August 26, 2012

Edwin Ruthvin (Ed) Bethune Jr., a Pocahontas (Randolph County) native, served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985 from the Second Congressional District. Bethune did not seek a fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1984; he opted to run for the U.S. Senate against incumbent, David Pryor. Though hoping to ride the reelection coattails of President Reagan, Pryor easily defeated Bethune by 57.3 to 42.7 percent. Bethune remained in politics for a time, serving as the chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas from 1986 to 1988.