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{{short description|American politician}}
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{{Infobox State Senator

⚫
| image = Jim & Bobye May 07.jpg
{{BLP sources|date=February 2010}}
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{{Infobox officeholder
⚫
| image = Jim Holt2.JPG
| name = Jim Holt
| name = Jim Holt
| state_house = Arkansas
| state_house2 = Arkansas
| district = 5
| district2 = 5th
| term_start = 2001
| term_start2 = 2001
| term_end = 2003
| term_end2 = 2003
| state_senate2 = Arkansas
| state_senate = Arkansas
| district2 = 35
| district = 35th
| term_start2 = 2003
| term_start = 2003
| term_end2 = 2006
| term_end = 2006
|birth_place=[[Camden, Arkansas|Camden]], [[Arkansas]], U.S.
| birth_date = January 17, 1965
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|1|17}}
| party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| spouse = Bobye Holt
| spouse = Bobye Barenberg (sep. 2023)
| children = Nine
| children = 11
| occupation = [[Minister]]
| occupation = Small business owner
| website = http://www.jimholt.us
| website = {{URL|http://www.jimholt2010.com}}
}}
}}


'''Jim L. Holt''', born [[January 17]], [[1965]], in [[Camden, Arkansas]], is a [[Conservatism|conservative]] [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] [[politician]] from [[Springdale, Arkansas]]. He is a critic of former [[Governor]] [[Mike Huckabee]], a major candidate for the [[2008]] Republican presidential nomination.
'''Jim L. Holt''' (born January 17, 1965) is an American [[Baptist]] minister and a [[Conservatism|conservative]] [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] [[politician]] from [[Springdale, Arkansas|Springdale]] in northwestern Arkansas.


==Background==
==Background==
Holt was born in [[Camden, Arkansas|Camden]] in [[Ouachita County, Arkansas|Ouachita County]], southern [[Arkansas]]. He joined the military in 1987 and served in the [[U.S. Army]] Joint Intelligence Operations at the [[National Security Agency]].<ref name="jimholt2010.com">{{cite web|url=http://jimholt2010.com/about/|title=Jim Holt 2010 - About Jim|author=|date=|website=JimHolt2010.com|access-date=May 27, 2017|archive-date=May 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515042059/http://jimholt2010.com/about/|url-status=dead}}</ref> His website notes he "was involved in highly classified operations during the Cold War, the ousting of [[Manuel Noriega]] from [[Panama]], and [[Operation Desert Storm]]".<ref name="jimholt2010.com"/> He is a "small business owner/operator and a part-time counselor". In 1996, Holt became an ordained [[Southern Baptist Convention|Southern Baptist]] minister. He is married to his wife, the former Bobye Barenberg, originally of [[Rogers, Arkansas|Rogers]], Arkansas, they have eleven children.
Holt joined the military in [[1987]] and served in the [[U.S. Army Joint Intelligence Operations]] at the [[National Security Agency]] under the presidencies of [[Ronald Reagan]], [[George H. W. Bush]], and [[Bill Clinton]].[http://www.jimholt.us/aboutjim.htm] His website notes he "was involved in highly classified operations during the Cold War, the ousting of [[Manuel Noriega]] from [[Panama]], and [[Operation Desert Storm]]."[http://www.jimholt.us/aboutjim.html]


Jim Holt, once a close friend of [[Jim Bob Duggar]] and a key character in the documentary “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets,” had an order of protection granted against him by his wife, Bobye Holt, on April 21, 2023. More court records indicate Samuel Holt, one of the couple’s sons, was also granted an order of protection against Jim Holt on May 8, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Austin |date=2023-06-06 |title=Wife and son sought restraining orders against former state senator Jim Holt, who features prominently in Duggar documentary |url=https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2023/06/06/wife-and-son-sought-restraining-orders-against-former-state-senator-jim-holt-who-features-prominently-in-duggar-documentary |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=Arkansas Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
In [[1996]], he became an ordained [[Southern Baptist Convention|Southern Baptist]] [[minister]]. He is married to Bobye Barenberg of [[Rogers, Arkansas|Rogers]]. They are the parents of nine children.[http://www.jimholt.us/aboutjim.html]


==Political career==
==Political career==
Holt was first elected in the [[2000]] [[general election]]s, he served in the [[Arkansas House of Representatives]] from [[2001]] to [[2003]] where he sponsored the controversial House Bill 2548<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.antievolution.org/topics/law/ar_hb2548/ | title=Arkansas House Bill 2548 is a composite of anti-evolutionary sources | accessdate = 2007-07-20}}</ref>
Holt was first elected to the [[Arkansas House of Representatives]] in the 2000 [[general election]]. He served in the House from 2001 to 2003, during which time, he sponsored a bill designed to prohibit the teaching of the [[theory of evolution]] in Arkansas public schools (see Evolution below). Holt was elected to the [[Arkansas Senate]] in the 2002 general election and served there until December 31, 2006.


