Joe Purcell: I love this state. I think Arkansas is a state of opportunities. We have great potential, and anything I can do as a private citizen or whatever I am, my real objective is to work to make this state reach the potential that I feel that we have in Arkansas.
Kyle Kellams: Okay. It is Monday.
Randy Dixon: Yes.
Kellams: You are Randy Dixon.
Dixon: Yes.
Kellams: You are from the Pryor Center.
Dixon: Yes.
Kellams: We are continuing our series on modern-era Arkansas governors.
Dixon: Yes, yes and yes.
Kellams: But that is a voice that may not be familiar to folks.
Dixon: Probably not. You know, we’ve been doing all the governors, and this one was only governor for six days.
Kellams: We thought we had the shortest reign a couple of weeks ago when we talked about Bob Riley for 11 days.
Dixon: Eleven days. Yes, this one wins. I don’t know. We have another one coming up that I think may beat that, but that’s a whole different story.
Kellams: A big surprise.
Dixon: Yes. No, this is Joe Purcell. He was well known in Arkansas politics, late ’60s, mid to late ’60s, throughout the ’70s, early ’80s. Really quite a fixture. He was never elected governor, but like we say, he served as governor. He was attorney general for two terms. He was lieutenant governor for three terms.
But we’ll talk a little bit about his background. He was born and raised in Warren, south Arkansas.
Kellams: Bradley County.
Dixon: Bradley County. Yes, sir. He dropped out of high school to join the Army because of World War II and Pearl Harbor. He eventually earned his law degree from here at the UofA Fayetteville law school in 1952 and then lived in Benton, central Arkansas, where he practiced law.
So during his time in Benton, he started in politics by being elected city attorney and then later municipal judge. And then it was in 1966 that he decided to run for a statewide office. And he ended up shocking almost everyone by defeating the incumbent, Bruce Bennett, for the seat of attorney general.
So this first clip I want to run is from KATV, 1966. And they spoke to Purcell on his first day in office.
Purcell: Trying to gather together and acquaint ourselves with the cases now pending in federal court, cases now pending in the Supreme Court, opinions and requests that had come into the office a few days prior to our taking over on.
Reporter: And what are those cases pending in federal court?
Purcell: There’s a number of cases that are pending in the district court, the United States Supreme Court in the Eighth Circuit involving petitions for habeas corpus that has been filed by inmates now being held in the penitentiary.
Kellams: I know we’re talking about Purcell’s short term as governor, but what was his term, his terms as AG? What were they like?
Dixon: He was known as a very, very effective attorney general. During his four terms in office, he focused primarily on consumer protection, corporate accountability and institutional reform as it was laid out by him.
What he did is he established the first consumer protection office within the attorney general’s office. He launched a high-profile legal action against the Arkansas Loan and Thrift Corporation that had been accused of wrongdoing and took on the task of rewriting the state’s election laws to kind of modernize-
Kellams: Wow.
Dixon: The state system. So in those four years, he did a lot. So in 1970, he decided he would take that next step. Actually, it was a little higher step. But here he is announcing for governor in 1970.
Purcell: I therefore am announcing today that in 1970 I shall be a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the office of governor of the state of Arkansas. And I pledge now to the people of this state that as their governor I shall be a working governor. I shall be on the job. I shall bring to the governor’s office the same sense of responsibility, the same efficiency and the same effectiveness that I have brought to the attorney general’s office and to all other offices in which I have served.
Kellams: All right. So we have talked about the 1970 election. It was a crowded field.
Dixon: Boy, was it. Yeah. I mean, there were eight just Democratic candidates in the primary. And that included the former governor, Orval Faubus. There was several legislators in there. It was a complete unknown, Dale Bumpers, who actually caused a stir and forced Faubus into a runoff, which sort of left Purcell, I guess you would call it a show horse. He came in third.
Kellams: Okay.
Dixon: But he decided he needed to make a statement and back one of those two candidates.
Purcell: One of these men will be the Democratic nominee and the next governor of the state of Arkansas. The decision that I must now make is which of these two men will lead Arkansas in the right direction? After having studied the platform of each candidate very carefully, I am convinced that Dale Bumpers more closely shares my views and my convictions.
Kellams: And of course, as we discussed a couple of episodes ago, Dale Bumpers did win.
Dixon: Yes. And he became governor, and Bumpers made Purcell the chair of the state Democratic Party. And then in 1974, that was when Purcell was elected to those three terms as the state’s lieutenant governor.
