Rice, Pennartz survive political filing season without opponents

The last day of county, state and federal political office filing was relatively calm around the state but delivered a surprise in Sebastian County.

Sebastian County Sheriff Frank Atkinson, a Democrat, withdrew from his bid for a seventh term. His top deputy, Tommy Young, filed for the position as a Republican. Young and Hollenbeck, a captain in the Sheriff’s department, will face each other in the general election. (Link here for more on this story.)

In the 3rd Congressional District, former State Representative Doug Matayo brought to eight the number of Republicans in the primary. Fayetteville attorney David Whitaker is the only Democrat to file in the 3rd District race.

In the state legislative districts included in the Fort Smith metro area, only Reps. Tracy Pennartz, D-Fort Smith, and Terry Rice, R-Waldron, are running unopposed. Some of the more interesting legislative races will be in three GOP primaries.

The GOP primary for the House District 64 seat will see Fort Smith City Director Gary Campbell try to unseat Rep. Stephanie Malone. The GOP primary for the House District 63 will pit State Sen. Denny Altes — who is term limited — against former 188th Commander J.R. Dallas. The GOP primary for the Senate District 13 (Fort Smith) seat features a trio, with former State Rep. Jake Files, State Rep. Frank Glidewell and former State Rep. Jim Medley vying for the post.

All three legislative seats do not have a Democrat candidate, meaning the primary winners will not face a general election opponent.

At the county level, Kevin Pixley filed as a Republican for Crawford County Tax Collector. He will face Democrat Sandy Cook in the general election. Debbie Johnson filed as a Democrat for Sebastian County Treasurer. She will face Treasurer Judith Miller, a Republican, in the general election.

Running unopposed at the state level are Attorney General Dustin McDaniel (D), State Treasurer Martha Shoffner (D), and Secretary of State Charlie Daniels who is running for State Auditor.

The filing period began Monday (Mar. 1) for federal, state and legislative seats. Following are the names of those who filed in the races monitored by The City Wire. The filing period ended at Noon, Mar. 8. The City Wire will post candidate filings at the end of each day.

Following are key filings made during the period. Those that filed Monday are in bold.

• FEDERAL
3rd Congressional District
State. Sen. Cecile Bledsoe (R)
Gunner DeLay (R)
Steve Lowry (R)
Kurt Maddox (R)
Doug Matayo (R)
Benton County Judge Mike Moore (R)
Bernie Skoch (R)
David Whitaker (D)
Rogers Mayor Steve Womack (R)

U.S. Senate
Randy Alexander (R)
State Sen. Gilbert Baker (R)
U.S. Rep. John Boozman (R)
Curtis Coleman (R)
Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D)
Sen. Kim Hendren (R)
Jim Holt (R)
U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D)
D.C. Morrison (D)
Conrad Reynolds (R)
Fred Ramey (R)

• ARKANSAS CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES
Governor
Gov. Mike Beebe (D)
Jim Keet (R)

Lt. Governor
Sen. Shane Broadway (D)
Donnie Copeland (R)
Mark Darr (R)

Secretary of State
Rep. Mark Martin (R)
Pat O’Brien (D)
Doris Tate (D)
Mark Wilcox (D)

Attorney General
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel (D)

Treasurer
State Treasurer Martha Shoffner (D)

Auditor of State
Secretary of State Charlie Daniels (D — and not the Devil-went-down-to-Georgia Charlie Daniels)

Land Commission
Mark Berg (D)
L.J. Bryant (D)
Rep. Monty Davenport (D)
John Thurston (R)

• ARKANSAS HOUSE & SENATE (Fort Smith region)
House District 62 (Scott County, southern Sebastian county)
Rep. Terry Rice (R)

House District 63 (Fort Smith)
Sen. Denny Altes (R)
J.R. Dallas (R)

House District 64 (Fort Smith)
Fort Smith City Director Gary Campbell (R)
Rep. Stephanie Malone (R)

House District 65 (Fort Smith)
Rep. Tracy Pennartz (D)

House District 66 (Van Buren)
Gary Deffenbaugh (R)
Dianna Faucher (D)
Kevin Holmes (R)

House District 67 (eastern Sebastian County, southern Franklin County)
Rep. Steve Breedlove (D)
Gary Stubblefield (R)

House District 83 (central Crawford County, central Franklin County)
Tom Fite (R)
Leslee Milam Post (D)

House District 84 (Logan County, eastern and northern Franklin County)
Jon Eubanks (R)
Harold Porky Kimbrell (D)
David Rush (D)

House District 87 (northern Crawford County, southern Washington County)
Justin Harris (R)
Earl Hunton (D)

Senate District 6 (south and east Sebastian County, Scott County, western Logan County, north Polk County)
Bruce Holland (R)
Rep. John Paul Wells (D)

Senate District 13 (Fort Smith)
Jake Files (R)
Rep. Frank Glidewell (R)
Jim Medley (R)

• COUNTY RACES
Crawford County
County Judge
County Judge John Hall (D)

Sheriff
Ron Brown (D)

County Clerk
County Clerk Teresa Armer (D)

Circuit/Chancery Clerk
Circuit Clerk Sharon Blount (D)
Jill Gregory (D)

Treasurer
Joyce Landers (D)
Rep. Beverly Pyle (R)

Tax Collector
Sandy Cook (D)
Kevin Pixley (R)

Assessor
Connie Beyerle (D)
Ronnie Dale (R)

Sebastian County
Sheriff
Bill Hollenbeck (D)
Tommy Young (R)

County Judge
County Judge David Hudson (R)

County Clerk
Angie Hatwig (D)
Sharon Brooks (R)

Circuit Clerk
Cindy Gilmer (D)
Ken Blevins (R)

Assessor
Assessor Becky Yandell (R)

Treasurer
Debbie Johnson (D)
Treasurer Judith Miller (R)