Pat Hays Obituary

Pat Hays was an American lawyer and politician from the state of Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, Hays served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989 and as the mayor of North Little Rock from 1989 to 2013. He was the Democratic nominee for Arkansas’s 2nd congregational district in the 2014 elections to the United States House of Representatives.

Hays was born in North Little Rock, Arkansas on January 8, 1947. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas School of Law. Hays joined the United States Army Reserves reaching the rank of captain.

Hays briefly ran for the United States Senate following the retirement of Dale Bumpers in the 1998 election but withdrew his candidacy. He was considered a potential candidate in the 2012 election for the United States House of Representatives in Arkansas’s 2nd congregational district but opted not to run. Hays did not seek reelection as mayor in 2012.

Hays announced his candidacy for the House of Representatives to succeed Republican incumbent Tim Griffin in the 2014 election on October 22, 2013. He cited the 2013 United States federal government shutdown, which he called a travesty as a reason to run. Republican French Hill defeated Hays in the general election.