| − | In March 1982, Cohee became the state chairman of the Arkansas [[Republican Party]] upon the death of Harlan Harmon "Bo" Holleman (1927-11982) of Wynne in Cross County in eastern Arkansas. During his brief tenure as chairman, the [[Republican Party|GOP]] [Governor]] [[Frank D. White]] was defeated for a second term by [[Bill Clinton]], the [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] who later became the 42nd [[U.S. President]] whom White had unseated in 1980.<ref>''Arkansas Gazette'', November 3, 1982, p. 1.</ref> | + | In March 1982, Cohee became the state chairman of the Arkansas [[Republican Party]] upon the death of Harlan Harmon "Bo" Holleman (1927-11982) of Wynne in Cross County in eastern Arkansas. During his brief tenure as chairman, the [[Republican Party|GOP]] [[Governor]] [[Frank D. White]] was defeated for a second term by [[Bill Clinton]], the [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] who later became the 42nd [[U.S. President]] whom White had unseated in 1980.<ref>''Arkansas Gazette'', November 3, 1982, p. 1.</ref> |
| | Cohee had resigned a $27,000 per year position as deputy director of the Arkansas Housing Development Agency in the capital cty of [[Little Rock]] to serve as the full-time unpaid chairman during the election campaign. After the election, Governor White and [[U.S. Representative]]s Edwin R. Bethune, then of Arkansas's 2nd congressional district and [[John Paul Hammerschmidt]] of the 3rd congressional district announced that they preferred Morris S. "Buzz" Arnold, then a law professor at the [[University of Arkansas]] campus in Little Rock, as the new state chairman, rather than the more [[conservative]] Cohee. The exact vote of the 119 delegates to the state convention held in Little Rock was not released. Cohee later said that he would not have sought a full term as chairman had he known in advance of the opposition from White, Bethune, and Hammerschmidt, the party's then "Big Three". | | Cohee had resigned a $27,000 per year position as deputy director of the Arkansas Housing Development Agency in the capital cty of [[Little Rock]] to serve as the full-time unpaid chairman during the election campaign. After the election, Governor White and [[U.S. Representative]]s Edwin R. Bethune, then of Arkansas's 2nd congressional district and [[John Paul Hammerschmidt]] of the 3rd congressional district announced that they preferred Morris S. "Buzz" Arnold, then a law professor at the [[University of Arkansas]] campus in Little Rock, as the new state chairman, rather than the more [[conservative]] Cohee. The exact vote of the 119 delegates to the state convention held in Little Rock was not released. Cohee later said that he would not have sought a full term as chairman had he known in advance of the opposition from White, Bethune, and Hammerschmidt, the party's then "Big Three". |