Copyright Arkansas Online
Your browser does not support the audio element. Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate James "Rus" Russell III announced he was withdrawing from the race Wednesday and instead will run for a different office. A mental health advocate from Little Rock, Russell announced his run for the Senate in August, adding his name to a Democratic primary field that includes Hallie Shoffner, a farmer from Jackson County, and Lewisville Mayor Ethan Dunbar, all of whom are seeking to defeat incumbent U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. Daniel Whitfield, of Bella Vista, and Jonathan Pittman, of Forrest City, have also filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission for U.S. Senate. Russell made the announcement in a post on Facebook, writing he made the decision to withdraw, in part, to help Democrats "find a seat which might otherwise go unopposed and bring the fight there where I can continue and hopefully be more effective." "The logic of the decision was simple. Stay in a race that could end in March, exhausting already-limited time, finances, and efforts; or offer myself to another race where I can continue to be an outspoken voice for Progress in the midterm cycle into November 2026 and beyond," Russell wrote in a Facebook post. Russell said during an event hosted by the Democratic Party of Saline County last week, he asked both Shoffner and Dunbar "if they would vow to stand for women's bodily autonomy and protections for the LBGTQIA+ community." "They both affirmed that they would," Russell wrote. "While I could have gone through a laundry list of other topics, their answers gave me the reassurance I needed to realize this decision." In a phone interview, Russell said he has not made a decision on which office he will seek instead of the U.S. Senate, saying he plans to meet with officials from the Democratic Party of Arkansas this week about his next steps. He said he expects to make a decision about which race he will run in next by either Friday or Monday. The party filing period for candidates to submit their paperwork to run goes from Nov. 3-11. "I don't care if that's running for (justice of the peace) here in Pulaski County, running for one of the statewide offices, for constitutional offices, running for one of the other congressional districts," Russell said. "Literally, it's wherever I'm going to be most useful in the fight." After announcing his Senate bid in August, Russell said running in a contested primary benefited the party, and issued an invitation to the other candidates running for Senate to join him on his campaign stops. In his financial filings for his Senate campaign, Russell reported raising $2,037 in contributions, and a $1,000 loan. Russell has previously run for office, making a run for governor in 2022 and losing to Chris Jones in the Democratic primary. Cotton, of Little Rock, is running for his third term in the Senate. In 2014, Cotton ousted incumbent Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark. In 2020, Cotton defeated Libertarian Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. in the general election, a race that didn't feature a Democratic contender.
