Arkansas lieutenant gubernatorial election, placing fourth with 8.60% of the vote.^[1] During the campaign, he describes himself as a Conservative Republican.^[4]

In January 2023, he was appointed Secretary of Transformation & Shared Services in Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' cabinet.^[3] In August 2023, he was elected chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party.^[5] He was replaced in Huckabee's cabinet by Aide Fisken in September 2023.^[6] In June 2024, Wood was replaced as chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party convention for a day by Saline County attorney Jennifer Lancaster in a rejection of party leadership.^[7] Wood served as a presidential elector for the 3rd congressional district, pledged to vote for Donald Trump.^[8] In 2025 Wood was appointed to the seven-member Black History Commission of Arkansas; his term ends in 2026.^[9]