Republicans win most area legislative seats

Republicans will constitute the majority of legislators representing the Fort Smith region in the next Arkansas General Assembly, based on unofficial results posted by the Arkansas Secretary of State as of 2 a.m. Wednesday (Nov. 3).

Of the 11 legislative seats in the region, five saw candidates run unopposed in the general election, one race saw a last-minute legal challenge and five races were contested.

Of those 11 seats, 9 will be held by Republicans and 2 by Democrats.

The unopposed races were Arkansas Senate District 13 (Jake Files, R-Fort Smith); Arkansas House District 62 (Rep. Terry Rice, R-Waldron); Arkansas House District 63 (Denny Altes, R-Fort Smith); Arkansas House District 64 (Rep. Stephanie Malone, R-Fort Smith); and Arkansas House District 65 (Rep. Tracy Pennartz, D-Fort Smith).

Bruce Holland (R) won (unofficially) the Arkansas Senate District 6 seat (representing portions of Logan, Johnson, Polk and Sebastian counties) with 63.1% of the vote over Rep. John Paul Wells (D). The seat was open when Sen. Ed Wilkinson, D-Greenwood, was term-limited out.

Arkansas House District 66, representing most of Van Buren, was won by Gary Deffenbaugh (R) with 73% of the vote. The seat was open when Rep. Rick Green, R-Van Buren, was term-limited out.

Moving south, Gary Stubblefield (R) won the Arkansas House District 67 seat that represents portions of Sebastian and Franklin counties with more than 58% of the vote. State Rep. Steve Breedlove, the incumbent, captured 41.4% of the vote in the district.

Arkansas GOP Executive Director Chase Duggar said in August that polling showed Stubblefield ahead of Breedlove.

It was the race for Arkansas House District 83 that garnered the most attention — especially in the last week of the election cycle. Tom Fite (R) faced Leslee Milam Post (D) for the Arkansas House District 83 seat opened with the term-limited Rep. Beverly Pyle, R-Cedarville, unable to seek re-election.

But a legal challenge saw Fite declared ineligible by the Pulaski County Circuit Court on Oct. 27, with the ruling upheld Nov. 1 by the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Fite’s legal challenge to his ballot status came from Michael Grulkey, who filed a lawsuit in Pulaski County Circuit Court saying Fite has a 1984 criminal conviction that makes him ineligible for election. Fite faced a federal jury trial in February 1984 on several counts of medicaid fraud and bribery. The trial, held in the Eastern District of Arkansas, ended in a mistrial, and Fite eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor charge and was given three years probation.

Barring a reversal in the matter, Post will be the next state Representative for district 83.

Moving east, Jon Eubanks (R) won the Arkansas House District 84 seat with 57% of the vote over David Rush (D). The district represents Logan County.

Justin Harris (R) won the Arkansas House District 87 race with 54% of the vote over Earl Hunton (D). The district includes northern Crawford County and southern Washington County.