Purcell: I look forward to it and feel that it will be a challenge, but it’s a challenge that I look with great anticipation to accepting and to working with the Senate, as well as both houses, the House and the Senate, the constitutional officers and the people of Arkansas, as we all work together to improve the quality of our state government.
Kellams: Okay, so we have someone who rolled up his sleeves and was incredibly effective as an attorney general for two terms. Now you have an office that is legendarily bland.
Dixon: Yes.
Kellams: With not much teeth, lieutenant governor. So what happens when someone who really wants to be effective inherits or is elected to an office that doesn’t allow you to do much?
Dixon: Well, you find stuff to do.
Kellams: Okay.
Dixon: And the biggest thing he did, now think about the year. This was 1976, bicentennial. A lot going on in the state. A lot of official activities and ceremonies and things that happen throughout the year. And Gov. Pryor put Purcell in charge of all that. I think the Liberty Bell was brought in, or a replica. There was the bicentennial train that came through the state. So he oversaw all that. That, you know, was a big deal.
But it was at the end of the second term that the lightning kind of struck. Like we discussed, Pryor, who was the outgoing governor, was elected to the Senate, and there was that gap in there. So this is great. Okay. This is live coverage from KATV of Bill Clinton’s inauguration. But keep in mind, Joe Purcell is governor at the time.
Anchor: From my vantage point, Randy Weber, I cannot tell if Gov. Purcell is at the speaker’s.
Randy Weber: Well, I believe he is. He is right now. And that was Gov. Purcell that they introduced moments ago with the shot now by Congressman Alexander. Payne. He fulfilled a boyhood dream by becoming governor. It wasn’t for very long, but it was something he had yearned for for many years.
Purcell: I asked that one of the things that I will not do as an outgoing governor was to make a farewell address. Members of the House and Senate, very dedicated people, and I’m looking forward to another two years of service with these people and for the people of my state. Thank you very much.
Anchor: Gov. Joe Purcell didn’t last long, Randy. His tenure as governor just six days. But one suspects he loved every moment of it.
Dixon: So that was the 1979 inauguration of Bill Clinton. Purcell decided to give one last shot at the governor’s seat 12 years after he had run before. So in 1982, he ran against Bill Clinton.
Kellams: Now, this is interesting, though, because Bill Clinton is not the incumbent at this time.
Dixon: Right. He’s trying to get his seat back.
Kellams: Right. Because you might think, why in the world would you go up against Bill Clinton? But Bill Clinton’s been defeated in 1980.
Dixon: Right. He’s trying to get back in. And then you throw into the mix Jim Guy Tucker, who at the time was the former attorney general and had been a U.S. congressman. So it’s a pretty tough campaign.
Kellams: And because there are some people who think Bill Clinton’s done washed up because he got defeated by Frank White.
Dixon: Yeah. And Purcell was really in the race in there. So let’s listen to this report from Randy Weber, who was following the Purcell campaign at the time.
Weber: Little Rock was one of six places Joe Purcell was flying into today, and into these places he carried copies of his campaign budget. The former lieutenant governor has strong feelings about spending too much money to get elected. When talking about campaign budgets, Purcell did not mention any names, which has been his practice throughout the campaign. In fact, he prides himself on the type of campaign he’s run for governor.
Purcell: I have run the clean campaign I promised I would run on May the 25th. I feel I have set an example in Arkansas politics that a campaign can be run with dignity and responsibility.
Weber: Purcell said he’s planned this race as though he were a long-distance runner. He’s paced himself early for a strong finish in the stretch, and with just over a week left before the primary, this is the stretch. This is Randy Weber reporting for Newsline 7.
Kellams: Now you mentioned it was a race. It was a race.
Dixon: It was a big race. And Purcell, it needs to be pointed out, was ill from diabetes and arthritis during all this and was outspent by both Clinton and Tucker. So let’s listen to this report from KATV’s Tonya Beane. She followed Purcell around for the day before Election Day. So this last-minute campaigning before the runoff.
Tonya Beane: It’s 8 a.m. With coffee and notepad in hand, Joe Purcell greets the reporters who will accompany him on the last leg of his two-and-a-half-month-old campaign. The last jaunt will take in northern Arkansas’ eight largest cities in eight hours, a hectic schedule that leaves little time for socializing.
Joe Purcell, the governor. A Newport crowd of two dozen at 8:30 on Monday morning is to be a good omen for the rest of the day. Small crowds of strong supporters. He repeats his stand on the major issues: employment, truck weights and crime.
