January 10, 1963

Arkansas lawyer and politician Mark Pryor was born in Fayetteville (Washington County). Pryor worked in private practice for ten years before being elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives, serving from 1991 to 1995. In 2002, Pryor narrowly defeated incumbent Tim Hutchinson for the U.S. Senate, assuming the seat previously held by his father, David Pryor. He was known as a centrist and conservative who received national attention after speaking on his religious views in Bill Maher’s film Religulous. Pryor lost his Senate seat in 2014 to Tom Cotton after his opponent highlighted Pryor’s support for President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform efforts.