2026 Arkansas state legislative special elections
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As of March 7, 2026, two special elections to the U.S. state of Arkansas's state legislature, the Arkansas Legislature, were held in 2026: one to the Arkansas Senate in District 26, and one to the Arkansas House of Representatives in District 70. Both were held on March 3, 2026. Both elections were originally scheduled to be held much later, sparking several lawsuits which were eventually consolidated. In November 2025, Governor of Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders ordered the special elections to be moved to March after court orders.
District 26
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 Simon: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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A special election was made necessary in Senate District 26 by the death of Republican incumbent Gary Stubblefield on September 2, 2025. The general election will take place on March 3, 2026. Partisan primaries will be held on January 6 with a runoff election on February 3 if necessary. Political party candidates had until November 12, 2025 to file to run for the primary, and independents have until November 26, 2025 to file to run in the general election.[1]
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders had originally planned to hold the special election alongside the general election in November 2026, 427 days after Stubblefield's death. Arkansas state law states that state legislative special elections must take within 150 days of the vacancy, unless the 150-day time frame is "impracticable or unduly burdensome". The original election date would have left the District 26 seat empty throughout the 2026 fiscal session. The decision received bipartisan pushback, with Republican primary candidates Brad Simon, Ted Tritt, and the chair of the Arkansas Democratic Party all condemning the date.[2]
It was later revised to take place on June 9, 280 days after the vacancy. This date still far exceeded the 150-day legal deadline by which the election needed to be held, under the June schedule a new member would still not be sworn in before the end of the 2026 fiscal session. Of the 17 special elections called since 2011 to fill vacancies in the state legislature, only eight have been held within that 150-day window, with the other eight only exceeding it by about a month. Both the 427-day and 280-day wait to till Stubblefield's vacancy was longer than any other special election called since 2011, with the 280-day wait being 91 days longer than the previous longest date.
After the election date was moved to June 9, 2026, Franklin County resident Colt Shelby filed a lawsuit stating the election date violated state law.[3] On October 22, 2025, 6th Circuit Court Judge Patti James ruled in Shelby's favor and ordered an earlier election date. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester attempted to appeal the decision to the Arkansas Supreme Court, but the Court denied Sanders' and Jester's stay, leaving the lower court's ruling standing.[4]
On November 16, Sanders complied with the court order and moved the election dates to March 3, 2026. Sanders remained defiant, repeatedly calling the decision an "unlawful order" in her proclamation moving the election dates.
Senate District 26 is located in Western Arkansas and contains parts of the counties of Franklin, Johnson, Logan, and Sebastian.[5] Municipalities with populations above 1,000 in the district include Booneville, Charleston, Clarksville, Greenwood, Lamar, Lavaca, Ozark, Paris, and parts of Barling and Fort Smith. Stubblefield was re-elected in 2022 with 83.78 percent of the vote over a Libertarian opponent.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Brad Simon, businessman[6]
Eliminated in runoff
- Wade Dunn, businessman[6]
Eliminated in first round
- Mark Berry, former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives (2021–2025) from the 82nd district (2021–2023) and the 26th district (2023–2025)[7]
- Stacie Smith, community affairs coordinator[8]
- Ted Tritt, oil businessman[7]
Disqualified
- Brenda Brewer, District 11 justice of the peace and Logan County Republican Party official[9]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Wade Dunn | 2,293 | 37.36% | |
| Republican | Brad Simon | 1,896 | 30.89% | |
| Republican | Mark H. Berry | 836 | 13.62% | |
| Republican | Stacie Smith | 572 | 9.32% | |
| Republican | Ted Tritt | 540 | 8.80% | |
| Total votes | 6,137 | 100.00% | ||
Runoff
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Brad Simon | 3,632 | 65.05% | |
| Republican | Wade Dunn | 1,951 | 34.95% | |
| Total votes | 5,583 | 100.00% | ||
Independent candidates
Declared
- Adam Watson, farmer and paralegal[12]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Brad Simon | 8,922 | 69.02% | −30.98% | |
| Independent | Adam Watson | 4,005 | 30.98% | +30.98% | |
| Total votes | 12,927 | 100.00 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
| County | Brad Simon Republican |
Adam Watson Independent |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Franklin (part) | 1,156 | 53.57% | 1,002 | 46.43% | 154 | 7.14% | 2,158 |
| Johnson (part) | 2,088 | 71.51% | 832 | 28.49% | 1,256 | 43.02% | 2,920 |
| Logan (part) | 2,737 | 75.69% | 879 | 24.31% | 1,858 | 51.38% | 3,616 |
| Sebastian (part) | 2,941 | 69.48% | 1,292 | 30.52% | 1,649 | 38.96% | 4,233 |
| Totals | 8,922 | 69.02% | 4,005 | 30.98% | 4,917 | 38.04% | 12,927 |
Arkansas House of Representatives
District 44
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A special election for District 44 will be held on August 4, 2026, to fill the vacancy left by the death of Rep. Stan Berry. Primaries will be held on June 2. If required, a primary runoff election will be held on June 30. Political party candidates have until April 20 to file to run for the primary, and independents have until April 24 to file to run in the general election.[14]
District 70
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A special election was made necessary in House District 70 by the resignation of Republican incumbent Carlton Wing on September 30, 2025, to become executive director of Arkansas PBS. The general election took place on March 3, 2026. Partisan primaries were held on January 6 with a runoff election on February 3 if necessary. Political party candidates had until November 12, 2025 to file to run for the primary, and independents have until November 26, 2025 to file to run in the general election.
