August 2, 1961

Mike Ross was born in Texarkana (Miller County). Ross began his political career as the driver for Bill Clinton in 1982. He was successfully elected to the Nevada County Quorum Court, where he served from 1983 to 1985 before becoming chief of staff to Lieutenant Governor Winston Bryant. He was then elected to the Arkansas Senate in 1990, where he served for a decade until his victory in 2000 over incumbent Congressman Jay Dickey for the U.S. House seat in the Fourth District. During his time in Congress, Ross was known as a fiscally conservative Democrat.