ARKANSAS, USA — Voting for the Arkansas primary election is underway after early voting began on Feb. 20. Arkansans have between now and Super Tuesday, on March 5, to cast their votes in the Democratic and Republican primaries.
In tandem with the primaries, a general election is being held for the nonpartisan races of Arkansas Supreme Court's chief justice and position two.
Some primary ballot choices will look the same for voters across the state, but many local elections will look different.
Here's all you need to know.
Presidential candidates
In the Democratic primaries, President Joe Biden is running against U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, who represents the 3rd District of Minnesota. The Republican primaries will decide between former President Donald Trump, former United Nations Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, or Texas pastor Ryan Binkley.
State Supreme Court candidates
Two nonpartisan races are being held for the state Supreme Court chief justice and position two on the court.
Four people are running for the Arkansas Supreme Court chief justice position, including Justice Karen R. Baker, former state Rep. Jay Martin, Justice Barbara Webb, and Justice Rhonda Wood.
- Baker has been on the court as an associate justice since 2011. She has previous experience as an associate judge on the Arkansas Court of Appeals and as a circuit, chancery, and juvenile judge at the 20th Judicial District.
- Martin represented Arkansas' 40th District from 2003 to 2007 and currently works as an attorney in Little Rock.
- Webb has served on the state Supreme Court as an associate justice since 2021. She previously served as the chief administrative law judge at the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission and she was the first female circuit judge in Saline County.
- Wood was elected to the court in 2022. She previously served as a judge on the Arkansas Court of Appeals and as a circuit judge at the 20th Judicial District.
Position three's incumbent Justice Courtney Hudson is running against Judge Carlton D. Jones for the position two seat.
- Goodson has been on the court since 2011 where she was the youngest justice to be elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court. She also has previous experience as a judge on the Arkansas Court of Appeals.
- Jones was the first circuit judge to be elected to the 8th Judicial Circuit South. He was elected to the court in 2014 and still serves.
Voters in parts of Sebastian County, Benton, Washington, Madison, and Crawford Counties will decide which Republican candidate will advance to the general election for the 3rd Congressional District seat.
Arkansans in District 3 will have the decision between incumbent Rep. Steve Womack or state Sen. Clint Penzo.
Womack has served in the U.S. Congress since 2011. Before being elected as a representative, he served as the mayor of Rogers for 12 years. In 2009, Womack retired from the Arkansas Army National Guard where he served as a colonel. He is an alumnus of Arkansas Tech University.
Penzo was elected as a state senator in 2022 and currently represents District 31 of Arkansas, which encompasses Springdale, Johnson, Tontitown, and Elm Springs in Washington County. Before serving as a senator, Penzo served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2017-2022. He also served on the Tontitown City Council for two years. Penzo is a University of Arkansas alumnus and currently works as a realtor for Re/Max.
Depending on how voters decide in the primary, either Womack or Penzo will face Democratic candidate Caitlin Draper in the November election.
For parts of Sebastian County, Scott, Franklin, Johnson, and Logan Counties, there is no party opponent for any of the candidates running for Arkansas' 4th Congressional District. In November's General Election, voters will decide on either reelecting the Republican incumbent Rep. Bruce Westerman, or electing Democratic candidate Risie Howard or Independent candidate John White.
For a map of the congressional districts in Arkansas, click here.
State District Court candidates
Nonpartisan races for state district courts:
- District 5 (Crawford County)
- Lena Pinkerton
- Rinda Baker
- Arron Edwards
- District 6 (Sebastian County)
- Pam Hathaway
- Molly McNulty
- Casey Tucker
- District 2 (Washington County)
- Taylor Samples
- Mark N. Scalise
For a map of the district courts in Arkansas, click here.
State House of Representatives
- District 17 (Parts of Washington and Benton County)
- Jeremey Criner (R)
- Randy Torres (R)
- District 14 (Benton County)
- Nick Burkes (R)
- Joshua Hagan (R)
- District 15 (Benton County)
- Stephanie Funk (D)
- Erin Underhill (D)
- District 24 (Parts of Washington and Crawford County)
- Ty Bates (R)
- Brad Hall (R)
- District 51 (Sebastian County)
- Incumbent Rep. Cindy Crawford (R)
- Jeff Burks (R)
For a map of the house districts, click here.
Other local elections
Each county will decide on justices of the peace and constables for quorum courts. Each city will also need to vote on school millages and school board members.
Although the deadline to register to vote has passed for the primary, the deadline to vote in November's general election is October 7, 2024.
For more information on how to register to vote, visit the Secretary of State's website.
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