He faced the Republican nominee, former U.S. Representative Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas's 3rd congressional district, who had previously lost the 2006 gubernatorial election to Democrat Mike Beebe.

Along with his wife Holly (divorced 2021), who is a pharmacist, they owned and operated a pharmacy and home medical equipment business in his hometown of Prescott, from 1993 until they sold it in 2007.

Ross previously served on the Nevada County Quorum Court from 1983 to 1985 and as chief of staff to then-lieutenant governor Winston Bryant from 1985 to 1989.

Ross left Congress on January 3, 2013, after choosing not to seek a seventh term and after a brief stint in the private sector as an officer and senior vice president at the Little Rock-based non-profit Southwest Power Pool, he announced his candidacy for Governor of Arkansas on April 17, 2013.

During his tenure, Ross worked alongside future governor Mike Beebe to help pass the Arkansas Academic Challenge scholarship program.

This law was more than 2,000 pages, cut Medicare by half a trillion dollars, placed huge unfunded mandates on our states and authorized the IRS to fine people who can't afford to buy health insurance.

[20] Ross said that "although he voted against the Affordable Care Act, he supports the private option, which he called an 'Arkansas-specific, bipartisan and market-based solution' that helps working families.

"[20] On June 19, 2009, Ross made clear that he and a group of other fiscally conservative, moderate Democrats, known as the Blue Dog Coalition, were increasingly unhappy with the direction that health-care legislation was taking in the House.

They claimed the health care reform bill was being written behind closed doors without their input and that the proposals being consider fall short in reducing costs and increasing efficiency, outlining only a fraction of what will be required to achieve a product that does not add to the deficit.

[21] Ross was thrust into the national spotlight on July 21 when he and a group of seven Blue Dog Democrats on Energy & Commerce bucked their party's leaders and brought the committee mark up process of H.R.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman postponed meeting publicly to discuss the health-care legislation to negotiate with the Blue Dogs, meeting privately with Ross and other members of the so-called Blue Dog Coalition, conservative Democrats who sit on the committee and could join Republicans and vote down a bill they don't like since the panel has 36 Democrats and 23 Republicans.

[23] Other concessions won by Blue Dogs, which drew immediate opposition from liberals in the chamber,[24] would shave about 10 percent from the health care overhaul's $1 trillion, 10-year price tag, in part by limiting subsidies to people who are not insured.

[30] In January 2011, Ross was one of three Democrats to vote with the unified Republican caucus for the repeal of the recent health care reform law.

Ross is against gun control and is one of the few Democratic members of Congress to consistently earn an A+ rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund.

[35] Ross won a narrow victory against incumbent Republican Jay Dickey in 2000 by portraying himself as a moderate, like the political tendencies of his district.

He picked up an easy victory in the 2006 election, defeating the similarly named Republican, real estate executive Joe Ross, 75 percent–25 percent.

"[38][39] Ross had no Republican opponent but did face Hot Springs lawyer and Green Party candidate Joshua Drake, whom he beat with a decisive 87% of the vote.

Ross was the only U.S. House member from Arkansas who sought reelection in 2010, as Democrats Robert Marion Berry and Vic Snyder retired, while Republican John Boozman ran successfully for the U.S. Senate.

[42] However, Ross resigned his position as an officer and senior vice president with Southwest Power Pool on April 2, 2013, to "pursue another opportunity in public service.

If the victim was determined to be at high risk, police would have been required to inform her about the danger she is in, encourage her to seek help and connect her with key resources.