Tess Vrbin

Turnout in Garland, Grant and Jefferson counties is similar or higher compared to previous election years, poll workers say

LITTLE ROCK — Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed former Little Rock Christian Academy administrator Gary Arnold to the State Board of Education on Friday, Nov. 1.

Arkansas Democrats gain one state House seat; Republicans will maintain supermajority

by Tess Vrbin, Arkansas Advocate
November 6, 2024

Arkansas Democrats gained a seat in the state House of Representatives on Tuesday and will continue to be the minority party in the chamber in January when new members are sworn in.

Republicans will keep their sizable supermajority in the House, but Democratic Party of Arkansas chairman Grant Tennille said Tuesday night he was proud of the party for fielding more candidates than it had in years.

Diana Gonzales Worthen won Springdale's House District 9, the state's first and only majority-Latino district, according to the unofficial but complete results from the Arkansas Secretary of State. She defeated freshman incumbent Republican Rep. DeAnna Hodges by 472 votes, a rematch of their 2022 race that Hodges won by 109 votes.

The results were:

Gonzales Worthen said her victory was “unbelievable” and not something she had seen as guaranteed.

“We worked so hard, my campaign team, supporters, just so many people on the ground helping, and that's what it takes,” she said. “[I'm] just so proud to live in Springdale, so proud of the people in Springdale who came out to support me. So many first-time voters, so many new citizens, and it's just incredible and I just can't wait to get to work.”

Of the 72 Democrats running for state legislative seats this year, all 55 contested races were in the House.

Tennille said some candidates were running in parts of the state that had not seen a Democratic House candidate in years. He also said the party was “learning new ways to campaign.”

“It all comes down to… really working with them and encouraging them to pursue direct voter contact as a big part of their campaigns: getting out, knocking on people's doors and having a conversation with them on the doorstep,” Tennille said. “It's hard, it's not comfortable, but the ones that get after it get better at it over time, and it really does make a difference.”

Tennille also said he was glad to see Democrats keep control of the seats in two Delta districts with the city of West Memphis split between them.

Democrat Jessie McGruder defeated Republican Robert Thorne in District 35 by 120 votes, and Democrat Lincoln Barnett defeated Republican Tammi Northcutt Bell in District 63 by 742 votes.

The District 35 results were, per the Secretary of State's website:

The District 63 results

Incumbent Reps. Milton Nicks of District 35 and Deborah Ferguson of District 63 did not run for reelection.

The two East Arkansas districts were among seven contested House seats with no incumbents defending them. The other five districts saw Republican victories.

Elsewhere in the Delta, GOP Rep. Mark McElroy of Tillar faced Democrat Dexter Miller in a rematch of the 2022 race to represent District 62. The Associated Press had not yet called the race as of early Wednesday morning. The district includes the entirety of Lee and Phillips counties and portions of Desha, Arkansas, Monroe and St. Francis counties.

In addition to Gonzales Worthen's race, Northwest Arkansas saw two other rematches between first-term Republican incumbents and their Democratic opponents from 2022. Republican incumbents Mindy McAlindon of Centerton and Rebecca Burkes of Lowell retained their seats, defeating Kate Schaffer and Rey Hernandez respectively.

Burkes is the mother of Nick Burkes, who won an undefended seat in Benton County's House District 14.

Meanwhile in District 19, Democrat Billy Cook lost to one-term incumbent Rep. Steve Unger, R-Springdale, by 1,326 votes.

Cook's race was one of several that Democrats had considered competitive, along with a few in Central Arkansas.

In suburban Little Rock, GOP Rep. Karilyn Brown of Sherwood defeated Democrat Andrew Cade Eberly of Jacksonville. Eberly said Tuesday he was proud of “the amount of doors I've been able to knock” during the campaign and being able to meet people who “are ready for a change.”

Democrat James Henry Bartolomei expressed frustration Tuesday that he fell short in his effort to unseat Rep. Keith Brooks, R-Little Rock, to represent West Pulaski County.

“If we're not willing to ask the difficult questions, we're never going to be able to solve the problems of why we're dead last in maternal mortality, why we're near dead last in crimes and corrections, why we're almost last in education,” Bartolomei said. “…We have to bring up these issues and continue to ask the tough questions because the other side's not willing to do it. They just rubber-stamp their way through what the special interests and the PACs (political action committees) and the lobbyists are telling them to do.”

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: [email protected]. Follow Arkansas Advocate on Facebook and X.

Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston will serve the remaining two years of the current state treasurer's term.

Arkansas Democrats gained a seat in the state House of Representatives on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 and will continue to be the minority party in the chamber in January when new members are sworn in.

Supporters said they worked to inform voters that passing the measure would promote economic development and combat food deserts.

Democratic Sens. Greg Leding of Fayetteville and Clarke Tucker of Little Rock both said they believed the rule change was meant to punish their party.

Arkansas Senate Republicans voted Thursday to no longer allow members of the minority party to serve as vice chairs of standing committees.

Arkansas children are more likely to have asthma and its accompanying complications if they live in rural areas and come from low-income or minority backgrounds.

The Benton County Election Commission on Tuesday disqualified some provisional ballots because voters who moved to a new county didn't transfer their registration by the deadline, which was the Friday before the election. Harrell said she'd like to see that deadline extended through Election Day.