Former ‘Counting On’ Star Jim Bob Duggar Announces He’s Running for Arkansas State Senator, Gets Slammed Due to Son Josh’s Upcoming Child Sex AbuseTrial: “Maybe Focus on Your Own Family!”

“I’m talking to you, haters in my District!” 

Jim Bob Duggar isn’t going to let a pesky thing like his son Josh’s upcoming child p0rnography possession trial get in the way of his career aspirations!

The former Counting On and 19 Kids & Counting star announced on Friday that he is running for Arkansas State Senator for District 7 (which includes towns in eastern Washington County, including the Duggars’ hometown of Springdale). The Senate seat opened on Thursday when Senator Lance Eads resigned from the position after winning the election in 2020.

Though ‘Counting On’ was cancelled earlier this year due to Josh’s legal issues, Jim Bob has been keeping helping Josh fight his charges, which include possessing and receiving child p0rnography.

“SHH! Maybe no one will bring that whole Josh thing up?”

Jimmy B posted his candidacy announcement to the Duggar Family’s official Facebook page. However, the announcement did not go over well, with many fans vocalizing that Jim Bob should focus on “fixing” his own family before trying to get back into politics.

Jim Bob served as a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999-2003. In 2002, he ran for the U.S. Senate but lost. He lost again in 2006, when he sought the Republican nomination for the District 35 seat in the Arkansas State Senate.

In November 2020, Jim Bob’s son, Jed Duggar, was defeated in his bid to become the Arkansas State Representative for District 89 in Springdale.

Anyway, Jim Bob and his wife Michelle shared the news of Jim Bob’s candidacy, telling their fans, “We are excited to share this big announcement with you! Thank you in advance for your prayers and support!”

They then posted a press release, which stated, “Jim Bob Duggar announces he will be a candidate for Arkansas State Senate District 7, which includes Springdale, Johnson, Goshen and Elkins in eastern Washington County. Jim Bob previously served in the Arkansas House of Representatives for four years (1999-2002).

“Jim Bob was born and raised in Springdale, attended Springdale Public Schools and graduated from Shiloh Christian High School. At 18 Jim Bob acquired his real estate license and went on to become a successful commercial real estate investor. He married his high school sweetheart Michelle Ruark Duggar 37 years ago and they went on to have 20 children and have been blessed with 22 grandchildren so far.”

In a quote for the press release, Jimmy B made sure to note that he and Michelle churned out and raised their litter of children in Northwest Arkansas.

“I am honored to announce my candidacy for Arkansas State Senate District 7. Northwest Arkansas is my lifelong home,” Jim Bob said. “It’s where my wife Michelle and I have raised our 20 children. It’s where we’ve grown our small businesses. It’s where we’ve built a life centered around our faith, family, and friends. Our family has been blessed by God in so many ways. We’ve found His love and goodness to be our source of strength in both our most joyous occasions and our darkest moments. It’s important to us to give back and to help others in every way we can.

“I’m running for State Senate because these are unprecedented times in our nation. Out-of-control bureaucrats have put politics over common-sense policy with government mandates that force people to choose between earning a paycheck and violating their personal rights and beliefs. The foundational principles that have made our nation great are under threat like never before.”

“You’re not talking about me, right, Dad?”

Jim Bob made his stance on guns, business and family clear.

“Now more than ever, we need a bold voice that is pro-family, pro-business, pro-gun and pro-life. It’s time for conservatives to demand courageous leadership that puts Arkansas families, jobs, and our constitutional liberties first. I look forward to being your voice in the Arkansas State Senate.”

While the Duggars received some support in the comment section of their announcement, they were bombarded with comments from outraged people, who brought up Josh’s legal issues and the very serious crimes he’s charged with, and well as the fact that Jim Bob and Michelle have defended Josh over the years. Others noted that now may not be the best time for Jim Bob to try to enter back into politics.

“Shouldn’t he fix his own house before sticking his nose in other peoples business?” one person wrote in the comment section.

“Y’all don’t have bigger fish to fry right now?” another asked.

“Maybe focus on your own family, that’s more than a full time job and you’re clearly not doing great at that,” someone else wrote.

“Bad choice, in my opinion,” another person wrote. “The Duggar family have current and past family legal issues with their oldest son. Yes I know he’s a grown adult but said things happened in the home before he was an adult, and were never resolved therefore, it does come back to the parents…”

Others brought up the fact that Jim Bob and Michelle failed to protect four of their daughters from being molested by Josh when they were all minors. (The family’s first show, “19 Kids and Counting” was cancelled after the molestations were discovered by a tabloid in 2015. Jim Bob and Michelle went on to defend Josh in a series of interviews.)

Jill and Derick reacting to the news of Jim Bob running…probably…

“Prolife yet you refused to protect your daughters from your son,” one person wrote.

Josh’s trial is set to begin November 30. Earlier this month, the deadline passed for Josh to accept a plea deal, but he did not change his “not guilty” plea. If convicted, Josh faces up to 20 years in prison.

