Category Archives: Elections

Will voters take into account Bryan Norris’s ‘salty language’?

How important is a candidate’s use of online “salty language”? The question arose last week regarding past messages posted on the X social media platform by Bryan Norris, candidate for secretary of state.

Norris placed first in a three-person race in the Republican primary March 3. He faces state Rep. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, who finished a close second, in the March 31 runoff. The runoff is necessary because no candidate won a majority.

The secretary of state’s most noteworthy duty is being in charge of elections at the state level. The officeholder also maintains and secures the State Capitol and administers business filings. 

Norris’ posts came to light on social media last week. In one, he spelled out “f- you” in all caps in a comment directed at Sen. Tom Cotton. Several other posts also are not publishable in a family newspaper.

There was another where he said President Lyndon Johnson, the CIA and Israel assassinated President John F. Kennedy. He told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he was “probably halfway asleep when I wrote that, if I did.” Continue reading →

Sanders: Run for president has crossed her mind

When Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders makes an honest statement when asked about someday maybe running for president (“Certainly, you know, things cross your mind”), it’s worth a mention. 

Sanders made the comment in response to a direct question by Politico national reporter Jonathan Martin. She was the first interview subject in his new “On the Road with Jonathan Martin” series, where he is traveling the country talking to political types while enjoying local cuisine. They did the 40-minute interview at Wright’s Barbecue in Little Rock with a tempting plate of food sitting on the table in front of them.

Martin referenced a comment by one of Sanders’ friends that a Democrat probably will be elected president in 2028, but that Sanders will be out of office after the 2030 elections and her children will be grown. (“Almost,” she corrected.) In 2032, could she be a candidate?

In response, Sanders said, “I think in any job, especially one like that I have right now in public service, your goal, your focus has to be to do a really good job in the role that you have, and see what happens from there. So my focus is Arkansas and helping us move to the top and take it from that point.”

When Martin rephrased the question, Sanders replied, “Certainly, you know, things cross your mind,” but she added that she had never thought she would be the White House press secretary or even the governor despite growing up in a political family.  Continue reading →

Gov. Sanders not-great, not-terrible night

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.

Continue reading →

Social Security crisis this year’s election secret

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

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 →