DeAnn Vaught
DeAnn Kay Vaught is a farmer from Horatio, Arkansas, who is a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for District 4, which encompasses parts of the southwestern corner of her state, specifically Sevier and Little River Counties and the community of Dierks in Howard County.
In 2014, she unseated Democrat Fonda Hawthorne of Ashdown in an overall Republican sweep of Arkansas elections, winning 59 to 41 percent. In her first term in office, Vaught sat on the Select Committee for Rules, the committee on Aging, Children and Youth Legislative and Military Affairs, the committee for Revenue and Taxation, and the committee for Legislative Joint Auditory Commerce.
Vaught graduated from Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. She is affiliated with the Farm Bureau Federation. She and her husband, Jon, reside in Horatio with their three children. She is a Baptist.
In February 2015, Vaught joined dozens of her fellow Republicans and two Democrats in co-sponsoring legislation submitted by Representative Lane Jean of Magnolia, to reduce unemployment compensation benefits. The measure was promptly signed into law by Governor Asa Hutchinson.
In March 2015, Vaught spoke before the House in support of legislation dealing with the reporting of cases of child maltreatment and referred to her own experiences. She was hugged in the chamber by her Democratic colleague, Camille Bennett of Lonoke, who expressed sympathy for Vaught's personal situation.
