Background
Purcell was born in Warren, the seat of Bradley County, in southern Arkansas.
attorney general lawyer lieutenant governor
Purcell was born in Warren, the seat of Bradley County, in southern Arkansas.
He graduated from Little Rock Junior College and the University of Arkansas School of Law at Fayetteville.
From 1962 to 1967, he served as the municipal judge in Benton in Saline County. He also served as prosecuting attorney in Benton prior to having been elected judge. In 1966, Purcell unseated Attorney General Bruce Bennett, a strong segregationist from El Dorado in the Democratic primary election.
He was reelected as lieutenant governor in 1976 and 1978 under Governors David Pryor and Bill Clinton.
He served as Acting Governor for six days in 1979, having filled the unexpired term of then senator-elect David Hampton Pryor of Camden. Purcell was twice a candidate for governor.
In 1970, he was considered the leading challenger to former Governor Orval Faubus and ran second to Faubus throughout the primary race, but was edged out of a runoff berth by less than 500 votes by Charleston attorney Dale Bumpers, who went on to defeat Faubus and then the Republican Governor Winthrop Rockefeller in the general election. Purcell was Bumpers" choice to chair the Arkansas Democratic Party, a position which he held from 1970 to 1973.
He entered the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1982 and surpisingly edged out former Congressman Jim Guy Tucker for a runoff berth with former Governor Bill Clinton.
Purcell lost the Democratic nomination in a runoff primary to Clinton, 46 to 54 percent. Purcell resided in Benton until his death at the age of sixty-three. He had three grandchildren: Brian Hogue, David Hogue, and Erin Hogue.