Gov. Sanders not-great, not-terrible night

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vote, Mark Moore, 16-year-olds, Arkansas, primaries, Goodson, photo ID, Sarah Huckabee SandersThere is a lot to cover as we review Tuesday’s primary elections. We’ll start with what happened with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and three Republican state Senate races.

Sanders’ political action committee, Team SHS PAC, donated $7,000 each to two candidates who challenged Senate incumbents who had voted against her planned 3,000-bed Franklin County prison. 

The incumbents nevertheless won easily. In District 28, Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, defeated Bobby Ballinger with 60% of the vote. Meanwhile in District 10, Sen. Ronald Caldwell, R-Wynne, won with 70% over challenger Trey Bohannan.

Caldwell is seeking to be the next Senate president pro tempore when senators vote in the next couple of months.

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Arkansas250 playing part in America’s 250th birthday party

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Arkansas250The United States is celebrating its America250 semiquincentennial, and Arkansas is joining the party through its Arkansas250 efforts.

The semiquincentennial (pronounced simee-quin-centennial) marks 250 years since the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. 

It’s the second major national milestone during my lifetime. The country’s 200-year Bicentennial in 1976 was a huge deal. An American Freedom Train featuring historical artifacts rolled past our house in Wynne. I went to school one day dressed as Abraham Lincoln with a stovetop paper hat that Mom painstakingly had made, and which I ditched in favor of some flimsy headgear I glued together in class.

Now it’s 50 years later, and another party is in the works.  Continue reading →

Social Security crisis this year’s election secret

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tax, taxes, debt, deficits, spending, trillion, State of the Union, deficit hawks, balanced budget amendment, Jonathan Bydlak, immigration, $98.8 trillion, $970 billion, Social SecurityHere’s an issue not being discussed much in this year’s campaign: The winners of U.S. Senate races across the country likely will face a Social Security crisis near the end of their terms, about the time they would run for re-election.

 In Arkansas, that would be Sen. Tom Cotton or one of the candidates seeking to replace him.

Both the Social Security Administration’s actuaries and the Congressional Budget Office have said that the Old-Age & Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, which pays seniors’ Social Security benefits, will become insolvent by the end of 2032.

That’s less than seven years from now. Continue reading →

Where Tuesday’s elections get most interesting

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By Steve Brawner, © 2026 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Not all political offices are equally important, and not all political races are equally interesting. As the 2026 primary elections enter their home stretch, let’s look at some of the races to watch March 3.

– Republican secretary of state. 

The SOS’s job is to administer elections at the state level, handle business filings, and maintain the State Capitol.

Three Republicans seek the spot: Sen. Kim Hammer, R-Benton; Miller County Judge Cathy Hardin Harrison; and project manager Bryan Norris of Batesville. The winner faces Democrat Kelly Grappe and Libertarian Michael Pakko in November.

Election integrity is a big issue these days, so this office may matter even more than it previously did. Furthermore, this is the only statewide primary race with more than two candidates. If neither candidate wins a majority, the top two will advance to a runoff March 31. If that happens, voter turnout will be low. Continue reading →

Libertarians choose Colt Shelby as nominee for governor

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Colt Shelby of Cecil will be the Libertarian Party of Arkansas’ candidate for governor in November while Jeff Wadlin of Bentonville will be the party’s U.S. Senate nominee. 

Dr. Michael Pakko of Roland, the party’s chairman, will be its secretary of state nominee. Pakko won 4.31% of the vote in the state treasurer’s race in 2026, collecting 49,847 votes.

The governor’s race is especially important for the party because a 3% showing in November would enable it to automatically qualify for the ballot in 2028. Otherwise, the party will have to collect 10,000 qualified signatures, as it did this election cycle. 

This is the eight consecutive election cycle the party has qualified for the ballot through the signature collection process, the party said in a news release.

Shelby was chosen at the convention on Saturday, Feb. 21, in a contested race that featured three other announced candidates. He defeated the second place finisher, Micheal Kalagias of Rogers, by two votes. Kalagias is the party’s nominee for lieutenant governor. Continue reading →