Early voting to soon begin in Senate District 26 race; Campaign finance reports filed

Early voting in the special election for Senate District 26 is set to begin Dec. 30, with the only early voting site in Sebastian County to be at the county’s EMS training center in Greenwood.

The special election follows the Sept. 2 passing of Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, who held the District 26 seat. The primary election for the race will be held Jan. 6, with March 3 set as the special election. If needed, a primary runoff election is set for Feb. 3.

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. (Link here for fiscal session dates and deadlines.)

EARLY VOTING SITES, DAYS
The number of early voting days is condensed, with only four full days compared with around 12 days in a regular election cycle. The early voting dates in Sebastian County are Dec. 30-31, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Jan. 2, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Jan. 5, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Link here for a PDF of the Sebastian County voter information for the special election.)

The early voting sites in Franklin County are at the Ozark Training Room located at 120 S. Second St., in Ozark, and the County Clerk’s office at 607 E. Main St., in Charleston. The early voting days are the same as in Sebastian County, with the sites closing each day at 4:30 p.m.

The early voting sites in Logan County are at the Jeral Hampton Meeting Place located at 114 W. Main St., in Booneville, and the Office of Emergency Management facility at 205 E. Maple, in Paris. The early voting days are the same as in Sebastian County, with the sites closing each day at 4:30 p.m.

CANDIDATES, CAMPAIGN FILINGS
GOP candidates who filed for Senate District 26 are former State Rep. Mark Berry, R-Ozark, Greenwood resident Wade Dunn, Greenwood resident Stacie Smith, Paris businessman Brad Simon, and Paris businessman Ted Tritt. Franklin County resident Adam Watson filed as an independent. No Democrats filed for the seat, according to the candidate list provided by the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office.

Campaign disclosure reports filed by the candidates with the Secretary of State show significant loans by the candidates to their campaigns.

Berry, as of the end of November, had loaned his campaign $30,000. At the end of November, his campaign had a balance of $50,407. His largest donors include Dave Parker of Parker Lexus in Little Rock who gave $3,500, and the Arkansas First and Finest political action committee in Little Rock which gave $3,500. Berry is the only candidate to have filed a November report when this story was posted.

Dunn has yet to file a report with the Secretary of State’s office. The October report was due Nov. 20, and the November report is due Dec. 22. State law requires a candidate to file if the candidate has collected or spent more than $500 in a reporting period.

Smith has loaned her campaign $20,000, and had a campaign balance of $18,474 at the end of October.

Simon has loaned his campaign $110,000, and had a campaign balance of $93,988 at the end of October. His largest donors include Joseph Schluterman with Paris Ford who gave $3,000, and the Little Rock-based Justice PAC which gave $3,500.

Tritt has loaned his campaign $7,250, and had a campaign balance of $1,687 at the end of October. His largest donors were Corey and Ronald Caldwell, both of Wynne, Ark., who each gave $2,000.

Watson, who does not have a primary race and will be on the ballot for the March 3 election, also has not filed a campaign finance report.