An election to fill a vacant position in the Arkansas Senate is hundreds of days away, meaning months will go by without representation in a west Arkansas district.
Republican state Sen. Gary Stubblefield died in early September. He was 74, lived in Branch, and had served in the legislature since 2012. Stubblefield represented District 26, counties filled with small towns in the western part of the state.
State law sets protocols for these kinds of legislative vacancies. Step one: the governor informs the chairs of the two state political parties of the vacancy. On September 15, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders sent a notice to GOP Chair Joseph Wood and Democratic Chair Col. Marcus Jones.
Then, each party is given a 10-day window to decide between a special primary or party convention. Both chose to have a special primary election.
The governor chooses the election date, but the law says it's supposed to be “as soon as possible,” and within 150 days of the vacancy. The only exception is if the governor thinks the deadline is “impracticable or unduly burdensome,” though statutes don't specify what this means.
Sanders made the timetable public on Friday morning, with dates far outside the 150-day window. Primaries would be held in March, with the general election in November 2026.
The move drew backlash from Democrats. Jones, the state party chair, called the decision a “middle finger” to voters.
Later Friday, Sanders released a new, expedited timeline for the elections. Candidates can file to run from November 3 to the 12th, but the primary election would be held on March 3 with runoffs, if necessary, on March 31. Election Day would be June 9, 2026.
Sanders explained her thought process in a statement. She said she initially wanted to “set the special election date to align with the existing election calendar to save taxpayer money,” but instead chose the new dates to "expedite representation for the River Valley.”
Even with the updated timeline, the 2026 fiscal legislative session, where lawmakers vote on budgets, will come and go with no one from the area in elected office.
So far, three Republicans and no Democrats have decided to run to fill the seat. One of the Republican candidates, Ted Tritt, said on Facebook that the timeline is “well beyond what the law calls for, and far beyond what our families deserve.”
His primary opponent, Brad Simon, echoed his sentiments.
“I’m not running for State Senate to sit on the sidelines,” he said on social media. “I’m ready to fight for our district NOW!”
The late Sen. Stubblefield was one of the deciding “no” votes in a package of controversial legislation the governor supports.
Sanders is working to build a 3,000-bed prison in Charleston. This plan is widely hated by locals, who worry the town is too small and too rural for the prison.
Stubblefield sided with the town, which sits in what was his district. Last year, townspeople crowded into a school gym to voice opposition. Public officials sat at tables on the basketball court, passing around a microphone as they answered questions.
Members of the Board of Corrections expressed tepid support for the prison, but other lawmakers rode waves of applause as they tore down the plan.
One of the lawmakers was Stubblefield. He was upset that townspeople weren't asked for input before the land was marked for a corrections facility.
“One of the biggest mistakes of this meeting tonight, is that it wasn't held a month ago.”
The applause this comment sparked sounded like heavy rain on a metal roof.
Stubblefield said he privately asked board members if they would want to live by the prison, and they all told him no.
“One of the fundamental principles that has made this country the greatest country on the face of the earth is transparency among the government and the people.”
Pointing at the crowd, he said: “we work for these people.”
The prison funding package still isn't law. In a surprise twist, lawmakers adjourned the 2025 session without passing a bill for the funding, though it wasn't for lack of trying. Senate Bill 354 failed five attempts to pass the Senate and become law – always falling short by a few votes.
Budget bills have a higher threshold than other legislation. The budget needed 27 votes to pass, or a three-fourths majority. The final vote was 21 to 9, with Stubblefield among the “no” votes.
