Gilbert Baker

On January 11, 2019, Baker was indicted on counts of conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud. The indictment is related to a bribery scheme involving former Faulkner County Circuit Judge Mike Maggio.

Term-limited in 2012, he left the Senate to become the executive assistant to the president at the University of Central Arkansas at Conway, where he resides.

In September 2009, Baker announced his intentions to run for the U.S. Senate. He joined a crowded GOP field, including his senatorial colleague Kim Hendren. Polls showed discontent with Lincoln's Senate performance and voting record. A poll taken November 5, 2009, showed Lincoln with a 43 percent job-approval rating, nearly 9 points down from her 2008 approval rating.

After announcing for the U.S. Senate, Baker was endorsed by twenty-three members of the State House and Senate. On December 5, 2009, Baker won a straw poll in Hot Springs with 35 percent of the vote in a field of seven.

Baker ranked third in Arkansas State Senate seniority in his final term, and served as co-chair of the Joint Budget Committee and vice chairman of the State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. He also served on the Arkansas Legislative Council, the Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee, Legislative Facilities, Children and Youth Committee, Senate Efficiency, and Academic Facilities Oversight Committee. From 1997 to 1999, he was the Republican chairman for Faulkner County.

Gilbert R. Baker (born September 5, 1956) is a Republican former member of the Arkansas State Senate for District 30, with service from 2001 to 2013. In 2010, Baker was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate seat formerly held by the Democrat Blanche Lincoln.