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Voters will choose the Republican Party’s nominee for a vacant Arkansas state Senate seat in a closely-watched special primary runoff Tuesday that’s focused on a controversial prison project.
The Senate District 26 seat became vacant following the death last year of Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield and encompasses parts of Franklin, Logan, Johnson and Sebastian counties. The district contains the Franklin County site where Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her allies wish to build the 3,000-bed prison.
Stubblefield, who was from Branch, was one of the most outspoken critics of the project after it was announced in October 2024. Each of his potential successors has campaigned pledging to continue that opposition.
Whoever wins the primary on Tuesday will face independent candidate Adam Watson in the special general election on March 3.
Who are the candidates?
Wade Dunn, a retired businessman from Greenwood, and Brad Simon, a small-business owner from Paris are seeking the GOP nomination. Dunn and Simon were the top finishers in a five-person primary and advanced to the runoff since none of the candidates received the majority needed to win the nomination outright.
When do polls open?
Voting starts at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Early voting began Jan. 27 and ends Feb. 2. If you are in line at the polls at when polls close but haven’t voted yet, you will still be able to cast a ballot.
What are the rules to cast a ballot?
State law requires registered voters to present a photo ID when they vote. Those who can’t produce one can cast a provisional ballot.
Also, registered Democratic voters are unable to vote in the race under a Republican Party rule prohibiting Democrats from voting in GOP primaries.
What are the candidates’ positions on the Franklin County prison project?
Both say they’re unequivocally against locating a prison in Franklin County.
Dunn has also criticized the appointment of Jamie Barker, Sanders’ former deputy chief of staff turned lobbyist, to the Arkansas Board of Corrections on his social media pages. Simon told the Advocate he did not approve of Barker becoming the board’s chair.
Barker was voted as the board’s new chairman last week at the first meeting where Sanders appointees made up a majority of the board’s membership.
What are their positions on other topics?
Both candidates have cast themselves as anti-abortion , pro-business, anti-tax candidates, with both putting forward specific taxes they would like to do away with if elected.
Dunn has said he supports exempting veterans and seniors from paying property taxes. More than a third of owner-occupied homes in Arkansas are held by someone aged 65 or older, according to the Census Bureau.
Currently, homeowners 65 or older are able to freeze the assessed value of their home for taxation purposes.
Dunn has also called for the creation of a state-level equivalent to the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Simon said he wanted to work toward repealing the state’s used car tax, which applies to used vehicle purchases of more than $4,000, saying the tax drives people to buy “unreliable cars” with maintenance issues.
According to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an automotive industry group, the state collected $233.11 million in used car sales tax in 2024 — compared to $398.46 million for new cars. Vehicle sales taxes go to the state’s general revenue fund, according to Department of Finance and Administration spokesperson Scott Hardin.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. This article was published with permission from the Arkansas Advocate. Contact Editor Andrew DeMillo for questions: [email protected]. Follow Arkansas Advocate on Facebook and Twitter.