Similarly to the Senate District 26 election, the special election was scheduled to take place after the 2026 fiscal session of the Legislature. Its lawsuits were consolidated with the SD 26 case, and the elections were ordered to be moved earlier in the year.
House District 70 is located entirely within Pulaski County in the Little Rock metropolitan area, containing parts Gibson, North Little Rock, and Sherwood. Republican Carlton Wing was re-elected in 2024 with 50.97 percent over the vote against a Democratic opponent. District 70 was one of the two closest Arkansas state house races in 2024, leading many to predict a Democratic victory in the special election, given the party's recent performances in other special elections across the country. While a Democratic victory would barely make a dent in the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, it could factor into negotiations for appropriations legislation, which requires a 75% supermajority to pass in each chamber.[15]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Declared
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alex Holladay | 641 | 79.63% | |
| Democratic | Cordelia Smith-Johnson | 164 | 20.37% | |
| Total votes | 805 | 100.00% | ||
Republican nominee
- Bo Renshaw, physical therapist[16]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alex Holladay | 4,033 | 57.38% | +8.35% | |
| Republican | Bo Renshaw | 2,995 | 42.62% | −8.35% | |
| Total votes | 7,028 | 100.00 | |||
| Turnout | 20,935 | 33.57% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
References
- ↑ Huckabee Sanders, Sarah. "Sanders Announces Update in Special Election to Fill Vacancy in Office for State Representative for District 70, State Senator for District 26". Governor of Arkansas. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ Albarado, Sonny (27 September 2025). "After resistance, Sanders revises election date to fill vacant Arkansas Senate seat". Arkansas Advocate. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
- ↑ Swaim, Kyler (6 October 2025). "Franklin County resident sues Gov. Sanders, Secretary of State over District 26 special election timeline". KNWA-TV. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ Wynn, Reagan; Roper, Campbell (13 November 2025). "Gov. Sanders' bid to postpone Senate District 26 vote denied". KNWA-TV. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ "2021 Adopted Legislative Redistricting Maps - State Senate" (PDF). Arkansas Redistricting. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
- 1 2 Turbeville, Ryan (4 February 2026). "Brad Simon wins GOP primary runoff for Senate District 26 special election, set to face Adam Watson in March". KARK-TV. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- 1 2 Van Wilpe, Delaney (2 October 2025). "Four candidates intend to run for vacant Senate District 26 seat". KFSM-TV. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
- ↑ Van Wilpe, Delaney (17 November 2025). "Who has filed to run for Arkansas Senate District 26 seat?". KFSM-TV. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ Wickline, Michael R. (22 October 2025). "Logan County JP drops out of Arkansas state Senate race over eligibility concerns". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- 1 2 "2026 Special Primary Election". Arkansas Secretary of State. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
- ↑ "2026 Special Runoff Election". Arkansas State Elections. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ↑ Vrbin, Tess (25 November 2025). "Independent candidate confirmed to appear on Arkansas Senate District 26 special election ballot". Arkansas Advocate. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
- ↑ "2026 Special General Election". Arkansas Secretary of State. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ↑ Grajeda, Antoinette (2026-04-10). "Arkansas governor schedules August election to fill late lawmaker's seat". Arkansas Advocate. Retrieved 2026-04-14.
- ↑ Hardy, Benjamin (2025-12-08). "Democrats have a very good shot to pick up a NLR state House seat in March". Arkansas Times. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
- 1 2 3 Tilley, Michael (16 November 2025). "Gov. Sanders abides by court orders, sets new dates in two legislative special elections". Talk Business. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ "2026 Special General Election". Arkansas Secretary of State. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
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