At every airport, Purcell calls himself the people’s candidate. There have been no endorsements from special interest groups or former gubernatorial candidates, but he is quick to point out that former Jim Guy Tucker supporters have come over to the Purcell camp.
Purcell: And we’re all working together and going to win a great victory for the people of Arkansas tomorrow.
Kellams: And the Democratic runoff result was pretty close.
Dixon: Yeah. Purcell just lost by 33,000 votes. So, you know, Clinton won and went on to beat White, get his governor’s seat back. But after that defeat, Purcell just went back to Benton and practiced law. He ended up dying with complications from his illnesses in March of 1987.
But when he did die, KATV talked to well-known politicians around the state. So in this clip, you’re going to hear first Gov. Bill Clinton and then state Sen. Max Howell.
Kellams: A heavyweight.
Dixon: State Rep. Lloyd George and then state Supreme Court Chief Justice Jack Holt.
Bill Clinton: He proved that you could be a self-made person and make it in our state’s politics. He was fair. He was progressive. He had an especially good record as attorney general. I think when people go back and read it, they’ll see that he really broke some new ground there, and he never got to be governor. And he wanted to be. But I think for among those people who tried and didn’t, he was able to maintain a more consistent presence in the state’s political life than virtually anybody else. And it was all good.
Max Howell: He, of course, was a real quiet, unassuming type person that was tenacious when he got behind a particular issue and just worked it through to the end. Joe was a hard worker in government.
Lloyd George: Joe was very intelligent, but he was an earthy type. You could sit down and talk and hash over problems, and he could work it out. Joe was a great diplomat, you know. He could get all cleaned up and look nice and make his banquet speeches. But also he was very much down to earth. He was with the man on the street, a very, very personal person.
Jack Holt: He was very gentle, warm and understanding person. He was a person of many good traits. In fact, I can’t think of anything bad about Joe Purcell.
Kellams: They all had good things to say.
Dixon: Yeah. There’s nothing you can say bad about Joe Purcell, except he was criticized. Well, first of all, he was known as Honest Joe, and that was coined by George Fisher, the cartoonist. He would draw him as Honest Joe in a stovepipe hat, like Abe Lincoln. Like Honest Abe.
Kellams: It’s a high compliment.
Dixon: It’s a great compliment. But he was also accused of being stiff and dull, as a matter of fact. Apparently, one newspaper reporter in 1970 stated that a person could fall asleep shaking hands with Joe Purcell, which is just a horrible thing to say.
Kellams: Let me, let me. Okay. So the attributes given to him are honest and dull.
Dixon: Yeah.
Kellams: In 2026, give me honest and dull. Put on your yard sign, honest and dull, and baby, I am voting for you.
Dixon: I am too, yeah.
Kellams: Oh my God. Let’s get back to honest and dull.
Dixon: Yeah.
Kellams: Wouldn’t that be great?
Dixon: Yeah. But he loved the state so much, and he had, you know, the best intentions and did a great job for this state. He just wasn’t flashy, right? You know.
Kellams: That’s okay.
Dixon: Yeah. He was just unassuming and got his job done and did it quite well. I do want to hear one more bit from him. This was his concession speech from 1982, but it really shows how much he loved public service and how much he loved the state of Arkansas.
Purcell: My wife and I are going to still be working for Arkansas and its future. There’s one thing I said when I started it. I feel very strongly about this. I feel like individuals should make some contribution to making this a better world and a happy world for all people.
Arkansas truly is the land of opportunity, and we together can work together, can work hard and make this a great state, a great state for all our people. I think we have truly unlimited opportunities, and whatever role I can play, I will continue to work for my state. I truly love my state and all its people, and I thank.
Today we are witness. We have witnessed something that many countries do not share with us, and that’s the right to vote, to go to the polls and express your choice for your candidates. It’s great to be an American. It’s great to be Arkansas. Let’s all join together now and make this truly a great state.
Kellams: I’m so glad he was governor for six days, because it allowed us to have him in this series.
Dixon: I know, and he has a portrait up there.
Kellams: Well, as he should.
Dixon: Absolutely.
Kellams: All right. So up next.
Dixon: Oh, Bill Clinton, phase one.
Kellams: So we’re actually going to move into the ’80s next week.
Dixon: ‘79 into ‘81. Yes. Yeah. So you’re correct. Yes.
Kellams: Randy Dixon is with the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral History. Thank you, Randy.
Dixon: Thank you. I’ll work on my math next week.
Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
