Supha Xayprasith-Mays may be running for Arkansas governor, but she’s not a politician; she’s a “peopletician.” At least that’s how the Bentonville entrepreneur and Democratic party gubernatorial candidate describes herself.
“My focus is putting people first,” Xayprasith-Mays told The Bentonville Bulletin. “I ran for the people, to serve the people, not the politics or the party.”
Xayprasith-Mays is an entrepreneur, civic program organizer and philanthropist who went from working multiple jobs and living in government-subsidized housing to managing personnel at some of the largest retailers in the world, including Walmart.
She moved to Bentonville in the 1990 to work for Walmart corporate. By age 29, she said she was overseeing a $100 million operation for the company.
She raised four children in Bentonville and previously owned and operated multiple businesses in the city, including two Thai restaurants and a fashion store.
Courtesy Arkansas Secretary of State
“All my kids were schooled in Bentonville,” Xayprasith-Mays said. “I grew up here and built and paid taxes here, had business here, worked for corporate [Walmart]. My kids went from Sugar Creek Elementary to La Petite to Bentonville High School.”
Back on the Ballot
This is Xayprasith-Mays’ second time running for governor. She ran unsuccessfully in 2022, garnering a little over 5% of the vote in the Democratic primary. In the upcoming primary on March 3, Xayprasith-Mays will face off against state Sen. Fredrick Love, who has served as a state lawmaker for the Little Rock area since 2011. The winner will challenge incumbent Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Xayprasith-Mays’ campaign is focused on inclusion, and she emphasizes her multicultural Southeast Asian and British-Indian heritage. She said she decided to run for governor the first time following the rise in anti-Asian violence during the pandemic and concerns over police brutality against minorities after George Floyd’s murder. Now, she’s expanding her campaign focus to tackle the widespread economic hardships facing Arkansans, which she believes current state politicians — and her opponents — are unwilling to address.
“I’ve sacrificed a lot because I believe in the state and the state deserves better leadership. Not politicians. Not money people. Not millionaires,” Xayprasith-Mays said.
Xayprasith-Mays said she has been involved in multiple community service programs over the years, including being elected to the National Minority Supply Development Council, organizing yearly holiday food drives, sponsoring youth empowerment summits throughout the state and founding Inclusion Magazine & Media company, an advertising and publishing company that spotlights minority-owned businesses.
She credits her passion for community service to her mother’s influence. Her mother emigrated to the United States from Laos when Xayprasith-Mays was a child, and worked the assembly line in a Tyson processing plant to support her young children, despite having a master’s degree from her home country and speaking seven languages. She later went on to sponsor over 25 immigrant families also seeking refuge in the U.S., helping them secure jobs and obtain citizenship documents.
Xayprasith-Mays said she is looking to carry on the family tradition of service by implementing policies as governor that will improve educational, healthcare and economic opportunities in a state that is consistently ranked among the lowest in those areas. Her plans include increasing teacher pay from current levels to $50,000-$80,000, repealing the school voucher program and increasing minimum wage from $11 to a minimum of $15-$18.
“I understand what it's like to be a working-class citizen struggling as a single mom trying to put food on the table and have to pay rent,” Xayprasith-Mays said. “I'm gonna tell you as a single mom, at one point, I couldn't afford milk. I had to mix milk with water for my son. So I know what it's like to not be able to afford food.”
Campaign and Critiques
Xayprasith-Mays sharply criticized Sanders’ plans to build a 3,000-bed, $825 million state prison in Franklin County, arguing those funds would be better spent improving the state’s education system and addressing widespread food insecurity.
“Our kids are going to bed hungry, but you rather focus on incarcerating your citizens in your state?” she said, referring to Sanders’ focus on the prison project.
Xayprasith-Mays also criticized the governor’s decision to send Arkansas National Guard troops to Washington D.C., and she opposes the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s activity in Arkansas.
“I will not allow any ICE to terrorize our citizens,” Xayprasith-Mays said. “I would not allow them in here. I would not be supportive of that. I will kick them out.”
With early voting now underway, Xayprasith-Mays is busy campaigning across the state. She acknowledges she’s the underdog, largely self-funding her campaign with a $10,000 loan and not having the political experience of her opponents. But she’s confident if enough people show up to the polls, she can beat the odds.
“If the people come out and vote, we have a chance to take the state back to the people,” Xayprasith-Mays said.
