Statewide politics

Wood was first elected in 2002, winning 57.65% of the vote, defeating Republican Mary Jane Rebick . In 2006, he was reelected with 85% of the vote against third party opposition . He won reelection with nearly six hundred thousand votes. He is a lifelong Democrat.

State Auditor

As State Auditor, Wood ran a program to give unclaimed valuables back to Arkansans, with over one hundred million dollars' worth of assets in all, including twenty-one million dollars collected in the 2006–2007 fiscal year alone. It is part of the State Auditor's job to locate abandoned bank accounts, stock certificates, mineral royalties and other lost assets.^[1] The goal of the project was to find the owners of the assets, which companies hand over to the government when legal owners cannot be found .

The other duties of State Auditor are primarily concerned with fiscal matters. The Constitutional office serves as an accountant, keeping track of state money that is used and spent by various departments, and also disburses federal money to various offices. As Auditor, Wood was a de facto member of the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System and the Arkansas Teachers Retirement System, which manages their retirement funds.^[2]

Election history

Jim Wood has faced several statewide reelections with relatively easy victories, winning against only an unheralded third party candidate in 2006.

2006 General Election

2002 General Election