Henley, McGruder, Barnett win primary runoffs for state House races

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the winner of the District 63 Democratic primary runoff.

Arkansas voters decided three legislative runoff races on Tuesday — two Democratic contests in and around West Memphis and a Republican election outside Texarkana.

The results of these elections decided the outcome of primary races from March 5 where no candidate received more than 50% of the vote.

∎ In the District 88 Republican runoff, Dolly Henley defeated Arnetta Bradford 56% to 44%, according to results from the Secretary of State's office. Bradford, who was endorsed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, had been ahead by 2 percentage points on March 5.

Henley will now face Libertarian Tammy Goodwin in the November general election.

∎ In the District 63 Democratic runoff, Lincoln Barnett defeated Fred Leonard, 56% to 44%.

Barnett will now face Republican Tammi Bell in November.

∎ In the District 35 Democratic runoff, Jessie McGruder, who had received the most votes on March 5, won, though by a smaller margin than before.

McGruder defeated Raymond Whiteside 59% to 41% and will face Republican Robert Thorne Jr. in November.

Turnout

Chris Powell, a representative from the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office, said on Tuesday there had been no major issues with voting.

Turnout tends to be lower in runoff elections but data from the Secretary of State showed that as of Tuesday afternoon, more than 7,500 votes had been cast since early and absentee voting began last week.

Powell noted that there were runoff elections across 22 counties, most of them for local positions.

Jefferson County had the highest number of votes by far, with over 2,000 early votes alone as of Tuesday afternoon.

Pine Bluff, in Jefferson County, had Democratic primary runoffs for mayor and a city council seat.

Jefferson was followed by Pope, Hempstead, Crittenden and Howard Counties.

What comes next?

The incumbents of these three districts, none of whom are running for reelection, hold seats that have been controlled by their parties for years.

District 88, covering Hempstead, Howard and Miller counties, is currently represented by Republican Danny Watson, who was elected in 2022. The area around the district has usually gone red.

Democratic incumbent Milton Nicks of District 35, in Crittenden and Cross counties, has run unopposed in the general since winning his seat in 2014 from Green Party incumbent Fred Smith.

Democratic incumbent Deborah Ferguson of District 63, spanning Crittenden and St. Francis Counties, has run unopposed in the general since 2012. In 2014, she handily fended off a challenge from the Libertarian Party.

Still, a Democratic victory in the fall isn’t a sure thing, McGruder and Whiteside both said last week.

No matter the Democratic nominee, “It’s going to be close,” said Whiteside about the general election in November.

“The Republican Party’s got their eye on this district,” he said, adding that Republicans have been seeing increasing electoral success in the district.

“Gov. Sanders won it by one vote—one solitary vote… [that was] the first time it’s gone red since anybody can remember, for governor.”

District 35

McGruder, a high school teacher and coach, said last week that his first priority in office would be “to reinstate the Fair Teacher Dismissal Act.” That was rolled back as part of the 2023 LEARNS Act, which he supports repealing.

He also advocates for tax breaks in his region to attract businesses as well as state subsidies to partially cover the cost of businesses relocating there.

McGruder said that the most important contrast between himself and the district’s Republican nominee is their stance on the LEARNS Act and the weakening of the state’s Freedom of Information Act under Sanders.

“Public school being held to a different standard," he said of the LEARNS Act, "I don’t think that’s fair."

McGruder said that he opposed the abortion amendment which may appear on the ballot in November.

On his campaign website, Thorne said that he’s “100% pro-life and pro 2^nd Amendment” and a “firm believer in lower taxes and less government.”

He also calls himself an “advocate for mental health awareness and resources” and a “supporter of teachers’ rights in the education system.”

Thorne beat fellow Republican Gary Tobar by almost 90 percentage points in the March 5 primary.

District 88

Henley worked for years as recreation director in Hope, Arkansas and director of parks and recreation in Nashville, Arkansas before becoming an administrator at the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana. She’s currently president of the Southwest Arkansas Counseling and Mental Health Board.

In a statement on her website, she said she will prioritize improving education, promoting the agricultural industry and expanding access to mental health and addiction treatment.

District 63

Barnett is in his second term as the mayor of Hughes, Arkansas, and is a former Hughes school board member (now consolidated with West Memphis schools) and former chair of the St. Francis County Democratic Party.

He lists education at the top of his list of policy priorities on his website, mentioning the importance of school funding, teacher wages and wraparound services.

He also advocates for expanding job opportunity in the region, government transparency, criminal justice reform and access to food and healthcare.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas runoff election results: Races set nominees in 3 races