Hallie Shoffner
American political candidate (born 1987)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hallie Shoffner (born August 31, 1987)[1] is an American farmer and political candidate. She previously managed her family's rice and soybean farm, a seed company, and founded an agricultural food hub.
Hallie Shoffner | |
|---|---|
Shoffner in 2026 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 31, 1987 Jackson County, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Michael Sullivan |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Vanderbilt University (BA) Clinton School of Public Service (MPS[a]) |
| Website | Campaign website |
Shoffner is the Democratic nominee for the 2026 United States Senate election in Arkansas, challenging Republican incumbent Tom Cotton.
Early life and education
In 1987, Shoffner was born to John and Wendy Shoffner, who had just moved back from Texas. Shoffner grew up on a rice and soybean family farm that had been operated by her family for six generations[2][3] in Shoffner, a community near Newport, Arkansas in Jackson County, Arkansas that was named for her family.[4] She earned a black belt in karate at age 17.[5]
Shoffner attended Newport High School.[6] She earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish from Vanderbilt University on a full ride Robert Harvey Scholarship.[7][8] During college, studied abroad at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid.[7] In 2011, she graduated with a Master of Public Service from the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas.[3][9] As a student, Shoffner worked for Centro de Promoción y Defensa de Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos (PROMSEX), a nonprofit organization that combats gender inequality in Peru.[10][2]
From 2011 to 2012, Shoffner was executive director of Seis Puentes, a nonprofit serving Hispanic and Latino Americans in North Little Rock.[6][11][12][13] In 2012, Shoffner was deputy campaign manager for Arkansas state representative Tracy Steele's run for mayor of North Little Rock.[6] Steele led the general election 48–41 but lost the runoff 45–55.[14] In 2013, Shoffner moved to downtown Little Rock[15] and worked for public relations firm Advantage Communications.[6]
Agricultural career
In 2016, after her father developed dementia, Shoffner returned to work on her family's 2,000-acre farm.[16] In 2019, she became chief executive of the family seed company, SFR Seed.[17] The business grew rice and soybeans and operated a seed-research farm.[18]
Shoffner adopted conservation practices including reduced tillage, cover crops, electric irrigation wells and intermittent flooding of rice fields.[19][20] She said these changes were intended to improve soil conservation and soil health, water conservation, and ultimately make the farm more resilient to drought, flooding, and hotter nights.[18][21][22] In 2022, she was honored by Garden & Gun as a champion of conservation, employing sustainable agricultural techniques,[23] and was featured in a Fendt video.[24] Little Rock Soirée listed Shoffner in its 2023 "Top 100 Women of Impact" in the state.[25] In 2024, she received AgWeb's Top Producer of the Year Next Gen Award[17] and was featured in World Wildlife magazine's spring 2026 issue;[26] Yale Climate Connections covered Shoffner's sustainable techniques.[27] In January 2024, she was announced as one of 60 Presidential Leadership Scholars.[28][29]
In 2024, she founded Delta Harvest, a food hub intended to help small and midsize farmers diversify into specialty crops and reach institutional and commercial buyers.[30] Its projects included specialty-rice production with Black and women farmers in the Mississippi Delta.[31][32][33]
In February 2025, Shoffner's family stopped farming after financial projections showed no profitable planting scenario. Shoffner attributed the closure to low commodity prices, rising input costs, tariffs and federal agricultural policy. The family liquidated most of the operation but retained land it owned.[16][34]
Political career
2026 Senate campaign
Arkansas has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 2010.[35][36] In July 2025, Shoffner launched her campaign for the class 2 US Senate seat held by incumbent Tom Cotton,[37][38][39][40][41] whom she criticized for voting against the 2013 and 2018 Farm Bills.[42] Shoffner cited her family farm's closure as an example of an economy puts "corporations and politicians" ahead of disadvantaged working people and farmers.[43][44] Her campaign has focused on lowering household costs, changing farm policy, and protecting Medicaid and Social Security.[45][46]
In the March 3, 2026, Democratic primary, Shoffner defeated Lewisville mayor Ethan Dunbar with 78.27% of the vote.[47][48][49] Former Democratic senator Blanche Lincoln endorsed Shoffner in July.[50]
On July 3, 2026, a man armed with a large hunting knife visited Shoffner's home looking for Anna-Lee Pittman, Shoffner's campaign manager. Shoffner responded by hiring additional security and condemmed political violence. As of July 9, 2026[update], an investigation is underway; no suspect has been identified.[51][52][53][54][55][56][57]
Shoffner debated Libertarian nominee Jeff Wadlin October 12; Cotton refused to attend.[58][59] The debate was broadcast by the Arkansas PBS.[60]
Political positions
Shoffner has been described as a center-left Democrat and a prairie populist.[61][62]
Agriculture and rural development
Shoffner has called for federal farm policy to place less emphasis on commodity crops and to help farmers diversify into food and specialty crops.[63] She has argued that local processing and distribution infrastructure could raise farm income while addressing food insecurity in Arkansas.[64] She supports continued federal disaster assistance and investment in roads, water systems, rail and other rural infrastructure.[65] Shoffner advocates financial incentives and technical support for farmers who adopt conservation practices in order to adapt to climate change.[2][18]
Data centers
Shoffner opposed Cotton's proposed DATA Act, which would ease federal regulation of power generation built for data centers, arguing that the Arkansas Public Service Commission should oversee data-center energy costs and that privately operated natural-gas plants could increase local pollution.[66]
Economic policy
Shoffner supports lower taxes for blue-collar workers, protection of Social Security, and expanded health coverage.[45] She has said that elected officials should place their assets in blind trusts and be prohibited from trading individual stocks.[4] Shoffner attended the May Day rally in Little Rock, where she supported the right to organize labor unions.[67][68] Shoffner supports limits on election spending from corporations and megadonors.[69] Shoffner opposed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, arguing that it enormously expanded the deficit and provided tax breaks to those already well-off, and says she wants to shrink the US deficit.[70][71][72]
In March 2026, Shoffner criticized Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, asking, ". . . what does he know about affordability?"[73]
Immigration
In July 2026, when asked whether she would "defund ICE as it is now", Shoffner said yes and said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement required oversight and accountability.[74] Shoffner later said she favored reforming rather than eliminating ICE.[75]
Foreign policy
Shoffner sharply criticized President Donald Trump's war with Iran, arguing that the war raised fuel and fertilizer prices for Arkansas households and farmers while disrupting global supply chains.[76]
Personal life
Shoffner met Michael Sullivan, University of Arkansas at Little Rock-educated co-founder of Sullivan Wright Technologies and former vet tech,[77][78] in 2010. They were married in 2015[79] and have a son, Max Sullivan, born in 2018.[43][80][81][82] As of 2026[update], she resides in Little Rock's Pettaway neighborhood;[15][53][82] she first moved to Little Rock by 2013.[83] She has a dog, Poppy;[30] in October 2025, she shared on social media that her 15-year-old dog Jack had passed.[84] Shoffner is a Star Trek fan[85] and runs a Substack blog.[86][87] She is fluent in Spanish.[6]
Electoral history
U.S. Senate
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Hallie Shoffner | 102,289 | 78.27 | |
| Democratic | Ethan Dunbar | 28,394 | 21.73 | |
| Total votes | 130,683 | 100.00 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Tom Cotton (incumbent) | |||
| Democratic | Hallie Shoffner | |||
| Libertarian | Jeff Wadlin | |||
| Total votes | ||||
Notes
- The Clinton School of Public Service offers a Master of Public Service (MPS), similar to a Master of Public Policy (MPP) or Master of Public Administration (MPA).