Bill Halter
Bill Halter 14th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas In office January 9, 2007 – January 11, 2011 Governor Mike Beebe Preceded by Winthrop Paul Rockefeller Succeeded by Mark Darr Personal details Born (1960-11-30) November 30, 1960 (age 54) North Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. Political party Democratic Alma mater Stanford University St John's College, Oxford Religion Roman Catholicism William A. "Bill" Halter (born November 30, 1960) was the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to succeed the late Republican Winthrop Paul Rockefeller in 2006, defeating Republican challenger Jim Holt by a margin of 57%–43%.[citation needed] Before his election as lieutenant governor, Halter served as the Deputy Commissioner (1999–2001) and Acting Commissioner (2001) of the Social Security Administration. He previously worked as a senior adviser in the Office of Management and Budget from 1993 to 1999. A native of North Little Rock, he is a graduate of Stanford University and Oxford University.[citation needed] He unsuccessfully challenged two-term incumbent Blanche Lincoln for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, losing in the June 8, 2010 runoff after neither won a majority in the May primary. After the bruising primary, Lincoln lost to her Republican opponent John Boozman in the general election. Halter ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Arkansas in 2014 but dropped out, citing concerns over a divisive primary hurting Democratic chances for the seat, which had not been a concern in 2010.