Xayprasith-Mays to run for Arkansas governor

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Photo: Courtesy Talk Business and Politics

Next year’s race for Arkansas governor has picked up another candidate. According to Talk Business and Politics, businesswoman and civic leader Supha Xayprasith-Mays announced Friday she will seek the Democratic nomination.

Xayprasith-Mays says her campaign will focus on inclusion, education, healthcare and empowerment. She says if she’s elected, she will plan to expand Arkansas’ technology centers, specifically focusing on industries related to artificial intelligence and universal broadband for the entire state. Xayprasith-Mays adds she will champion efforts to develop a green technology-manufacturing corridor in Arkansas to set an example for the rest of the country.

Xayprasith-Mays arrived in Northwest Arkansas at the age of six with her widowed mother and three sisters after they fled communist oppression in her native country of Laos in Southeast Asia. Her late mother, fluent in seven languages and had a master’s degree in education, took a job in the assembly line at Tyson Foods at minimum wage to support her family.

Xayprasith-Mays’ career led her to the Walmart headquarters in Bentonville, where she rose through the ranks to eventually manage and supervise store operations generating more than $100 million annually. She left to establish a career as an entrepreneur in multiple business sectors including publishing, business consulting, retail, restaurants, television networks, oil exploration in North Dakota, career empowerment seminars, and several other business interests. She says as a result of her entrepreneurial experiences, she believes free enterprise and capitalism are the surest paths for the eradication of poverty.

The 51-year-old Xayprasith-is married to former Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Mays Sr. She is a mother of four children and has four adult stepchildren with Mays. She lives in Little Rock where her company publishes INCLUSION magazine. She hosts youth and women empowerment seminars and conferences throughout the state.

Xayprasith-Mays will face James “Rus” Russell and Anthony Bland in the Democratic primary in May 2022. The Republican nomination is being sought by former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee-Sanders and current Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.

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