Democrats and incumbent Republicans fared well in Tuesday's elections across Arkansas. A roundup of some of the most memorable races of the night:
Federal/statewide races
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will face state Sen. Fred Love in the general election in November. While Sanders was unopposed, Love was primaried by Supha Xayprasith-Mays.
The nail-biter race of the evening was the packed Secretary of State Republican primary, which will likely see a runoff election. The vote was split closely between all three candidates, Sen Kim Hammer, Cathy Hardin Harrison, and Bryan Norris, with each receiving just over 30% of the vote. Ultimately Bryan Norris ended the night with 34.2%, compared to Sen. Kim Hammer’s 33.57%. There will be a runoff between those top two candidates. The winner there will go up against Democrat Kelly Grappe, who was unopposed in the primary.
Incumbent Secretary of State Cole Jester easily won the primary to become the state land commissioner. His opponent Christian Olson only got about a third of the vote. Jester will face Libertarian Christopher Olson in November.
Arkansas’ junior Republican U.S. senator survived a primary challenge. Tom Cotton secured the GOP nomination Tuesday, getting roughly 80% of the vote over challengers Jeb Little and Micah Ashby.
Cotton will face Democratic challenger Hallie Shoffner in the November general election. Shoffner beat out her primary challenger, Lewisville Mayor Ethan Dunbar, also securing more than 80% support.
Central Arkansas’ Republican Congressman French Hill also beat his primary opponent Chase McDowell. He’ll go on to face former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Chris Jones in November. Jones won the Democratic primary in a landslide against challenger Zack Huffman.
Legislative races
Republican state lawmakers appear to have fended off primary challengers backed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders for the most part Tuesday night.
State Sen. Ron Caldwell won the District 10 primary, edging out challenger Trey “BoDirt” Bohannan with over 70% of the vote as of late Tuesday. Sen. Bryan King was also ahead in the District 28 race ahead of challenger Bobby Ballinger. Sen. Blake Johnson, an ally of the governor and the current Senate Majority Leader, lost his primary in District 21 to state Rep. Jeremy Wooldridge who secured 62% of the vote.
Arkansas Democrats flipped a North Little Rock legislative seat Tuesday. Alex Holladay won the House District 70 special election against Republican challenger Bo Renshaw. Holladay will serve until January, filling out the remainder of former state Rep. Carlton Wing’s term. Holladay also won a primary race against Cordelia Smith-Johnson for a full two-year term in office, meaning he’ll face Renshaw again in the November general election.
A west Arkansas state Senate district at the center of debate over a new prison has new representation. Republican Brad Simon will serve out the remainder of the late Sen. Gary Stubblefield’s term in office. Simon beat independent candidate Adam Watson, and will serve in the upcoming fiscal legislative session. Funding for a new prison near Charleston is expected to be a contentious topic in the session next month.
County/judicial races
The Pulaski County prosecutor race put Incumbent Will Jones against Bobby Forrest Jr. — and it appears Forrest has come out on top with just under 53% of the vote. Jones' race faced scandal after an affair with his deputy prosecutor Kelly Ward was brought to light. An investigation by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette revealed he carried out the affair during work events. Jones expressed embarrassment about the affair.
Meanwhile, a Supreme Court race was close all night. Independent litigator John Adams faced Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Nick Bronni, who was appointed to the court by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Bronni ultimately came out on top, garnering about 30,000 more votes than Adams.
In the primary for Pulaski County Judge, Retired Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen ended the night with 62% of the vote, overtaking incumbent Barry Hyde who was seeking his fourth term in office. Griffen will face unopposed Republican candidate Michael Rushin. Incumbent Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins survived a challenge from James “J.D.” Wheeler, bringing in 78% of the vote, while Debra Buckner ended the night the winner for Pulaski County Treasurer in the race against Adam Fogleman.
In Lonoke County, a primary race for sheriff that garnered national attention has ended with challenger Aaron Spencer as the winner, with 53% of the vote. Spencer has been charged with the second-degree murder of a man he says was sexually abusing his then 14-year-old daughter. He has defeated incumbent Sheriff John Staley, as well as challenger David Bufford. Spencer now advances to the November general election.
This post will be updated.
