Results: 2024 Arkansas General Election

Several national, state and local races were decided on Election Day in Arkansas. Here’s a look at some of the most famous races in the state and here in central Arkansas.

US House of Representatives

All four Republican incumbent members of the Arkansas delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives won re-election on Tuesday. In the 2nd Congressional District, which covers most of Little Rock, Rep. French Hill defeated his Democratic challenger, Col. Marcus Jones.

Jones said he was proud of the campaign he led to unseat the longtime president. He called Hill to concede the race Tuesday night. In his concession speech, he thanked voters and spoke about reproductive rights.

“And we may not have won today, but I have to ask you to come back again,” he said. “Vote like your daughter’s life depends on it, because in Arkansas it does.”

Incumbent 1st District Rep. Rick Crawford won the race against Democratic challenger Rodney Gowens and Libertarian Steve Parsons. Crawford has represented Arkansas’s eastern district in Congress since 2011. Govens is a court-appointed special counsel and, like Crawford, is a military veteran. Parsons has a PhD in economics.

Early that night, Gowens thought he might be in for a “breakdown.”

“Arkasnas as a whole,” he said in his concession speech, “we just don’t vote.”

In northwest Arkansas, 3rd District incumbent Rep. Steve Womack defeated Democratic challenger Caitlin Draper. Womack has represented the district since 2011 after serving as mayor of Rogers. Draper is a social worker and political newcomer who has made reproductive rights a central theme of her campaign.

Rep. Bruce Westerman won re-election to Arkansas’s 4th Congressional District, defeating his Democratic challenger Risi Howard. Westerman has served in Congress since 2014 and currently chairs the House Natural Resources Committee. Howard is an attorney in Pine Bluff.

Little Rock City Board of Directors

Incumbent City Manager Antwan Phillips easily re-elected his challenger, Jordan Thomas. Phillips, a close ally of Mayor Frank Scott Jr., has served on the board since 2021. Thomas is a soybean meal broker who has lived in Little Rock since 2016.

Political newcomer Blake Tierney sought to unseat Joan Adcock, Little Rock City’s longest-serving board member.

As of Tuesday evening, Adcock appeared poised to retain her City Council seat by a narrow margin. 52% of the votes voted for her, and 47% for her opponent.

Much of their respective campaigns focused on the differences between them; Adcock compared her years of service to Tierney’s youth, while Tierney said he would bring a fresh perspective to the City Council.

Results of the Stone Sales Tax Initiative

Voters in Little Rock were asked to weigh in on two separate sales tax increases combined as the “Results for Rock” initiative championed by Mayor Frank Scott Jr. One is a permanent three-eighths of a cent increase, the other is a five-eighths of a cent increase that expires after 10 years.

Funding from the sales tax increase will go to what Scott calls the “four Ps”: parks, public safety, public infrastructure and the Port of Little Rock. The funding will also fund the construction of two new youth sports complexes, estimated at a total cost of approximately $115 million.

As of Tuesday evening, both taxes appeared doomed to fail. About 40% of voters voted for both taxes. This is the second time Scott has sought a sales tax increase; a previous attempt failed in 2021.

Issue 1

Voters approved the first option by a large margin. This amendment allows state scholarships funded by lottery proceeds to be used to educate students in vocational schools. Lottery-funded scholarships were previously available only to students at two- and four-year colleges and universities. Question 1 was the only measure on the Arkansas Legislature’s ballot this election cycle.

Issue 2

As of late Tuesday, Issue 2 appeared to be on its way to acceptance. This amendment would cancel the existing license issued to Cherokee Nation Businesses to build a new casino in Pope County. It also requires local approval of any new casinos in the state. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, which unsuccessfully applied for a casino license in Pope County, raised just under $18 million in support of Issue 2. The Cherokee Nation spent just over $12 million on it.

Question 2 was the only measure successfully placed on the ballot by Arkansas citizens this election cycle. Several other grassroots initiatives, such as medical marijuana and abortion legalization, failed to make it onto the ballot.

Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court

Both candidates vying for the post of court chairman are current members of the court. Judges Karen Baker and Rhonda Wood vote.

As of Tuesday evening, Baker was likely to get the top job. Wood was about 4% behind.

Whoever wins will become the first woman to serve as chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court.

The race became especially contentious after Judge Wood wrote the majority opinion rejecting an amendment to legalize abortion up to the 18th week of pregnancy.

Meanwhile, Baker is difficult to pin down on the campaign trail. She has not agreed to be interviewed by most news stations, including Little Rock Public Radio, about her candidacy.

