Arkansans vote for Trump, Boozman; re-elect all four U.S. House incumbents (Updated – 9:40 p.m.)

Editor’s note: We will frequently update this story about Arkansas’ Congressional races and how the state voted on the presidential race. Check back for updates on vote percentages and comments from elected officials and political analysts.
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U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., was re-elected to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, while Donald Trump easily was winning Arkansas’ six Electoral College votes and the state’s four incumbent Republican congressmen were re-elected by wide margins.

Boozman led his Democratic opponent, Conner Eldridge, 60-36%, with Libertarian Frank Gilbert winning 4% of the vote. Trump was leading Hillary Clinton, 60-35%, with Libertarian Gary Johnson winning 2.5%. As of about 9:30 p.m., 575,000 votes had been counted, or 33% of the state’s registered voters. Four counties had completely reported, while 42 counties had partially reported.

In his victory speech, Boozman referred to advice given to him when he was elected 3rd District congressman in 2001 by the late U.S. Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt – that he now represented all the people of his district, not just Republicans. He pledged to return to Washington and seek common ground to address problems such as burdensome business regulations, health care costs and national security.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen tonight. It’s so, so very close, but I do know that your elected leaders, once it’s over, need to come together and find common ground to address the problems that we face,” he said.

Boozman said he grew up in a time of turmoil, with the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Much of the country was on fire in our major cities, and yet, people despite all of that going on with the country in turmoil, they had faith in their institutions,” he said. “Right now we’re in a situation where we’ve (lost) our faith in our institutions, and to be the great country that we need to be, we simply have to get that back, and that’s going to take a lot of work.”

He said his father grew up in the Great Depression and started working when he was nine years old. He later worked to give Boozman, his brother and his sister a better life than he had.

“For the first time in our history, more people than not don’t feel like that the American dream is going to be there for their children and grandchildren, and that’s something that we simply have to fix,” he said.

In the 2nd District congressional race, Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill was leading his Democratic challenger, former Little Rock School Board member Dianne Curry, 59-37%, with Libertarian Chris Hayes winning 4%. In his victory speech, Hill mentioned that 50 years ago this week, Arkansas elected Winthrop Rockefeller the first Republican governor since Reconstruction.

“In this past 50 years, some of the lessons taught Arkansas are still evident in the leadership we have in this state,” he said. “It’s still evident in what I get to try to do every single day as the congressman representing the 2nd congressional district – transparency, accountability, having government do the job that we ask it to do and nothing more, and most importantly, offering a message of hope and inclusion, because we live in the absolute best country in the world.”

In the 1st District congressional race, Republican U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford was leading his Libertarian challenger, Mark West, 76-24%. In the 3rd District congressional race, Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Womack was leading his Libertarian challenger, 78-22%.

Womack’s campaign released a statement saying, “The entrepreneurial spirit and selfless character of Third District Arkansans continue to be a model for America, and as we transition to a new administration and Congress, I remain committed to bringing these ideals to Washington and protecting the principles that make our nation strong and enduring. I am privileged to live in the Third District and humbled by the opportunity to serve another term in Congress. Thank you for your support and confidence.”

In the 4th District congressional race, Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman was leading his Libertarian challenger, Kerry Hicks, 74-26%.

U.S. PRESIDENT (Arkansas votes)
Hillary Clinton (D): 35%
Gary Johnson (L): 2.5%
Donald Trump (R): 60%

U.S. SENATE
The campaign for U.S. Senate was expected to be equally anticlimactic, with the Republican incumbent, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, leading Democrat Conner Eldridge, 52-34%, in that same poll. Libertarian Frank Gilbert was polling at 4%.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.: 60%
Conner Eldridge (D): 36%
Frank Gilbert (L): 4%

2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
2nd Congressional District
Only the 2nd U.S. congressional district race featured a Democratic challenger: former Little Rock School Board member Dianne Curry, who was seeking to unseat the Republican incumbent, U.S. Rep. French Hill of Little Rock. Chris Hayes was the Libertarian candidate.

U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock: 59%
Dianne Curry (D): 37%

OTHER CONGRESSIONAL RACES
The state’s three other congressional races featured Republican incumbents facing only Libertarian opponents. In the 1st District, Rep. Rick Crawford faced challenger Mark West. In the 3rd District, Rep. Steve Womack faced challenger Steve Isaacson. In the 4th District, Rep. Bruce Westerman faced Kerry Hicks.

1st District
U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro: 76%
Mark West (L): 24%

3rd District
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers: 78%
Steve Isaacson (L): 22%

4th District
U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs: 74%
Kerry Hicks (L): 26%