In 2004, Holt was the Republican nominee for the [[U. S. Senate]]. He was defeated by the Democrat [[Blanche Lincoln]], 56%-44%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arelections.org/results/66/elec66_election-all.html |title=Arkansas 2004 General Election and Non-Partisan Judicial Runoff |access-date=January 20, 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212225925/http://www.arelections.org/results/66/elec66_election-all.html |archivedate=2008-02-12 }}</ref>
In 2003, Holt was elected to the [[Arkansas Senate]], where he served until December 31, [[2006]].


In 2004, Holt was the Republican nominee for [[U.S. Senate]]. He was defeated by incumbent [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Blanche Lincoln]], with 44 percent of the vote. <ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.arelections.org/results/66/elec66_election-all.html | title=Arkansas 2004 General Election and Non-Partisan Judicial Runoff | accessdate=2008-01-20}}</ref>
In 2006, Holt was the Republican nominee for [[lieutenant governor]] and was defeated by Democrat [[Bill Halter]], 57%-43%.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.sos.arkansas.gov/elections_election_results.html#06 | title=Arkansas 2006 Election Results Publication | access-date=2010-05-19 | archive-date=2008-11-26 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081126212759/http://www.sos.arkansas.gov/elections_election_results.html#06 | url-status=dead }}</ref>


In 2006, Holt was the Republican nominee for [[Lieutenant Governor]] but was defeated by Democrat [[Bill Halter]].
In 2010, Holt was a candidate in the Republican primary for [[U.S. Senate]] and was defeated by Republican [[John Boozman]], 53%-17%, with the remaining percent divided among six other GOP candidates. Boozman in turn unseated Lincoln, against whom Holt had run six years earlier.


==Political positions==
==Evolution Bill and Legislative Record==
{{Citations missing|date=January 2008}}
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Holt co-sponsored House Bill 2548 in 2001, a bill which would have required public schools to identify evolution as an unproven theory, and which would have prohibited the use of public funds for the promotion of evolution-related information as fact. The bill was sponsored by several other House members, including Rep. Jack Critcher, who later went on to become the Democratic President Pro Tempore of the Arkansas State Senate, but eventually fell six votes short of passage. Holt was later criticized, in [[July]] of 2006, by Don Michael, an opinion writer for the [[Fort Smith, Arkansas|Fort Smith]] ''Northwest Arkansas Times'', for having invited controversial creationist [[Kent Hovind]] to speak before a committee at the Arkansas House in [[April]] 2001 about the House bill.


===Evolution===
Holt has tended to be a fiscal conservative in his voting record. He signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge to “oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes” twice in 2003 and 2004, was one of only three legislators who voted against raising the minimum wage in 2006, and voted three times against a pay raise for elected state officials, despite the fact that he, his wife, and his nine children lived only on his legislative salary and expense reimbursements, totaling only around $39,000 in 2006.
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Holt co-sponsored Arkansas House Bill 2548 in 2001, which would have required public schools to identify evolution as an unproven theory and would have prohibited the use of public funds for the promotion of evolution-related information as fact. The bill was sponsored by several other House members, including Representative [[Jack Critcher]], who later became the Democratic President Pro Tempore of the Arkansas Senate. The measure fell six votes short of passage. Holt was criticized in July 2006 by Don Michael, an opinion writer for the [[Fayetteville, Arkansas|Fayetteville]] ''Northwest Arkansas Times'', for having invited in April 2001 the creationist [[Kent Hovind]] to speak on behalf of the bill before a House committee.


===Abortion===
Holt has been characterized by some as an ultra-conservative, right-wing extremist. Others, such as Sen. Paul Miller, D-Melbourne, have defended him as one who simply votes his conscience, saying, “You have to give him credit for that. Against all odds he will stick with what he believes in.” <ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/159282/ | title=‘Extremist’ Holt? Well, depends on who’s asked| publisher=[[Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]] | date= July 2, 2006 | accessdate = 2007-07-20}}</ref>
Holt has also attempted to halt or restrict [[abortion]]. He has called for the overturning of ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' as an example of "judicial tyranny plaguing our nation today. The laws in all fifty states were overturned, and the [[consent of the governed]] as the basis for all just governmental power was thrown out. I will not confirm a federal judicial nominee who I believe will vote to uphold ''Roe vs. Wade''."<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Jim_Holt.htm | title=On the Issues: Every Political Leader on Every Issue}}</ref>


