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Baxter County voters will return to the polls March 31 to decide the Republican nomination for county sheriff in a runoff between Mark Hollingsworth and Brian Davis, the two candidates who advanced from the March 3 preferential primary after neither secured a majority of the vote.
The Baxter County Election Commission has scheduled a public logic and accuracy test of the county’s election equipment and media Thursday, March 19, beginning at 11:00 a.m. at the commission’s office at 213 East 5th Street in Mountain Home. The testing will continue until complete. The public is encouraged to attend.
Hollingsworth, a retired Arkansas State Police major, led the three-candidate field on primary night with 3,346 votes, roughly 46 percent. Davis, a patrol lieutenant at the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office and the choice of outgoing Sheriff John Montgomery, finished second with 2,917 votes, about 40 percent. Henry Campfield, a 25-year law enforcement veteran and former Flippin police chief, was eliminated with 1,012 votes, just under 14 percent.
Speaking after results came in, Davis said he was undeterred by the 429-vote gap.
“A little disappointed in some of the numbers, but I mean, I think we can come back, make it happen. I’m not worried about it,” Davis said.
He made a direct appeal to supporters heading into the runoff.
“I just want to ask voters, I need your help again. Come back for the runoff election and vote again. We want to see this sheriff’s office moving forward, and I need their help to make that happen,” Davis said.
Davis said the issues voters raised most often on the campaign trail were animal control, jail operations, and what changes he planned to bring to the department. He has spent 15 years at the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office and carries Montgomery’s public endorsement. Before coming to Baxter County, Davis spent nearly two decades with the Forrest City Police Department, rising to CID lieutenant. He has 34 years of total law enforcement experience and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy at Quantico, Virginia.
At a candidate forum moderated by KTLO earlier in the race, Davis made continuity the centerpiece of his pitch.
“I’m the only candidate that has 20 years of actual hands-on experience working in a high-crime part of the state, dealing with crime rates and crimes that Baxter County has never had to face,” Davis said. “I believe that experience is what Baxter County needs to lead the sheriff’s office into the future.”
Hollingsworth said after primary night that his campaign had the foundation to win the runoff.
“We have a good group of people helping us get our message out. We worked hard and we’re going to continue to work hard through the next 28 days and make another run at it,” Hollingsworth said.
He said voters have consistently raised the same concerns throughout the race.
“It’s been pretty consistent from the voters. They want accountability and transparency,” Hollingsworth said, adding that body-worn cameras came up in nearly every conversation. “That’s kind of the key to transparency in a lot of agencies.”
At the KTLO forum, Hollingsworth pushed back on the experience argument Davis made central to his campaign.
“Candidates have their strengths, but they lack the specific administrative and operational command experience needed to run an organization as large and as vital as the sheriff’s office is to this community,” Hollingsworth said. “I’m not running to learn as I go.”
Hollingsworth retired from the Arkansas State Police as a major after 35 years and currently serves as chief deputy at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. He also served more than 20 years in the Arkansas Army National Guard, including a 2008 deployment to Iraq with the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Montgomery, who has led the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office for more than 20 years, is not seeking re-election. He endorsed Davis early in the race.
Because no Democratic candidate filed for the office, the winner of the March 31 Republican runoff will be the next Baxter County sheriff.
Early voting runs Tuesday through Friday, March 24-27, and again Monday, March 30, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day at First United Methodist Church, 605 W. 6th St. in Mountain Home. Election Day is March 31. Polls open at 7:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.
