Mark Lunsford Pryor is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 2003 to 2015. While he ran for office as a Democrat and affiliates with the Democratic party, he registered to vote with no party affiliation. Prior to becoming senator, he was Attorney General of Arkansas from 1999 to 2003.
Born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Pryor is the son of former Arkansas Governor and U.S. Senator David Pryor. He received his bachelor's degree and law degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He worked in private practice for several years until being elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1990. He was elected the state Attorney General in 1998. Pryor announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in 2001, running for the same Senate seat his father had held from 1979 to 1997. He was elected with 54% of the vote, defeating Republican incumbent Tim Hutchinson.
He was reelected with no Republican opposition in 2008. During the 112th Congress he served as the chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance. Pryor ran for reelection in 2014, but was defeated by Republican Tom Cotton.
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“You don't have to pass an IQ test to be in the Senate.”
Quoted in Religulous, documentary by Bill Maher (2008)
Said in response to Maher's statement, "It worries me that people are running my country who think, who believe in a talking snake."
