On Nov. 8, 2022, America held its midterm elections. Over 900,000 Arkansans voted, a slight increase compared to previous years. There were also 15,121 newly registered voters. However, voter participation remained at 50.4%, the same as the last midterm election.
Arkansas State chose Trump-endorsed candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders to be the next governor by a 28-point margin. According to an AP article, she is a former White House Press Secretary and is the daughter of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. She is also the first woman to hold the position.
She ran against Democrat Chris Jones and Libertarian Ricky Harrington. Her campaign focused on the elimination of the state income tax, educational reform and defeating the “radical left.”
Sanders supported attorney general Leslie Rutledge to run for lieutenant governor. Rutledge won by an even larger 32-point lead. She has a proud record of litigating against President Biden’s “illegal actions” as president of the United States, discussed in a debate broadcasted by Arkansas PBS. Rutledge will take office at the start of 2023.
More notably, Rutledge gained national attention from an interview with comedian Jon Stewart. She is also a litigant in the 8th circuit case against the President’s Student Loan Forgiveness plan.
Elected for attorney general is current Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin. The former Bush aid was at one point an interim Federal Attorney, but resigned after a legal controversy.
Incumbent John Thurston will remain the Secretary of State. One of the primary jobs of his position is to run elections. His performance gained the scrutiny of his opponent, Anna Beth Gorman, as expressed in the Arkansas Secretary of State debate.
Voter participation was a big talking point in the Arkansas Democratic party this election cycle. Chris Jones often mentioned how Arkansas is not a red state, but a “non-voting” state in a 1 on 1 interview with journalist Roland S. Martin.
However, this history did not deter Arkansas voters. Thurston won by a 34-point margin despite Arkansas consistently having poor voter participation under his administration.
Moving to Congress, Arkansas District 3 voted to keep Republican Steve Womack. Arkansas also voted to keep Senator John Boozman. The two Republicans have held their seats since 2011 and will be heading back to Washington.
On the State level, Siloam Springs chose Tyler Dees to represent the area in the Arkansas Senate. Dees is a graduate of John Brown University and gained a large following with his “100% pro-life” message. “I filter everything I believe through God’s Word. [God] promises in James to give wisdom to all who ask. I ask frequently,”He said on his website.
A noteworthy bill, Rep. Haak supported was the SAVE act. It prevents doctors from giving gender affirming care to minors. The law currently is in court and unenforceable after a group sued the State with the help of The American Civil Liberties Union. This law was the topic of the previously mentioned Jon Stewart interview.
Arkansas also held a run-off election for the Arkansas Supreme Court. The incumbent, Justice Robert Wynne, faced the more conservative Chris Carnahan. Carnahan admires Justice Clarence Thomas, hoping conservative voters would votes for him. However, it was not enough. Chris lost to Justice Wynne by 17 points.
There were four issues on the ballot this election. None of them passed. Issue 1 dealt with congressional procedure. Issue 2 would have made it harder for ballot initiatives, like issue 2, to pass.
Issue 3 would have protected religious liberty in the Arkansas constitution. It failed to pass by a single point. According to the ACLU, this would make it to where religious interests trump all other civil rights and liberties not given by the federal government, as posted in Arkansas Times.
Issue 4 would have legalized recreational possession of marijuana legal in Arkansas for adults over 21. However, according to the Division of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas, liberals were split since the licensing rules were very restrictive, only allowing 8 non-medical cultivators in the state, and 80 recreational dispensaries.
On a national level, many Republicans had predicted a “Red-Wave.” This, however, did not materialize, as stated by an NPR article. Election forecasting site 538 predicted a 205-230 split in the House of Representatives and a 49-51 split in the Senate, Democrat-Republican. Neither prediction was accurate as Democrats have maintained control of the Senate, and the chances for a Democratic House have materialized as discussed in various press articles.
Arkansas did not feel this tension. It continued to be a Republican stronghold even as traditionally red areas like Washington’s 3rd district turned blue. 538 gave the Democrat, Perez, a 2% chance of winning. She would beat these odds, flipping a reliably red seat blue.
Photo courtesy of Parker Johnson on Unsplash