Bronni defeats Adams in Arkansas Supreme Court race

A state Supreme Court justice appointed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders won a full term on Arkansas’ highest court, beating out attorney John Adams for the nonpartisan seat.

Nicholas Bronni, who was appointed to the court in 2024, is a former Arkansas solicitor general and self-described conservative who campaigned on his legal fights with the Biden administration and simplifying state courts to make them easier for the average Arkansan to use.

Bronni’s win cements the 5-2 conservative tilt of the Supreme Court, which settles state constitutional matters and is the final court of appeal for cases in the Arkansas’ legal system. The court also oversees the administration of the state’s 28 circuit courts and the Arkansas Court of Appeals, which collectively saw more than 180,000 cases filed in 2025. 

Bronni thanked Sanders, his supporters and his family for their support in a statement on Facebook after the race was called. 

“I look forward to continuing to fight for the Constitution, the rule of law, and Arkansas values,” he wrote.

This was Bronni’s first time running for elected office after a career working in state and federal government. Judicial contests in Arkansas are nonpartisan — though the Republican Party of Arkansas endorsed Bronni in the race, and he wouldn’t say whether he would accept the endorsement in an interview earlier this year. Bronni voted in the Republican primary, according to early voting records. 

Bronni and Adams criticized each other for their perceived partisanship, with Bronni accusing the private attorney — who previously ran as a Democrat for Congress and the state Legislature — of pursuing a “left-wing” agenda. Bronni also criticized Adams for representing libraries challenging Arkansas laws that impose criminal penalties on librarians who provide minors with “harmful” materials. Adams accused Bronni of only seeking to appeal to the state’s Republican voter bloc instead of all Arkansans. 

Bronni’s win is a victory for the state GOP after the last Supreme Court candidate it endorsed  Justice Rhonda Wood who lost against fellow Justice Karen Baker in the 2024 chief justice race.  

Bronni says he is a believer in originalism, a legal philosophy that the Constitution should be read the way it would have been understood when it was written, and cited U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as one of his inspirations.

Bronni’s win comes as several consequential lawsuits over abortion, school vouchers and executions work their way through state courts. During his time on the court Bronni recused himself from several high-profile cases, which he said was due to his previous job as solicitor general. He said earlier this year that those recusals would become less frequent as the cases he was involved in prior to his appointment to the court are resolved.

As an appointed justice, Bronni was constitutionally barred from running for his original seat on the court. He instead ran for the seat held by Cody Hiland, another justice appointed by Sanders. Hiland ran unopposed for the seat Bronni currently holds.

Before this year, an appointed justice like Bronni would not have “Justice” in front of their name on the ballot the way someone elected to a full-term would have. A state law passed by the Legislature last year changed this.