# Jay Richardson

Jay Richardson is a Democratic member of the Arkansas House for district 49.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: Arkansas House, district 49
- Serving since: 2019-01-14
- Current term: AR 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/65961429-87cb-4c8c-b9c9-006622ea63c7

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/65961429-87cb-4c8c-b9c9-006622ea63c7 (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

Richardson sits at −0.23 on the CSIP scale, more conservative than 96% of State House Democrats.

## What Richardson says (AR 2025–26 session)

8 classified statements: 8 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State House Democrats average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Richardson | State House Democrats average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.0% | 2.5% | 584 of 765 |
| Policy criticism | 37.5% | 10.4% | 14 of 765 |
| Policy discussion | 50.0% | 39.2% | 227 of 765 |
| Bipartisanship | 0.0% | 2.9% | 676 of 765 |
| Credit claiming | 0.0% | 14.4% | 729 of 765 |
| Extreme labels | 0.0% | 1.0% | 544 of 765 |

Most discussed policy areas: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues 100% (State House Democrats 9.8%); Agriculture and Food 0% (State House Democrats 4.6%); Armed Forces and National Security 0% (State House Democrats 3.1%); Commerce 0% (State House Democrats 3.1%); Crime and Law Enforcement 0% (State House Democrats 8.0%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.23 (standard error 0.02), from 127 donors and 538 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 96% of State House Democrats score lower.

## Legislation (AR 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 10 bills: 9 reached committee, 3 passed one chamber, 3 passed both, 2 became law. Cosponsored 47. 30.0% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Arkansas House 56.1%; rank 69 of 81).

Recent sponsored bills:

- HR 1078: TO COMMEND ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY, INC., FOR ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEEN (118) YEARS OF OUTSTANDING SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP IN ITS COMMUNITIES. (in committee, 2025-03-19) https://openstates.org/ar/bills/2025/HR1078/
- HB 1695: TO CLARIFY THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS FOR PROPERTY SUBJECT TO A MUNICIPAL LIEN; TO ALLOW A MUNICIPALITY TO PETITION TO SET ASIDE THE SALE OF PROPERTY TO CERTAIN… (passed both chambers, 2025-05-05) https://openstates.org/ar/bills/2025/HB1695/
- HR 1053: TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR ZETA PHI BETA SORORITY, INCORPORATED AND PHI BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY, INC., FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THEIR COMMUNITIES, THE STATE OF… (in committee, 2025-05-05) https://openstates.org/ar/bills/2025/HR1053/
- SCR 4: TO RECOGNIZE FORMER REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR JOYCE ELLIOTT DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH FOR HER SERVICE TO THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. (in committee, 2025-03-18) https://openstates.org/ar/bills/2025/SCR4/
- SB 225: TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO PROVIDE A CATEGORY FOR BENEFICIARIES WITH SICKLE CELL DISEASE. (in committee, 2025-05-05) https://openstates.org/ar/bills/2025/SB225/
- HB 1405: TO AMEND THE STATUTES CONCERNING PROCURERS; AND TO ADD ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF A PROCURER BY A LICENSED CHIROPRACTIC PHYSICIAN. (became law, 2025-03-18) https://openstates.org/ar/bills/2025/HB1405/
- HB 1282: CONCERNING THE UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW. (became law, 2025-02-18) https://openstates.org/ar/bills/2025/HB1282/
- HB 1237: TO PROHIBIT MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS FROM SOLICITING INJURED INDIVIDUALS; AND TO SET PENALTIES FOR A VIOLATION OF THE PROHIBITION OF SOLICITATION OF INJURED… (in committee, 2025-05-05) https://openstates.org/ar/bills/2025/HB1237/
- SCR 2: TO AFFIRM THAT THE AMERICAN DREAM BELONGS TO ALL OF US. (introduced, 2025-05-05) https://openstates.org/ar/bills/2025/SCR2/
- HB 1159: TO CREATE THE RETAIL CONVENIENCE STORE SECURITY ACT; AND TO REGULATE SECURITY MEASURES AT RETAIL CONVENIENCE STORES. (in committee, 2025-05-05) https://openstates.org/ar/bills/2025/HB1159/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $47.1K (State House Democrats median $40.4K). 97% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Recent statements

Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only.

- 2025-01-23 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/jayfor49/status/1882452453976940702
- 2025-01-23 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/jayfor49/status/1882452456384417867
- 2025-01-23 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/jayfor49/status/1882452458712273155
- 2025-01-23 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/jayfor49/status/1882452460805173482
- 2025-01-20 · Post on X · https://x.com/jayfor49/status/1881377911791579588
- 2025-01-20 · Post on X · https://x.com/jayfor49/status/1881377914538869140
- 2025-01-20 · Post on X · https://x.com/jayfor49/status/1881377916199850291
- 2025-01-20 · Post on X · https://x.com/jayfor49/status/1881377918015959494

## Links

- Official site: https://www.arkansashouse.org/district/49
- Campaign site: https://www.jayrichardsonar.com/
- X: https://x.com/jayfor49
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StateRepresentativeJayRichardsonDistrict78/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayfor49
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-richardson-809691234/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/65961429-87cb-4c8c-b9c9-006622ea63c7