Attorney General of Arkansas
What was the position of Joe Purcell in Dec 1967?
Joe Purcell Joe Edward Purcell ( July 29 , 1923 – March 5 , 1987 ) was an American politician and attorney who served as Acting Governor of Arkansas for six days in 1979 . A member of the Democratic Party , he served as the 45th Attorney General of Arkansas from 1967 to 1971 and the 13th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1981 . Early career . Purcell was born in Warren , the seat of Bradley County , in southern Arkansas . He graduated from Little Rock Junior College and the University of Arkansas School of Law at Fayetteville . From 1962 to 1967 , he served as the municipal judge in Benton in Saline County . He also served as prosecuting attorney in Benton prior to having been elected judge . Attorney General of Arkansas . In 1966 , Purcell unseated Arkansas Attorney General Bruce Bennett , a strong segregationist from El Dorado , in the Democratic primary . He then defeated in the general election a stronger-than-usual opponent , Republican Jerry Thomasson , a former Democrat and state representative from Arkadelphia in Clark County . Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas . In 1974 , Purcell was elected to the lieutenant governorship ; he handily defeated Republican Leona Troxell of Rose Bud in White County , a former associate of the late Governor Winthrop Rockefeller . He was reelected as Arkansas Lieutenant Governor in 1976 and 1978 under David Pryor and Bill Clinton . He served as Acting Arkansas Governor for six days in 1979 , having filled the unexpired term of Pryor , who had been elected to the United States Senate . Purcell was twice a candidate for the governorship . In 1970 , he was considered the leading challenger to former governor Orval Faubus and ran second to Faubus throughout the primary race , but was edged out of a runoff berth by less than 500 votes by Charleston attorney Dale Bumpers , who went on to defeat Faubus and then Republican Governor Winthrop Rockefeller in the general election . Purcell was Bumpers choice to chair the Arkansas Democratic Party , a position which he held from 1970 to 1973 . His chief task as party chair was to purge followers of presidential candidate George Wallace of Alabama and former gubernatorial nominee James D . Johnson from the party ranks and to limit the influence of the Faubus-era Old Guard faction . He entered the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1982 and surprisingly edged out former congressman Jim Guy Tucker for a runoff berth with former governor Bill Clinton . Purcell lost the Democratic nomination to Clinton in a runoff , 46 to 54 percent . Private life . Purcell resided in Benton until his death at the age of 63 . Purcell married the former Helen Hale from Prescott , Arkansas ; the couple had two daughters , Lynelle and Ede . He had three grandchildren : Brian Hogue , David Hogue and Erin Hogue .