Arkansas Court of Appeals

This race is a competition for the seat left by a former member of the court. Judge Rita Gruber served in this position for 15 years. The two candidates are Molly McNulty and Circuit Judge Casey Tucker.

As of Tuesday evening, Tucker is winning the race. She leads McNulty by about 10,000 votes.

The Arkansas Court of Appeals operates as a “court of last resort” or “court of last resort,” reviewing already decided cases and giving them a second look.

The court has twelve judges who are part of panels that change every month. Collegiums have the right to overturn decisions of lower courts.

District Judge, Sixth Judicial District, 17th Department

Attorneys Brent Eubanks and Robert Cortines were running for the state’s Sixth Judicial Circuit judgeship. As of Tuesday evening, Eubanks was leading the race.

Treasurer

The state treasurer will be responsible for managing approximately $9 billion of state money. It was announced that the election would fill the seat left vacant by the death of former Treasurer Mark Lowry.

Three candidates vied for this position: Republican Secretary of State John Thurston, Democrat John Pagan and Libertarian Michael Pacco.

Thurston won the race by a significant margin, receiving nearly twice as many votes as Pagan.

Terson’s successor as secretary of state will be nominated by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Legislative races

House District 92 (Julie Mayberry, David Murray)

Arkansas District 92 includes parts of Saline County, the city of Hensley and all of Grant County.

Republican Rep. Julie Mayberry won re-election by a landslide. She received 11,424 votes, while her opponent David Murray received just over 2,000.

Mayberry has represented the district for several years. Before she took this position, her husband, Andy Mayberry, served two terms in the Legislature.

Democratic challenger David Murray is a former contractor. Before running for office, he worked in hotel and retail construction in the Midwest.

Senate District 17 (Mark Johnson, Maureen Skinner)

Republican state Sen. Mark Johnson has been in the position since he first ran in 2019. On Tuesday, he won re-election again, receiving 21,909 votes to his opponent’s 15,697.

Democratic challenger Maureen Skinner is a therapist in Conway. She has already run for president; in 2018, she failed to win a race against then-state Sen. Jason Rapert.

House District 69 (David Ray, Kwami Abdul-Bey)

Arkansas House District 69 covers parts of Faulkner and Pulaski counties. Democratic candidate Kwami Abdul-Bey unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Republican Rep. David Ray, who received about 5,000 more votes than Abdul-Bey.

There was tension between the two candidates during the campaign; Abdul Bey says Ray sent out a letter about him that Abdul Bey called “racist.” Ray denies the allegations.

House District 70 (Carlton Wing, Alex Holladay)

This area covers North Little Rock and Indian Hills. Democratic candidate Alex Holladay works at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

All Tuesday night it looked like Wing was close to losing the race. One Democratic strategist called the race a “nail-biter.” The final vote count was 7,082 for Holladay and 7,368 for Wing.

Wing was first elected in 2016 and has served in the position since then.

House District 75 (Ashley Hudson, Michael White)

Both candidates were vying to represent West Little Rock County in the state House of Representatives. The incumbent is Democratic Rep. Ashley Hudson, and her Libertarian challenger is Michael White.

Hudson received nearly twice as many votes as White, meaning she will serve another term in the House.

White unsuccessfully challenged Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill in 2022.

House District 54 (Mary Bentley, Doug Corbitt)

Republican Rep. Mary Bentley was first elected in 2014. Her opponent was Democrat Doug Corbitt, a philosophy professor at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

Bentley won re-election decisively, receiving about 5,000 more votes than her opponent.

Their district covers Faulkner, Perry, Pope, Saline and Yell counties.

House District 78 (James Bartholomew, Keith Brooks)

Republican Rep. Keith Brooks is being challenged by Democratic candidate James Henry Bartolomei, a Little Rock attorney. Brooks won re-election with over 67% of the vote. Their district covers Roland and Ferndale, as well as parts of Little Rock, Benton and Bryant.

House District 71 (Brandon Achor, Cassandra Green)

Incumbent Republican Rep. Brandon Achor, a pharmacy owner, won re-election against his Democratic challenger, educator Cassandra Greene. Achor received about 56% of the vote compared to Greene’s 44%. Their district covers Maumelle and part of Pulaski County.

House District 67 (Carilyn Brown, Andrew Cade Eberle)

Republican Rep. Carylyn Brown faces Democratic challenger Andrew Cade Eberle. Brown won her seat in the 2022 election by only 510 votes. She won the seat by about 2,000 more votes than her Democratic opponent this year.