Copyright Arkansas Online
A retired pathologist, Terri Yarbrough Green of Paragould, filed Monday at the state Capitol to seek Arkansas' 1st Congressional District seat as a Democrat in the 2026 elections. Republican Rick Crawford of Jonesboro has represented the 1st Congressional District since 2011. Crawford's campaign manager filed the required paperwork Friday for Crawford to seek re-election. On the sixth day of the filing period that started Nov. 3, Green was one of 26 candidates for state and federal offices in Arkansas who filed paperwork at the state Capitol. Green said Monday she is running for because she believes "the people of the 1st District deserve a voice and a choice in these desperate times and a chance to save our democracy." "I could not stand the thought of there being a blank on the ballot and no one running against Rick Crawford," she said in an interview. If elected, Green said her agenda would include saving small farms, increasing the federal minimum wage of $7.25 to "at least $17 an hour," and providing affordable housing. Arkansas' minimum wage is $11 an hour. On Monday, two Republicans -- Jeb Little of Harrison and Micah Ashby of Bradford -- filed paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Tom Cotton of Little Rock. Last week, Cotton filed to seek re-election. Democratic candidates Hallie Shoffner of Little Rock and Lewisville Mayor Ethan Dunbar also filed last week to seek their party's nomination for the U.S. Senate. The party filing period will end at noon Wednesday, with no candidate filing Tuesday because of the Veterans Day holiday, according to the secretary of state's office. The period for nonpartisan judicial candidates to pay their filing fees and file their political practices pledge will end at 3 p.m. Wednesday, with a similar pause for the holiday Tuesday, according to the secretary of state's office. As of late Monday afternoon, 393 candidates had filed to run for state and federal offices in Arkansas, after factoring in the nonpartisan judicial candidates who submitted petitions of registered voters in September to run for office in lieu of paying filing fees, according to the secretary of state's website. This total included 146 Republicans, 71 Democrats, and 176 nonpartisan judicial candidates. On Monday, Democratic candidate Ryan Intchauspe of Rudy filed to run for the House District 24 seat held by Republican Brad Hall of Rudy. In the 2024 general election, Hall defeated Intchauspe. Former state Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren, filed Wednesday to run for the House District 24 seat held by Hall, who filed a week ago to seek reelection in the 2026 elections. Fite filed to run for the seat a day after the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Hall's wife claims he forced her to have sex with other men, including one she says repeatedly raped her. Hall has denied the claims. Matthew Goff of Springdale filed Monday as a Republican to challenge Democratic state Rep. Diana Gonzales Worthen of Springdale in House District 9. Goff, a retired U.S. Army chaplain, said in an interview he decided to run for the seat after he saw Worthen was unopposed. "I said, 'Since no one else is stepping up to the plate, I will,' " he said. On Monday, Audrey Willis of West Memphis and Zrano Bowles of Marion became the fourth and fifth Democratic candidates to file for the House District 35 seat, currently held by state Rep. Jessie McGruder, D-West Memphis. McGruder has filed to run for the Senate District 9 seat currently held by term-limited state Sen. Reginald Murdock, D-Marianna. The three other Democrats who have filed to seek the Democratic nomination in House District 35 are Demetris Johnson Jr. of Earle, Willie Williams of Marion, and Sherry Holliman of Marion. Marion Republican Robert Thorne Jr. also has filed for the House District 35 seat. In the 2024 general election, McGruder beat Thorne to win the House District 35 seat. Adam Watson of Branch, a business development professional and small farmer, filed paperwork Monday to run as an independent candidate in the special election for the Senate District 26 seat formerly held by the late Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch. To qualify for the special election ballot, he will be required to collect the signatures of registered voters equal to at least 3% of the votes cast for governor in Senate District 26 in the 2022 general election. Watson is the founding director of Gravel & Grit, the nonprofit organizing against Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' proposed 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County. He said he has never been affiliated with a political party and believes he has a shot at winning the special election as an independent candidate. "I think people are paying attention more than they have been and I think they are disenchanted with politics as usual, and we don't have a Democrat challenger," Watson said. "So I think I'll pull those votes automatically, and then I think that there are a lot of disenfranchised Republicans that aren't happy with the direction the party is going in the state." Five Republicans candidates have filed to run in the special election in Senate District 26. They include former state Rep. Mark Berry, R-Ozark; retired businessman Wade Dunn of Greenwood; businessman Brad Simon of Paris; businessman Ted Tritt of Paris; and Stacie Smith of Greenwood, a community affairs coordinator for Arkansas Oklahoma Gas, a subsidiary of Summit Utilities, Inc. On Sept. 26, the governor announced her decision to change the date for the special election in Senate District 26 to June 9, 2026, after she drew criticism from some Republicans and Democratic leaders for initially setting the special election for Nov. 3, 2026, earlier that day. The governor said the special primary election will be held March 3 and the special primary runoff election will be March 31, in conjunction with the regular primary and runoff elections. Colt Shelby of Cecil in Franklin County subsequently filed a lawsuit seeking the scheduling of the special election prior to the start of the General Assembly's fiscal session in April. On Oct. 22, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Patti James ruled the special election for the district shall be set as soon as practicable after the 150th day following the occurrence of the vacancy in accordance with Arkansas Code Annotated 7-7-105, to ensure the date for the special election for Senate District 26 will not infringe or curtail the constitutional and fundamental rights of the citizens of the district. The governor certified the Senate vacancy Sept. 19. "To allow the special election to take place after the conclusion of a legislative session would indeed result in an infringement of a constitutional right based on the fundamental democratic principle of 'no taxation without representation,'" James wrote. The state and Shelby have appealed James' ruling to the state Supreme Court. On Monday, attorney Caleb Baumgardner filed to challenge James in the 11th Division of the 6th Judicial Circuit of Perry and Pulaski counties. Prosecuting Attorney Chris Walton of Benton and Circuit Judge Amy Dunn Moore of Little Rock were among candidates for state office who filed at the state Capitol on Monday morning to run in the 2026 elections. Walton seeks reelection as the prosecuting attorney in the 22nd Judicial District in Saline County, and Moore seeks reelection in the 15th Division of the 6th Judicial Circuit of Perry and Pulaski counties.
