David Hampton Pryor (born August 29, 1934) is an American politician and former Democratic United States Representative and United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Pryor also served as the 39th Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 and was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1960 to 1966. He served as the interim chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party, following Bill Gwatney's assassination.

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Quick Facts Chair of the Arkansas Democratic Party, Preceded by ...

David Pryor
Pryor in 1974
Chair of the Arkansas Democratic Party
In office September 5, 2008 – January 28, 2009
Preceded by	Bill Gwatney
Succeeded by	Todd Turner
Secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus
In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995
Leader	George J. Mitchell
Preceded by	Daniel Inouye
Succeeded by	Barbara Mikulski
Chair of the Senate Aging Committee
In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	John Melcher
Succeeded by	William Cohen
United States Senator from Arkansas
In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	Kaneaster Hodges Jr.
Succeeded by	Tim Hutchinson
39th Governor of Arkansas
In office January 14, 1975 – January 3, 1979
Lieutenant	Joe Purcell
Preceded by	Bob Riley (acting)
Succeeded by	Joe Purcell (acting)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 4th district
In office November 8, 1966 – January 3, 1973
Preceded by	Oren Harris
Succeeded by	Ray Thornton
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from the Ouachita County district
In office January 9, 1961[1] – January 9, 1967[2]
Preceded by	William S. Andrews[3]
Succeeded by	None - Redistricted
Personal details
Born	David Hampton Pryor (1934-08-29) August 29, 1934 (age 89) Camden, Arkansas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Barbara Lunsford ​ (m. 1957)​
Children	Mark Pryor
Education	Henderson State University (BA) University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (LLB)

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Pryor was born in Camden, the seat of Ouachita County in southern Arkansas, to William Edgar Pryor and the former Susan Pryor (née Newton). Both had deep roots in Arkansas; the marriage 'united two of the pioneer families of Arkansas'. William Pryor moved to Camden from Holly Springs in 1923 and started selling cars. By 1933, he had bought the partners out of the business and become sole owner of Edgar Pryor Inc, a well-known Chevrolet dealership in the area. The family was also involved in the civic, religious and political life of Camden, with W.E. serving as Ouachita County Sheriff from 1939 to 1942.^[4]

David was a third generation Ouachita County resident. He attended public schools in Camden, attended Henderson State Teacher's College in Arkadelphia, and graduated from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1957. Pryor was founder and publisher of the Ouachita Citizen from 1957 to 1960. He graduated from law school at the University of Arkansas in 1964 and was admitted to the bar that same year.

Pryor first won elected office representing Ouachita County in the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1960. Seated as a member of the 63rd Arkansas General Assembly, Pryor would win reelection to the seat in 1962 and 1964.

He was elected to Congress in 1966 following a vacancy that year after U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed fellow Democrat Oren Harris to a federal judgeship. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1972.

His son is former United States Senator Mark Pryor, a Democrat who held the same seat that his father vacated in 1997.

In 2004, Pryor was one of the five-member board of directors of the Clinton Foundation.^[5]

Pryor had quadruple bypass surgery performed by Dr. Tamim Antaki at UAMS on October 11, 2006. He had suffered a heart attack the previous day. His recovery was satisfactory and he was released from the hospital on October 17, 2006. ^{[permanent dead link]}

Pryor briefly returned to politics, when he served as an interim chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party following the murder of Bill Gwatney, and plays an important role in Arkansas Democratic politics.^[6]

In 1957, Pryor married Barbara Jean Lunsford, who at the time was a 19 year old freshman at the University of Arkansas. Unable to tolerate the stresses of public life, she briefly lived away from her family from 1975 to 1977, while her husband was governor. During that time, she took various university courses and had trouble finding a job, and she eventually moved back into the governor's mansion after completing her rest.^[7]

On July 13, 2020, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announced at a press briefing about the COVID-19 pandemic in the state that Pryor and his wife Barbara tested positive for the disease with Pryor hospitalized at UAMS in Little Rock and his wife under home quarantine.^[8]