Rep. Pitsch defeats Glidewell in nail-biter primary runoff (Updated)

Rep. Mat Pitsch, R-Fort Smith, defeated Republican challenger Frank Glidewell in a June 19 special election primary that ended in an unofficial 84-vote winning margin for the Senate District 8 seat vacated by former Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith.

Files pleaded guilty to federal charges, including bank fraud, and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on Monday (June 18).

In Tuesday’s special election, Pitsch led early, receiving 58% of the vote to Glidewell’s 42% from early voting data. However, the lead receded throughout the rest of the evening based on the results of a stronger election day turnout for Glidewell. The outcome was in question following a three-way May 22 primary in which the top two vote-getters squared off against each other and fellow Republican Denny Altes.

Glidewell took 40% of the vote to 35% for Pitsch and 26% for Altes. He also defeated Altes 65%-35% in a same-day special election to determine who would fill the seat for the remainder of Files’ term. Add an endorsement from Altes, and Glidewell’s momentum heading into Tuesday was clear.

But Pitsch picked up some momentum of his own with an endorsement from Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who said he was “unquestionably the right choice for the Arkansas Senate.” U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, and Rex Terry, the second vice chair of the Sebastian County Republican Party and the former chair of the county party, also endorsed Pitsch. When results were finalized at around 9 p.m. Tuesday night, Pitsch had captured 51.04% to Glidewell’s 48.96% (2,069-1,985, or an 84-vote margin overall).

The Senate 8 seat will be decided on Nov. 6 when Pitsch faces Libertarian candidate William Hyman.

Glidewell congratulated Pitsch on the win.

“I would like to thank my family and my supporters for the tremendous help in this campaign. We brought issues up in this campaign that I believed needed to be discussed. Many congratulations to Representative Pitsch on the win, and I wish him great success in the November election.”

Pitsch said the race was not only watched in Fort Smith, but statewide.

“I just want to start by saying thank you to the voters of Fort Smith and thank you to the volunteers in our campaign,” Pitsch said in a Tuesday night phone interview, adding both groups were particularly helpful in the strong showing he had with early voting. Pitsch said you “can’t say enough for the voters” and also credited his high-profile endorsements with “putting a relevance on this election.”

“Every time I received one, I appreciated it, but I also realized that — whether it was the governor, the congressman, the State Chamber, the Board of Realtors — what they were really saying was how important this position is.”

While ready to celebrate for the evening, Pitsch also said there were “real challenges ahead” with the November contest.

“We’ve got to get on the doorsteps and talk to the voters about their issues, and we have to stay relevant on our issues with jobs, economic development, and seizing opportunities to keep Fort Smith relevant at the state level and acting like Arkansas’ second largest city.”