RELATED STORY: Deadline for Josh Duggar to Accept Plea Deal Has Passed; Judge Rules Videos Found on Former “19 Kids & Counting” Star’s Phone Can Be Used at His Trial

(Photos: TLC; Facebook; Instagram)

28 Comments

  1. I despise this man and his idiot wife. Popping out their ‘blessings’ to populate their cult, not bothering to raise, educate, protect, or get to know any of them. Walking around with their gurning smiles on their faces, trying desperately to keep up the facade of a perfect godly family, while shielding a monster in their midst (that they created) just because he has a penis and is therefore more important than his sisters. They are the worst example of a happy, functioning family, and these two are wilfully ignorant of this. They are mysogynist peado-defenders and they make me sick.

    Also, they’re not pro-life, they are anti-choice. Got to keep the women in line. Puke.


  2. Do they have kids still at home?
    Besides the grown daughter .
    Wonder if their cult let women vote.?
    🤢🤮


  3. He is so tone deaf that this must be a joke.

    Looking at the pictures of boys vs girls all I can think is…poor Michelle pushing out all those huuuge Jim Bob freakin’ heads out her cooter. I’d be one and done so…..she’s certainly fulfilling Jim Bob’s wifely duties.


  4. I’m amazed at the sheer of audacity of claiming to be pro-family and pro-life while also being pro-gun, failing to protect your own daughters from their child-molesting brother, and continuing to defend that child molester now that he’s facing child porn charges. The saddest part is that there are people who will vote for him.


  5. Rim Job really has balls, doesn’t he? It’s one thing for people in politics to run while such character discrepancies are kept quiet or private, but to run for office in the midst of your oldest blessing’s very public CSAI case is something else. Tone deaf doesn’t even begin to describe it.


  6. I bet he’s doing this to influence his pedo son’s trial. Otherwise he can’t really expect people to vote for him when his own son (who has a history of abusing his own sisters and cheating on his wife) is heading for trial for kiddy p0rn. Even him can’t be so delusional


  7. He is a BASTARD!!! Anyone that would vote for this Bastard is just like him !!~! How could he even Run for Office?????


  8. How can you be pro-life AND pro-gun? America is honestly a crazy country now; “no you may not abort your incestual child conceived through rape, but here’s a gun- go nuts!”


    1. Reminds me of that abortion episode of Family Guy: “once they’re out of the vagina, they can go f**k themselves”.


  9. There is nothing about this man that would make me vote for him, I would be scared to go to Arkansas if he is elected, tells you what kind of people live there.


  10. Besides the whole protection-of-the-pedo-son problem, Jim Boob and Michelle used their own children to make money off of for DECADES! None of the money from any of the shows went to the kids, it all went to Jim Boob. Every relationship in his life is transactional! Imagine what he will do to the taxpayers of Arkansas!


  11. First of all, they didn’t raise 20 kids. No idea how they forgot to count their own offspring, but I guess that’s just how they do math? 🤷🏻‍♀️ And pro life my ASS. They just want more kids in the world so josh can abuse them and they can ignore the problem. They aren’t “pro family” either when they did next to nothing to protect the family they have 🙄 fuck off


    1. They (probably largely because Josh was never convicted/out of the house by then) have semi-quietly had guardianship of a young teenage relative of Michelle’s for the last several years.
      I cannot overstate how much that I hate that I know this.
      Or that the grandkid count is only accurate if Anna (Josh’s wife) has very recently given birth to their seventh child but not announced it yet.
      In my defense, this all comes from a snark page on Reddit that’s pretty critical of them and their cult.


  12. This guy.

    His plastered on hair, fake smile, and controlling personality are screaming RED FLAGS, and they are just the tip of that pickle breath ice berg.

    If they elect him, they get what they get.

    Let’s hope that enough people vote for a better candidate, and that the closets that we know hold his skeletons finally bust open and seen!!!


  13. I’m sure he has a popular platform for his area of the world,

    but hell to the naw naw naw.

    He’ll probably try to change the laws to protect his chi mo son.


    1. I have a friend who lives in Springdale, AR. The majority of the population there despises the Duggars. They hate that this family is the face of the town and thus will lead most people to think that everyone there is like them and holds their same beliefs. JB may have a small group of supporters, but he definitely will not have the votes of the entire region.


  14. doesn’t he know that reality tv stars running for political office doesn’t end well? and what makes him think he’d win while he’s defending his pos son


  15. doesn’t he know that reality tv stars running for political office doesn’t end well? what makes him think he has a shot especially while he’s supporting his disgusting pedophile son


  16. Every pedophile in Arkansas will vote for his pathetic ass. He forgot to add that based on his own actions he is also pro-child porn and pro molestation. He also doesn’t hold his own son accountable for his vile, repulsive actions against his own sisters. He is a disgrace!

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