Few choices for Fort Smith metro area voters in 2016 Arkansas House races

Voters in the Fort Smith metro area hoping for choices in the 2016 state legislative races are out of luck. Of the nine House races, only two are competitive, and only one of those will include a primary race.

A lack of competitive races isn’t necessarily political – a dominant Republican leaning in the area. Other reasons include financial and family, according to two people with Arkansas legislative experience.

Following are the Arkansas House races among districts that cover all or a portion of the Fort Smith metro.
District 74

Rep. Jon Eubanks, R-Paris
With no primary or general election opponent, Eubanks will return the Arkansas House in January 2017.

District 75

Rep. Charlotte Douglas, R-Alma
With no primary or general election opponent, Douglas will return the Arkansas House in January 2017.

District 76
Rep. Mathew Pitsch, R-Fort Smith
With no primary or general election opponent, Pitsch will return the Arkansas House in January 2017.

District 77
Rep. Justin Boyd, R-Fort Smith, and Stephen Edwards, a Libertarian from Fort Smith
The two candidates will face each other in the November 2016 general election. Neither candidate will have a primary opponent.

District 78

Rep. George McGill, D-Fort Smith
With no primary or general election opponent, McGill will return the Arkansas House in January 2017.

District 79
Rep. Gary Deffenbaugh, R-Van Buren
With no primary or general election opponent, Deffenbaugh will return the Arkansas House in January 2017.

District 80

Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren
With no primary or general election opponent, Fite will return the Arkansas House in January 2017.

District 81 (This seat is open – no incumbent – with Rep. Justin Harris, R-West Fork, not running for re-election.)
Derek Goodlin, R-Rudy, and Bruce Coleman, R-Mountainburg, will face each other in the March primary. The winner will be on the November general election ballot with Susan McGaughey, D-West Fork.

District 82
Rep. Bill Gossage, R-Ozark
With no primary or general election opponent, Gossage will return the Arkansas House in January 2017.

CAREER TIMING

Tracy Pennartz, who now serves as a Fort Smith City Director but represented Fort Smith for six years in the Arkansas House, is not surprised at the lack of competition. She said it is a small group of people who can afford the “extreme cost of what it takes to run a campaign.” She also said the decision to run “depends on where a person is in their career.” The person may be the primary breadwinner in the family, or may not be able to take the time away from their small business.

“Many people can’t afford to seek elective office, not just because of the campaign money they have to raise, but because they have a job they need to support their families,” said Pennartz, who was the rare Democrat elected to three House terms by Fort Smith voters.

And while legislative salaries are higher than in recent years, a person interested in running may get pushback from an employer “who needs their full time duties in that job.

“That’s why you see a lot of independent business owners in those position. … They can take the time and have their staff take care of what needs to be done,” Pennartz said.

NEW POLITICAL CALENDAR

Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith, said another cause for so few entering the legislative races is the earlier filing deadline. During the 2015 Arkansas General Assembly, lawmakers moved Arkansas’ primary up from May to March 1. The new March primary for federal, state, county and judicial elections sets a March 22, 2016 runoff, and required the filing period to be moved from February 2016 to early November. The filing period ended Nov. 9. The move puts Arkansas with several other southern states for a March 1 primary being called the “SEC primary.”

“Part of it is contributed to the earlier filing deadline. You can say it’s just a three month difference or four months, but it’s still early. … You have may have had people who were in a position that they couldn’t make a decision in November, but they may have been in a better position to make a decision in March,” Files said.

Files, who also served in the Arkansas House, said term limits also changed the dynamic of when people seek office, with his point being that people seek a legislative seat will wait until the incumbent is term-limited. The dynamic has somewhat negated the belief that term limits would increase competition for legislative seats, Files said.

“It (term limits) didn’t light the fire, I don’t think, so that you now have competitive races, that you have more people willing to run. … We’re just not seeing that,” he said.

No matter the reasons for so few competitive races, Files believes the system would be better with more people willing and able to run for office.

“Would people be better served with choices? Absolutely. Competition is a good thing. … The more people involved in the process, the better our government will be.”