Michael John Gray

Gray largely grew up in the Augusta School District, but graduated from Searcy High School.[1]

He earned an Associate in Arts from Arkansas State University Beebe. He briefly attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and earned his Bachelor of Arts in marketing with an emphasis on logistics from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Gray later earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law.[2]

After graduation, Gray returned to Augusta to work on the family farm, known as Wakefield Partners, with his wife and mother. A third-generation family farm, the operation spans 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of cotton, corn, peanuts, rice, and wheat. The group was named the 2014 Woodruff County Farm Family of the Year, an honor previously bestowed on his parents in 1984.[1] Gray won election to the Augusta City Council in 2010, and focused on budgeting and reducing municipal spending.[2] In October 2013, Gray announced his candidacy for the Arkansas House of Representatives District 47 seat held by term-limited Democrat Jody Dickinson. His campaign announcement described a focus on rural issues, and his community involvement and collaborative work on the city council.[2] Gray was unopposed in the Democratic primary and the general election, and was seated as a member of the 90th Arkansas General Assembly. The House Democratic Caucus elected him Minority leader,[3] Democrats held 35 of 100 seats in the House.[4] He voted for Arkansas Works (Medicaid expansion in Arkansas) twice and was a vocal supporter of the measure.[5]

In March 2017, Gray won election to the unpaid position of Chair of the Democratic Party of Arkansas. He replaced the retiring Vince Insalaco for the remainder of his four-year term, defeating Denise Garner by a 120–107 vote. Gray campaigned on a return of focus to economic and rural issues.[6] He was re-elected to full term as Chair in 2018.[7]

Gray was narrowly defeated in his November 2018 re-election bid for the House District 47 seat by Bald Knob businessman and retired state bureaucrat Craig Christiansen.[5][8][9]