Democratic state Rep. Alex Holladay has an unusual amount in common with Bo Renshaw, his Republican opponent.
Both candidates want to protect Medicaid. Both candidates want to regulate school vouchers. And both say voters' top concern is cost of living.
“My insurance rates have gone up,” Holladay said. “My new property tax bill has gone up. My utilities have gone up.”
Renshaw had the same experience.
“You've got the cost of groceries going up, you've got the cost of gas going up.”
Little Rock Public Radio commented that Rep. Holladay was similar to his opponent.
After his interview, Holladay called back. He didn't like the description of him as “similar” to his opponent.
“When you said we're so similar,” he said, “it's just, we’re not.”
Holladay chalked up the differences to “leadership.” He says, as a state representative, he thinks for himself. He makes decisions based on what his constituents need.
“I am going to push back against the governor,” he said. “Where if you look at the way Republicans vote, they may cause fuss in the meeting, but they are still going to push the button yes for what our governor wants.”
The candidates have limited overlap in their personal lives. Renshaw is a physical therapist who once treated Holladay for an injury. Both candidates work in the medical field. Holladay is a Program Manager at UAMS. He lives down the street from Renshaw’s clinic.
Renshaw disagrees with Holladay on one vote. He thought Holladay was wrong to vote “no” on cutting the state income tax.
“He was a very very vocal no,” Renshaw said.
When Holladay ran the first time, he said he would vote to phase out the income tax, even though he's a Democrat.
Today, he says he would still love to get rid of it. He was a “no” on this most recent proposal because it didn't provide much relief.
“About 80% of our citizens were going to get $77 for the whole year,” said Holladay.
Renshaw would have been a “yes” on the tax cut. He even sent out a campaign mailer saying: “Holladay voted for you to keep paying higher taxes.”
“I think that's going to put pay back in the pay check,” Renshaw said. “And people need to be able to keep what they earned.”
District 70 covers the suburbs north of Little Rock. Local elections in District 70 are nailbiters. It's one of the few truly purple districts in Arkansas.
In 2016, President Donald Trump won District 70, while the two national elections since went for Democrats.
In 2024, the statehouse race came down to a few votes. Holladay ran against then-Republican Rep. Carlton Wing.
Wing won by 286 votes.
But, midway through his two-year term, Wing left. He was appointed to oversee Arkansas PBS. The station has now rebranded to Arkansas TV.
The statehouse was one person short. A special election was held in March of this year. Holladay tried again. He ran against Bo Renshaw. An identical race to the one we're seeing now.
But this time he won. Holladay flipped District 70, and got to serve out the one remaining year of Wing's term.
This gave him five months to serve in the legislature. Not a great opportunity for him to pass legislation. But he says it's a great opportunity to grow in the job.
“The only thing I was able to do at the capitol, was build relationships.”
The next general session promises to be eventful. The statehouse may debate affordability, healthcare and school voucher regulations in 2027.