===Healthcare===
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==Opposition to Huckabee==
Holt opposes the healthcare reform measures implemented by the U.S. Congress in March 2010, stating "We don’t need health care 'reform', but remove government from the health sector and let the market decide.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://jimholt2010.com/2010 | title=Jim Holt 2010 | access-date=2010-05-19 | archive-date=2011-07-13 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713105955/http://jimholt2010.com/2010/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>
As a legislator, Holt tangled publicly with former Governor [[Mike Huckabee]] over [[immigration]]. Huckabee, who like Holt is a Southern Baptist preacher, spoke out against Holt's proposal in [[2005]] to ban state services to illegal immigrants. Holt has criticized Huckabee for telling him "I drink a different kind of Jesus juice."<ref>http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/huckabee_paul/2007/12/13/56908.html</ref>


The number of Arkansas residents on Medicare went from 457,808 to 917,474 (from 2013 to 2021). This doubled the number of recipients of government subsidized healthcare.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.healthinsurance.org/medicaid/arkansas/ |title=Arkansas Subsidized Healthcare}}</ref>
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That same year, Holt opposed Huckabee's unsuccessful effort to make children of illegal immigrants eligible for state-funded [[scholarship]]s and in-state [[tuition]] to Arkansas colleges. Holt defended his position by asking Huckabee if he would allow the same privileges to families of military personnel deployed over seas, which Huckabee refused to respond to.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/61298/ | title=From Hope to Betrayal : Huckabee can talk all he wants — but his record is what it is | accessdate=2008-01-20}}</ref>


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===Opposition to Mike Huckabee===
In [[December]] [[2007]], Holt was asked by the presidential campaign of [[United States House of Representatives|Congressman]] [[Ron Paul]] of [[Texas]] to go to [[Iowa]] and do several radio interviews about Huckabee with former colleague [[Randy Minton]] of [[Cabot, Arkansas | Cabot]].<ref>http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/huckabee_paul/2007/12/13/56908.html</ref> Holt has not endorsed Paul or any other candidate, but he vowed to acquaint Iowa [[caucus]] participants about liberal aspects of Huckabee's record in Arkansas.
⚫
As a legislator, Holt tangled publicly with former [[governor of Arkansas|Governor]] [[Mike Huckabee]] over [[immigration]]. In 2007, Holt opposed Huckabee's unsuccessful effort to make children of illegal immigrants eligible for state-funded [[scholarship]]s and in-state [[Tuition payments|tuition]] to Arkansas colleges, a position also adopted in [[Texas]] under Republican [[governor of Texas|Governor]] [[Rick Perry]]. Holt defended his position by asking Huckabee if he would allow the same privileges to families of military personnel deployed overseas. Huckabee did not respond.<ref name="nwanews.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/61298/ |title=From Hope to Betrayal : Huckabee can talk all he wants — but his record is what it is |access-date=January 20, 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015191828/http://nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/61298 |archivedate=October 15, 2008 }}</ref>


On [[January 18]], [[2008]] the [[Northwest Arkansas Times]] ran an opinion piece by Holt blasting Huckabee and his supporters<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/61298/ | title=From Hope to Betrayal : Huckabee can talk all he wants — but his record is what it is | accessdate=2008-01-20}}</ref>. Holt accused Huckabee's followers of not researching what Huckabee's positions are, and supporting him simply because he is a Christian.
On January 18, 2008, the ''[[Northwest Arkansas Times]]'' ran an opinion piece by Holt blasting Huckabee and his supporters.<ref name="nwanews.com"/> Holt accused Huckabee's followers of not researching what Huckabee's positions are, and supporting him merely because he is a [[Christian]].


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.jimholt2010.com/}}
*[http://www.jimholt.us Jim Holt's Official Website]
{{Portal|United States|Politics|Conservatism|Christianity}}
*{{C-SPAN|1012060}}
{{S-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Fay Boozman]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] nominee for [[List of United States Senators from Arkansas|United States Senator from Arkansas (Class 3)]]|years=[[2004 United States Senate election in Arkansas|2004]]}}
{{S-aft|after=[[John Boozman]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Winthrop Paul Rockefeller]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas]]|years=2006}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mark Darr]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, Jim}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, Jim}}
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[[Category:Arkansas politicians]]
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
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[[Category:People from Arkansas]]
[[Category:Clergy]]
[[Category:Arkansas Republicans]]
[[Category:Arkansas State Senators]]
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[[Category:Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:People from Camden, Arkansas]]
[[Category:People from Camden, Arkansas]]
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[[Category:Republican Party Arkansas state senators]]
[[Category:American Christian creationists]]
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[[Category:Republican Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Southern Baptist ministers]]
[[Category:People from Springdale, Arkansas]]
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[[Category:Baptists from Arkansas]]
[[Category:21st-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly]]

Latest revision as of 02:15, 13 December 2024

Jim Holt
Member of the Arkansas Senate
from the 35th district
In office
2003–2006
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
from the 5th district
In office
2001–2003
Personal details
Born (1965-01-17) January 17, 1965 (age 59)
Camden, Arkansas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseBobye Barenberg (sep. 2023)
Children11
OccupationSmall business owner
Websitewww.jimholt2010.com

Jim L. Holt (born January 17, 1965) is an American Baptist minister and a conservative Republican politician from Springdale in northwestern Arkansas.

