Several years ago, Mark Johnson looked at the incumbent state senator in his district and thought "I can do a better job than that."
“I talked to my family and they universally did not want me to do it,” he said. “I told them that it was a primary and in 93 days, I would either win or I wouldn't.”
He wanted the incumbent to help him oppose a real estate development in a rural area.
“And he didn't do anything wrong, he just didn't do anything,” he said. “I am of the school of thought that, if a constituent calls me, I call them back.”
Johnson grew up in a political family. His mother, Virginia Johnson, was the first woman to run for governor of Arkansas. He once worked for Congressman Wilbur Mills and former Governor Frank White.
In 2019, he finally got his own shot at a government position when he became a state senator. A Republican, Johnson says he has issues he wants to keep working on if he gets another term.
“Probably one that sticks out most in my mind right now is our prison problem,” he said. “We have too many bad guys on the street. We have too many petty criminals that are absolutely breaking into your car and stealing your packages off your porch.”
Johnson says the job of the government is to protect people.
In 2023, he co sponsored the “Protect Arkansas Act.” The law mandates convicted criminals serve longer prison sentences for their crimes. That means prisons need more bed space, but the fight to add those beds has been an ongoing issue in the courts and the legislature.
He also supports the governor's work to phase out the state income tax, agreeing with a metaphor deployed by Attorney General Tim Griffin who said doing away with the income tax is the state's “north star.”
“It's the direction that we need to go,” he said. “And people too often don't see the dynamic effect that will have.
The boundaries of Johnson's district were recently re-drawn. District 17 now incorporates the city of Conway, the same town where he attended high school and Hendrix College.
His Democratic opponent on the ballot, Maureen Skinner, is an award-winning therapist also living in Conway.
“Everything has been really hard, and weird, and sad, and scary for a really long time,” she said. “I’m not here for that. Trauma is the thief of joy and happiness.”
Skinner initially wanted to be a teacher, but changed her mind after substituting one day in college for a special education class.
“They were really having a hard time,” she said. “And I thought in my head that someone needs to help these kids survive their parents. And I changed my major the next day.”
She describes her therapy style as one with “unconditional positive regard.”
“Meeting people where they are and understanding where they’re coming from.”
Skinner ran for office in 2018, challenging then-state senator Jason Rapert, and losing by a few thousand votes. She described losing the race as a scary but rewarding experience.
“So many amazing people that have done so many amazing things,” she said. “So even though I didn't get elected, I got to keep all these amazing people.”
Skinner is far more progressive than Johnson. She is opposed to the LEARNS Act, an education law giving tax money to private schools. She thinks the law takes money away from struggling rural districts.
Meanwhile, Johnson supported the law and has been impressed with its rollout.
“It was a comprehensive approach,” he said. “I support it overwhelmingly.”
Access to legal abortion is something Skinner passionately supports.
“I can't be pregnant anymore,” she said. “But I have a daughter who can. And victims of rape, they don't have a say. This is forced birth.”
Meanwhile, Johnson calls himself “unapologetically pro-life.” He agrees with a decision made by Secretary of State John Thurston to throw out an amendment that, if approved by voters, would have legalized abortion.
In 2023, Johnson passed a law called “The Given Name Act.” It prevents teachers from using a name for a student not on their birth certificate, or a pronoun inconsistent with the gender they were assigned at birth. When a colleague expressed concern that the law could out transgender students, he responded that this was the bill's intent.
Johnson said he was inspired to write the bill after a professor he knew refused to use preferred pronouns when addressing a student.
“First of all, I wanted to protect teachers,” he said. “If some student wakes up some morning and decides they are something different from their biological sex, then I don't think we ought to be able to beat up on teachers.”
Skinner stands firmly against this law. She says once in her therapy practice, she almost went to court over a similar situation. A parent was attempting to access their child's therapy information. She refused to hand them over.
“They threatened to take me to court, she said. “I still refused. Children deserve privacy, and if they are telling the teacher their new name but not their parents, there's a reason. They must not feel safe.”
Both Maureen Skinner and state Sen. Mark Johnson will be on the ballot for voters in Conway and West Little Rock this November.
