Fulfer, Unger in GOP runoff; Parks wins Democratic nomination in Senate District 7 race

District 7 voters around Springdale advanced Colby Fulfer and Steve Unger into a runoff in the State Senate special election to replace Sen. Lance Eads, R-Springdale, who resigned earlier this year. Democrat Lisa Parks handily won the Democratic nomination over challenger Derek Van Voast.

Fulfer receive 47% of the vote to Unger’s 32%. The special runoff election will be Jan. 11, 2022. The winner of that election will face off against Parks, who received 84% of the primary vote, on Feb. 8. 2022.

Former state legislator Jim Bob Duggar, whose son Josh was convicted on child pornography charges during the campaign, finished in third place in the Republican primary with 15% of the vote. A fourth GOP candidate, Edge Nowlin, received 6%.

In the 49 precincts reporting, the final unofficial tallies were:

DEMOCRAT
136 – Derek Van Voast
722 – Lisa Parks

REPUBLICAN
1,387 – Colby Fulfer
941 – Steve Unger
456 – Jim Bob Duggar
188 – Edge Nowlin

District 7 includes Springdale, Johnson, Goshen and Elkins in eastern Washington County.

Fulfer is the chief of staff for the city of Springdale, while Unger is a former captain in the U.S. Navy. Parks is an attorney with an interest in child welfare cases.