GOP primary shapes up for Senate seat representing Fort Smith

A Republican primary is set for the newly drawn Arkansas Senate District 27 seat which represents Fort Smith and parts of Chaffee Crossing with Kelly Proctor Pierce entering the race. Rep. Justin Boyd, R-Fort Smith, previously announced his bid for the seat.

Pierce, an attorney who was a Donald Trump delegate in 2020, announced Wednesday (Feb. 2) her bid for the seat.

“I want to be a voice for parents against out-of-control school boards, stand up against government overreach whether its mask or vaccine mandates, and protect our traditional values of life and liberty,” she said in a statement. “I look forward to a spirited primary campaign and debating these issues. I’m asking for your vote.”

Proctor Pierce has been an attorney since 1989. She was recognized in 2013 as the Volunteer Attorney of the Year and remains a board member of the Center for Arkansas Legal Services. She holds an undergraduate degree, a juris doctorate and a master’s degree in law from the University of Arkansas. She is also a mediator certified by the Arkansas Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission in civil and probate matters. Prior to owning her firm she was an assistant attorney general in the Criminal Appeals Division for the Arkansas Attorney General’s office and served as a law clerk for Judge John Jennings at the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

Proctor Pierce made an unsuccessful bid in the 2018 GOP primary for House District 76, with Rep. Cindy Crawford garnering 51.1% of the vote and Pierce getting 48.9%.

Boyd, who announced in June he was seeking the Senate seat, is serving his fourth term in the Arkansas House of Representatives, representing District 77, which covers a portion of Sebastian County, primarily Fort Smith. Boyd serves as co-vice chairperson of the Joint Budget Committee in the 93rd General Assembly as well as on the House Insurance and Commerce Committee and the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee.

Boyd has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare and business in the region, serving as section manager in pharmacy operation at Mercy Fort Smith from 2003-2009 and as a clinical pharmacist at Washington Regional Hospital in Fayetteville prior to that. Since 2009, he has owned Coleman Pharmacy of Alma.

“I’m excited to let the voters of Senate District 27 compare the experience and results of the candidates in this race,” Boyd told Talk Business & Politics. “I’m proud of the work I’ve helped accomplish for Fort Smith and the surrounding communities in my four terms as State Representative.

No Democrat has yet to announce for the seat. Arkansas’ filing period for the May 24 primary election begins Feb. 22 and ends March 1.

Link here for more information from Talk Business & Politics about candidate filings and state and federal races for the 2022 election cycle.