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In 1970, Bryant defeated the Republican former State Representative [[Jim Sheets]] of Benton County in far northwestern Arkansas. Bryant polled 360,209 votes (62.3 percent) to Sheets' 217,752 (37.7 percent). Sheets won only in Searcy and Benton counties. It was a particularly Democratic year both nationally and in Arkansas, as newcomer [[Dale Bumpers]] ended Governor Rockefeller's short poltiical career.​<ref>Arkansas Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 3, 1970.</ref>

In 1970, Bryant defeated the Republican former State Representative [[Jim Sheets]] of Benton County in far northwestern Arkansas. Bryant polled 360,209 votes (62.3 percent) to Sheets' 217,752 (37.7 percent). Sheets won only in Searcy and Benton counties. It was a particularly Democratic year both nationally and in Arkansas, as newcomer [[Dale Bumpers]] ended Governor Rockefeller's short poltiical career.​<ref>Arkansas Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 3, 1970.</ref>

In 1972, Bryant defeated [[Jerry Climer|Jerome F. "Jerry" Climer]], the former clerk of Pulaski County, which includes the capital city of [[Little Rock]]. Bryant received 366,079 votes (59.4 percent) to Climer's 250,532 (40.6 percent). Climer carried only two counties, Searcy and his own Pulaski.<ref>Arkansas Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 5, 1972.</ref> In the campaign, Climer questioned why Mrs. Bryant was hired as a $11,500-per-year employee in the secretary of state's office. Climer had been appointed to fill the vacancy as clerk late in 1970 shortly before Rockefeller vacated the governorship. Climer, who has extensive credentials in the field of public administration, served as an aide to two Arkansas congressmen and went on to establish two [[Washington, D.C.]]-based "think tanks," the Congressional Institute and the Public Governance Institute.​<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/110446291/|author=Dan Durning|publisher=''The Arkansas Advocate''|date=July 1973|title=The Climer Campaign: The Crusade Nobody Noticed|accessdate=October 23, 2019}}</ref>.

In 1972, Bryant defeated [[Jerry Climer|Jerome F. "Jerry" Climer]], the former clerk of Pulaski County, which includes the capital city of [[Little Rock]]. Bryant received 366,079 votes (59.4 percent) to Climer's 250,532 (40.6 percent). Climer carried only two counties, Searcy and his own Pulaski.<ref>Arkansas Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 7, 1972.</ref> In the campaign, Climer questioned why Mrs. Bryant was hired as a $11,500-per-year employee in the secretary of state's office. Climer had been appointed to fill the vacancy as clerk late in 1970 shortly before Rockefeller vacated the governorship. Climer, who has extensive credentials in the field of public administration, served as an aide to two Arkansas congressmen and went on to establish two [[Washington, D.C.]]-based "think tanks," the Congressional Institute and the Public Governance Institute.​<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/110446291/|author=Dan Durning|publisher=''The Arkansas Advocate''|date=July 1973|title=The Climer Campaign: The Crusade Nobody Noticed|accessdate=October 23, 2019}}</ref>.

Bryant won his first, third, and last terms as secretary of state in 1962, 1966, and 1974, respectively, without Republican opposition. No Republican held the office since [[Reconstruction]] until 2010, with the election of Mark Martin, a former state representative from Prairie Grove in Washington County in northwestern Arkansas.​

Bryant won his first, third, and last terms as secretary of state in 1962, 1966, and 1974, respectively, without Republican opposition. No Republican held the office since [[Reconstruction]] until 2010, with the election of Mark Martin, a former state representative from Prairie Grove in Washington County in northwestern Arkansas.​