​Sept. 8, 2025

State Auditor Dennis Milligan Announces Re-Election Campaign

​

Little Rock, AR – Auditor of State Dennis Milligan announced today he will be seeking re-election to a second term.

​

“After long and prayerful consideration, I am announcing that I will be seeking a second term to the office of Auditor of State,” Milligan said. “Simply put, I want to see the work I’ve started in this office through to completion.”

​

The state auditor’s office is responsible for payroll for more than 700 state elected officials, Supreme Court justices, prosecuting attorneys and their deputies. It also administers the state’s unclaimed property program, commonly known as the Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt.

Milligan touted his work on modernizing the office’s antiquated payroll system, streamlining the process by which Arkansans receive payments for unclaimed property, and cutting through decades’ worth of bureaucratic red tape for businesses who report property to the state.

​

“Four years ago when I ran for this office, I promised the People of Arkansas I would update the office’s out-of-date payroll system,” Milligan said. “That promise was kept as we successfully transferred more than 700 payroll recipients to the Arkansas Administrative Statewide Information System (AASIS) within my first 18 months in office – at no additional cost to taxpayers. And we never missed a payroll.”

Following the payroll transition, Milligan began work to implement a Data Match program for the state’s unclaimed property program, which launched in August.

​

“We’ve streamlined the unclaimed property process with our new Data Match program, cutting red tape for Arkansans so they can get their money easier,” he said. “Through this program, I will return millions of dollars to its rightful owners – families, veterans, small business owners – people who deserve to have what is theirs.”

​

The Auditor’s office is just beginning to see the full potential of its Data Match program, and Milligan plans to explore ways to expand the program in his second term to businesses and heirs rather than only individuals as it currently applies.

“I’ve said it before: This money and property does not belong to the state. It belongs to the citizens of Arkansas, and I intend to make every effort possible to return it back to them,” Milligan said, adding that he wants to be known as the Auditor who returned the most unclaimed property to its rightful owners in state history.

​

“To date, I have returned more than $90 million in unclaimed money back to its rightful owners, and we’re just getting started,” he said.

​

Milligan has also improved efficiency in the way businesses – or “holders” – report property to his office, both through a new voluntary compliance program and a new electronic-payment process.

​

“Through my voluntary compliance reporting program, my team and I have made it easier for holders to report unclaimed property to us so we can, in turn, get this money back to its rightful owners faster,” Milligan said. “Because of this new program, we have received record receipts from holders and have increased the number of Arkansas businesses that are now complying with the state’s unclaimed property law.

​

“But that’s not all,” he continued. “When I came into office, I implemented an electronic remittance system for holders. I’m proud to say that 85% of all businesses reporting unclaimed property to my office now remit funds for those properties electronically – increasing efficiency and lessening the workload on my staff.”

​

Milligan is serving in his first term as Auditor of State and was elected in 2022 with nearly 67% of the popular vote. Prior to that, Milligan served two terms as Treasurer of State, generating more than $600 million in investment earnings for the state at a time when federal interest rates were at or near zero.

​

“This office isn’t just about numbers. It’s about people,” Milligan said. “It’s about the single mom who found forgotten savings through our unclaimed property program. It’s about the retiree who finally got clarity on a pension check. It’s about every Arkansan who deserves a government that works as hard as they do.

​

“Let me be clear: I’m not done. If you give me the honor of serving another term, I’ll continue to push for innovation and high-quality service for you – the taxpayer. We’ll continue our efforts to return money and property to the people it belongs, and we’ll make this office a model of public service for years to come.”

​

Prior to his work in public service, Milligan owned and operated a small business for 38 years, building it from scratch and expanding it into 17 states.

​

“As a small businessman, I have always believed my word was enough,” he said. “I made the citizens of Arkansas a promise and I am proud to continue to say the promises I made were promises kept.

​

“As a lifelong Arkansan who has raised a daughter and now enjoys watching my three grandchildren grow up in Arkansas, I believe in this state. I believe in its people,” Milligan continued. “And I believe that together, we can keep building a government that earns your trust every single day.

​

“I ask for your vote. I ask for your support. And I ask for your prayers and continued partnership in making Arkansas the great state it is today. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the great state of Arkansas!”

​

##