Background

[edit]

Holt was born in Camden in Ouachita County, southern Arkansas. He joined the military in 1987 and served in the U.S. Army Joint Intelligence Operations at the National Security Agency.[1] His website notes he "was involved in highly classified operations during the Cold War, the ousting of Manuel Noriega from Panama, and Operation Desert Storm".[1] He is a "small business owner/operator and a part-time counselor". In 1996, Holt became an ordained Southern Baptist minister. He is married to his wife, the former Bobye Barenberg, originally of Rogers, Arkansas, they have eleven children.

Jim Holt, once a close friend of Jim Bob Duggar and a key character in the documentary “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets,” had an order of protection granted against him by his wife, Bobye Holt, on April 21, 2023. More court records indicate Samuel Holt, one of the couple’s sons, was also granted an order of protection against Jim Holt on May 8, 2023.[2]

Political career

[edit]

Holt was first elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in the 2000 general election. He served in the House from 2001 to 2003, during which time, he sponsored a bill designed to prohibit the teaching of the theory of evolution in Arkansas public schools (see Evolution below). Holt was elected to the Arkansas Senate in the 2002 general election and served there until December 31, 2006.

In 2004, Holt was the Republican nominee for the U. S. Senate. He was defeated by the Democrat Blanche Lincoln, 56%-44%.[3]

In 2006, Holt was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor and was defeated by Democrat Bill Halter, 57%-43%.[4]

In 2010, Holt was a candidate in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate and was defeated by Republican John Boozman, 53%-17%, with the remaining percent divided among six other GOP candidates. Boozman in turn unseated Lincoln, against whom Holt had run six years earlier.

Political positions

[edit]

Evolution

[edit]

Holt co-sponsored Arkansas House Bill 2548 in 2001, which would have required public schools to identify evolution as an unproven theory and would have prohibited the use of public funds for the promotion of evolution-related information as fact. The bill was sponsored by several other House members, including Representative Jack Critcher, who later became the Democratic President Pro Tempore of the Arkansas Senate. The measure fell six votes short of passage. Holt was criticized in July 2006 by Don Michael, an opinion writer for the Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times, for having invited in April 2001 the creationist Kent Hovind to speak on behalf of the bill before a House committee.

Abortion

[edit]

Holt has also attempted to halt or restrict abortion. He has called for the overturning of Roe v. Wade as an example of "judicial tyranny plaguing our nation today. The laws in all fifty states were overturned, and the consent of the governed as the basis for all just governmental power was thrown out. I will not confirm a federal judicial nominee who I believe will vote to uphold Roe vs. Wade."[5]

Healthcare

[edit]

Holt opposes the healthcare reform measures implemented by the U.S. Congress in March 2010, stating "We don’t need health care 'reform', but remove government from the health sector and let the market decide.[6]

The number of Arkansas residents on Medicare went from 457,808 to 917,474 (from 2013 to 2021). This doubled the number of recipients of government subsidized healthcare.[7]

Opposition to Mike Huckabee

[edit]

As a legislator, Holt tangled publicly with former Governor Mike Huckabee over immigration. In 2007, Holt opposed Huckabee's unsuccessful effort to make children of illegal immigrants eligible for state-funded scholarships and in-state tuition to Arkansas colleges, a position also adopted in Texas under Republican Governor Rick Perry. Holt defended his position by asking Huckabee if he would allow the same privileges to families of military personnel deployed overseas. Huckabee did not respond.[8]

On January 18, 2008, the Northwest Arkansas Times ran an opinion piece by Holt blasting Huckabee and his supporters.[8] Holt accused Huckabee's followers of not researching what Huckabee's positions are, and supporting him merely because he is a Christian.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Jim Holt 2010 - About Jim". JimHolt2010.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  2. ^ Bailey, Austin (2023-06-06). "Wife and son sought restraining orders against former state senator Jim Holt, who features prominently in Duggar documentary". Arkansas Times. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
  3. ^ "Arkansas 2004 General Election and Non-Partisan Judicial Runoff". Archived from the original on 2008-02-12. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
  4. ^ "Arkansas 2006 Election Results Publication". Archived from the original on 2008-11-26. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  5. ^ "On the Issues: Every Political Leader on Every Issue".
  6. ^ "Jim Holt 2010". Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  7. ^ "Arkansas Subsidized Healthcare".
  8. ^ a b "From Hope to Betrayal : Huckabee can talk all he wants — but his record is what it is". Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
[edit]
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican Party nominee for United States Senator from Arkansas (Class 3)
2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
2006 		Succeeded by
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