Arkansas legislative leaders, both newly elected and reelected, look ahead to 2025

House Speaker Designate Brian Evans, R-Cabot (left) and outgoing Speaker Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado (right) address reporters in the House’s north gallery shortly after the speakership election on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)

The Republican supermajorities in both chambers of the Arkansas Legislature will see some changes and some constancy in its leadership in advance of the 2025 legislative session.

Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, will be Senate President Pro Tempore for another two years, while Rep. Brian Evans, R-Cabot, became House Speaker Designate last week with an overwhelming 91 votes from the 100-member body. The speaker’s position must be affirmed by the House when the 95th General Assembly convenes in January.

Evans promised his colleagues “a direction of firmness, fairness and consistency” in a speech before the vote Thursday.

“A leader is only as good as the team that they lead, and good leaders understand the importance of working together, communicating well and building strong relationships, built upon trust and respect,” he said.

After legislative staff counted the ballots and declared Evans the winner, his sole opponent, Rep. Johnny Rye, R-Trumann, was the first member to congratulate him on the House floor. Rep. Jack Ladyman, R-Joneboro, had also been running for speaker before withdrawing May 6 due to health issues within his family.

Evans told reporters Thursday that he appreciated his colleagues’ confidence in him and that outgoing Speaker Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, “has done a tremendous job” in his position. Shepherd is running for an eighth House term but declined to seek a fourth term as speaker.

The House has 82 Republican members; Evans and Shepherd are among the 57 Republicans facing contested races in November’s general election.

Evans was a member of the Cabot School Board for 10 years before being elected to the Legislature in 2018. He has been chairman of the House Education Committee since January of last year, and he helped Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office draft the LEARNS Act, a wide-ranging 2023 law that changed several aspects of the state’s public education system.

“Gov. Sanders has said through her administration multiple times that the LEARNS Act is fluid,” Evans said. “There are going to be things, as it’s being implemented now in our school systems, that we’ll need to come back and take a look at and tweak a little bit.”

Among House Republicans’ other policy priorities are criminal justice, as exemplified by the Protect Arkansas Act of 2023, and the ongoing effort to cut income taxes, Evans said.

Later last Thursday, House Republicans privately elected Rep. Howard Beaty of Crossett as majority leader for 2025, succeeding Rep. Marcus Richmond of Harvey. Beaty defeated Reps. Aaron Pilkington of Knoxville and Keith Brooks of Little Rock.

Beaty said in an interview Monday that his background in economic development gives him the organizational and relationship-building skills necessary to lead the caucus. He has been in the House since 2019.

He told his colleagues while seeking their votes that he believes they all value the variety of perspectives among them.

“[We have] different perspectives but a common purpose, and I think that common purpose is where the power of caucus comes in,” he said.

Beaty selected Rep. David Ray of Maumelle as the caucus policy chair and said Ray is a good fit for the job because he “lives and breathes policy.”

Rep. Stetson Painter of Mountain Home will succeed Rep. Jon Milligan of Lake City as House Majority Whip. On X (formerly Twitter), Painter congratulated Evans and Beaty on their new roles and said he hopes the three of them “will be a great leadership team for the House.”

Legislative whips are responsible for ensuring that members of their party participate in meetings and vote in line with the party’s values.

The 18 House Democrats will choose a new minority whip since Rep. Vivian Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, is not running for reelection. The caucus election will be May 29, said Minority Leader Tippi McCullough, D-Little Rock, who will defend her leadership position.

She said the party hopes to increase its numbers in the general election.

“We lost four seats due to redistricting [in 2022], so hopefully we can start to move forward again,” she said.

Senate leadership

On May 2, Hester fended off a challenge from Sen. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, to win a second term as President Pro Tempore. Sen. Blake Johnson, R-Corning, will continue as Senate Majority Leader, and Sen. Breanne Davis, R-Russellville, is set to succeed Sen. Ricky Hill, R-Cabot, as Majority Whip.

“The most important thing to understand in leading the Senate is that members don’t get told what to do,” Hester said in an interview. “But if you ask them to do something with a legitimate reason, typically you can get done what you need.”

Two years ago, Hester defeated the sitting president pro tempore, Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana.

One of Hester’s strengths as a leader is his communication skills, said Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, who was president pro tempore from 2013 to 2019.

“The way that he’s able to communicate with members and keep them involved and engaged is really to his benefit, and I anticipate that to continue on as we move into the next session,” Dismang said.

Senate Minority Leader Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, added that Hester has “always treated our caucus fairly.”

Similarly to Evans, Hester said Senate Republicans’ policy priorities for 2025 will include tax cuts and aspects of the LEARNS Act.

“I think we’re going to double down on education freedom for students,” Hester said, referring to the Educational Freedom Account voucher program created by the LEARNS Act.

He added that the Legislature should “continue to look into IT-type concerns for minors.”

Last year, Sanders signed the Social Media Safety Act, which would require new users on large social networks to provide information verifying their age. A federal judge temporarily blocked the law before it took effect.

Meanwhile, the six Senate Democrats won’t hold leadership elections until after November’s general election. The only member expected to leave the Senate is Minority Whip Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, who is retiring after a 20-year stint in the Legislature.

Leding will reach his term limit in 2027, and he said he hopes to continue being minority leader for his final two years. He held the same position for one term in the House.

“I haven’t heard of anybody eager to replace me,” Leding said.

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