Three special legislative elections produce one run-off

After a day of special legislative elections, one race is final, one primary is decided, and a run-off will occur in a third match-up for three different legislative seats.

Voters in State Senate Districts 16 and 29 and State House District 83 turned out Tuesday (Feb. 13) to fill vacancies that have occurred in the last few months. The Arkansas Secretary of State’s office provided the following election results.

In State Senate District 16, Republicans Breanne Davis and Robert (Bob) Bailey will meet in a run-off on March 13, 2018. Davis led Bailey 2,438 to 2,323 with Luke Heffley garnering 854 votes. The winner of the Davis-Bailey match-up will meet Democrat Teresa Gallegos in a special general election on May 22, 2018. The Senate seat was vacated by the death of former State Sen. Greg Standridge, R-Russellville.

In State Senate District 29, Ricky Hill defeated Jim Coy in the GOP primary by a 1,403-1,079 margin. Hill will square off against Democrat Steven McNeely on May 22, 2018. The Senate seat was vacated by State Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot, who took a position in the President Donald J. Trump administration.

State Representative District 83 was decided in the Republican primary on Tuesday. J. Donald Ragland earned 1,279 votes to Timmy Reid’s 1,091 votes. There is no Democratic challenger in the special election. The House seat was vacated by State Rep. David Branscum, R-Marshall, who also took a position in the Trump administration.

There will be another special election to fill a third State Senate seat later this year. Former State Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith, resigned his District 8 position after pleading guilty to three federal felony charges in a scheme involving General Improvement Funds (GIF).

The special election primary and runoff will be held in conjunction with the regular primary and runoff elections this May and June. A special general election will be held on August 14, 2018 to fill out the remainder of the term.