Dunn, Simon head to GOP runoff in Senate District 26 race

It remains uncertain who will face Independent candidate Adam Watson in the March 3 special election for Senate District 26. Based on unofficial results, Wade Dunn and Brad Simon will face each other Feb. 3 in a GOP primary runoff.

GOP candidates in Tuesday’s (Jan. 6) primary were former State Rep. Mark Berry of Ozark, Dunn of Greenwood, Greenwood resident Stacie Smith, Simon of Paris, and Paris businessman Ted Tritt. Franklin County resident Watson filed as an Independent. No Democrats filed for the seat.

Senate District 26 includes parts of Franklin, Johnson, Logan and Sebastian counties. Towns in the large legislative district include Barling, Booneville, Charleston, Clarksville, Greenwood, Lamar, Lavaca, Ozark and Paris.

With 6,162 votes cast in Franklin, Johnson, Logan and Sebastian counties, Dunn had 2,291 votes, or 37.17%, and Simon had 1,896 votes, or 30.76% of the vote. Following are the unofficial vote results by county as of 9:45 p.m. Tuesday for Dunn and Simon.

Franklin County
Dunn: 665
Simon: 364

Johnson County
Dunn: 284
Simon: 292

Logan County
Dunn: 436
Simon: 966

Sebastian County
Dunn: 906
Simon: 274

The special election follows the Sept. 2, 2025, passing of Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, who held the District 26 seat.

ELECTION FIGHT, PRISON ISSUE
The special election schedule was set when Gov. Sarah Sanders was forced by a court order to hold an election before the start of the Arkansas Legislature’s fiscal session, which begins April 8. Pre-session budget hearings begin March 4.

A proposed state prison is the hot topic in the race. Community and legislative leaders have pushed back against a plan by Sanders and the Arkansas Department of Corrections to build a large state prison north of Charleston in Franklin County. Sanders announced Oct. 31, 2024, that the state had purchased land north of Charleston to build the prison. The cost for the 815 acres was $2.9 million.

The Arkansas Senate failed to advance a funding bill for a new state prison late in the recent regular session. The $750 million funding measure failed five times to get a 75% vote from senators.

CAMPAIGN SPENDING
With total reported campaign expenditures of more than $185,000, Simon outspent all other candidates prior to the election. Following are key details from the pre-election campaign finance disclosure reports of the GOP candidates, according to information from the Arkansas Secretary of State.

Berry
Campaign balance: $30,796
Personal loans to campaign: $30,000
Total campaign expenditures: $36,088

Dunn
Campaign balance: $47,024
Personal loans to campaign: $47,500
Total campaign expenditures: $32,075

Smith
Campaign balance: $12,252
Personal loans to campaign: $20,000
Total campaign expenditures: $14,115

Simon
Campaign balance: $3,889
Personal loans to campaign: $150,000
Total campaign expenditures: $185,260

Tritt
Campaign balance: $1,890
Personal loans to campaign: $13,493
Total campaign expenditures: $21,221

HOUSE DISTRICT 70

There was also a special Democratic primary election in the House District 70 seat in Pulaski County. The vacancy was created when Rep. Carlton Wing, R-North Little Rock, resigned to accept the top job at Arkansas PBS, now known as Arkansas TV.

Alex Holladay, the Democratic nominee against Wing in 2024, defeated Cordelia Smith-Johnson by an 80%-20% margin. The final vote tallies were: