The Arkansas Republican and Democratic parties announced Wednesday that they will hold primary elections to choose their candidates for the upcoming state Senate District 26 special election.
The legislative seat became vacant upon Sen. Gary Stubblefield’s death earlier this month. The Republican from Branch served 16 years in the Legislature and was reelected last year to a term ending in January 2029.
Last week, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave both of the state’s major political parties until Thursday to notify her office whether they would hold a primary election or a convention of delegates to select a candidate for the election to finish Stubblefield’s term.
“It is important that the people of this district have the opportunity to choose their Republican nominee through a fair and open process,” GOP Chairman Joseph Wood said in a Wednesday news release. “A special primary election is the best way to ensure their voices are heard.”
Senate District 26 includes parts of Franklin, Johnson, Logan and Sebastian counties. As of Thursday, three Republicans and no Democrats have announced their intention to run for the seat.
“We’re looking forward to the mudslinging that we’ll see in the crowded Republican primary field as Gov. Sanders desperately attempts to install a pro-prison rubber stamp in the State Senate,” Democratic Party Chairman Marcus Jones said in a news release.
Republicans Brad Simon and Ted Tritt, both Paris businessmen, stated in their campaign announcements that they oppose Sanders’ plan to build a 3,000-bed prison on 815 acres of land in Franklin County. Stubblefield was a vocal opponent of the proposed prison.
Mark Berry of Ozark, the third Republican candidate so far, did not mention the prison in his campaign announcement. Berry is a military veteran, former adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard and a former two-term state representative who declined to run for reelection last year.
Jones noted in the Democratic Party’s news release that a $750 million appropriation bill to support the prison’s construction died after five failed votes in the Senate earlier this year.
“This is Arkansas’s moment to reject corruption and cronyism and deliver a win for common sense and decency,” Jones said. “…From the roads, to the water infrastructure, to the electrical grid, to the non-existent workforce, to the furious voters of Senate District 26, there’s not one good reason to build a brand new billion-dollar prison in Franklin County. That’s what this Special Election will be about.”
Tritt and Simon previously announced their intention to run for the House District 46 seat, soon to be vacated by term-limited Rep. Jon Eubanks, R-Paris. Three other Republicans and no Democrats remain in that primary field so far.
Sanders’ office has yet to announce the dates for the special primary and general elections.
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