2026 Arkansas gubernatorial election
November 3, 2026
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| Elections in Arkansas |
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The 2026 Arkansas gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Arkansas. The primary elections took place on March 3, 2026, and in races where no candidate receives over 50% in a primary, runoff elections will take place on March 31, 2026.[1] Incumbent Republican governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is seeking re-election to a second term.[2]
This election will take place alongside races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, state senate, state house, and numerous other state and local offices.
Background
Arkansas has transformed into a deeply red state in the 21st century, with Republicans winning Arkansas in every presidential election since 2000 and occupying all of its statewide offices, including the governorship, since 2015. The party also hold supermajorities in both houses of the Arkansas General Assembly and its entire congressional delegation. The most recent Democratic governor of Arkansas is Mike Beebe, who was comfortably elected in 2006 and 2010. In 2022, Sanders was elected governor of Arkansas by a margin of 27.7%, becoming the first woman to hold the position.[3]
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Sarah Huckabee Sanders, incumbent governor (2023–present) and former White House Press Secretary (2017–2019)[2]
Endorsements
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
- Executive branch officials
- Donald Trump, 45th and 47th president of the United States (2017–2021, 2025–present)[4]
- Organizations
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Fredrick Love, state senator from the 15th district (2023–present)[6]
Eliminated in primary
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Fredrick Love | 104,719 | 81.0 | |
| Democratic | Supha Xayprasith-Mays | 24,584 | 19.0 | |
| Total votes | 129,303 | 100.0 | ||
| County | Love | Xayprasith-Mays | Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 355 | 90.10% | 39 | 8.90% | 316 | 81.20% | 394 | |
| Ashley | 297 | 69.39% | 131 | 30.61% | 166 | 38.78% | 428 | |
| Baxter | 406 | 75.89% | 129 | 24.11% | 277 | 51.78% | 535 | |
| Benton | 7,408 | 74.24% | 2,571 | 25.76% | 4,837 | 48.48% | 9,979 | |
| Boone | 325 | 69.89% | 140 | 30.11% | 185 | 39.78% | 465 | |
| Bradley | 199 | 73.16% | 73 | 26.84% | 126 | 46.32% | 272 | |
| Calhoun | 79 | 67.52% | 38 | 32.48% | 41 | 35.04% | 117 | |
| Carroll | 594 | 70.30% | 251 | 29.70% | 343 | 40.60% | 845 | |
| Chicot | 1,088 | 76.19% | 340 | 23.81% | 748 | 52.38% | 1,428 | |
| Clark | 834 | 84.50% | 153 | 15.50% | 681 | 69.00% | 987 | |
| Clay | 90 | 84.91% | 16 | 15.09% | 74 | 69.82% | 106 | |
| Cleburne | 433 | 82.48% | 92 | 17.52% | 341 | 64.96% | 525 | |
| Cleveland | 57 | 72.15% | 22 | 27.85% | 35 | 44.30% | 79 | |
| Columbia | 546 | 87.78% | 76 | 12.22% | 470 | 76.56% | 622 | |
| Conway | 679 | 81.12% | 158 | 18.88% | 521 | 62.24% | 837 | |
| Craighead | 2,222 | 77.64% | 640 | 22.36% | 1,582 | 55.28% | 2,862 | |
| Crawford | 801 | 76.50% | 246 | 23.50% | 555 | 53.00% | 1,047 | |
| Crittenden | 1,864 | 83.51% | 368 | 16.49% | 1,496 | 67.02% | 2,232 | |
| Cross | 244 | 80.53% | 59 | 19.47% | 185 | 61.06% | 303 | |
| Dallas | 85 | 73.28% | 31 | 26.72% | 54 | 46.56% | 116 | |
| Desha | 1,039 | 78.47% | 285 | 21.53% | 754 | 56.97% | 1,324 | |
| Drew | 462 | 74.52% | 158 | 25.48% | 304 | 49.04% | 620 | |
| Faulkner | 4,286 | 81.04% | 1,003 | 18.96% | 3,283 | 62.08% | 5,289 | |
| Franklin | 292 | 80.89% | 69 | 19.11% | 223 | 61.78% | 361 | |
| Fulton | 119 | 73.46% | 43 | 26.54% | 76 | 46.92% | 162 | |
| Garland | 2,833 | 76.51% | 870 | 23.49% | 1,963 | 53.02% | 3,703 | |
| Grant | 247 | 83.16% | 50 | 16.84% | 197 | 66.32% | 297 | |
| Greene | 547 | 79.51% | 141 | 20.49% | 406 | 59.02% | 688 | |
| Hempstead | 374 | 89.26% | 45 | 10.74% | 329 | 78.52% | 419 | |
| Hot Spring | 669 | 79.36% | 174 | 20.64% | 495 | 58.72% | 843 | |
| Howard | 268 | 81.46% | 61 | 18.54% | 207 | 62.92% | 329 | |
| Independence | 518 | 79.69% | 132 | 20.31% | 386 | 59.38% | 650 | |
| Izard | 185 | 76.13% | 58 | 23.87% | 127 | 52.26% | 243 | |
| Jackson | 234 | 75.97% | 74 | 24.03% | 160 | 51.94% | 308 | |
| Jefferson | 5,586 | 80.22% | 1,377 | 19.78% | 4,209 | 60.44% | 6,963 | |
| Johnson | 292 | 76.24% | 91 | 23.76% | 201 | 52.48% | 383 | |
| Lafayette | 209 | 81.01% | 49 | 18.99% | 160 | 62.02% | 258 | |
| Lawrence | 222 | 86.38% | 35 | 13.62% | 187 | 72.76% | 257 | |
| Lee | 1,577 | 86.55% | 242 | 13.45% | 1,335 | 73.10% | 1,799 | |
| Lincoln | 128 | 73.14% | 47 | 26.86% | 81 | 46.28% | 175 | |
| Little River | 175 | 71.72% | 69 | 28.28% | 106 | 43.44% | 244 | |
| Logan | 239 | 77.60% | 69 | 22.40% | 170 | 55.20% | 308 | |
| Lonoke | 1,271 | 80.04% | 317 | 19.96% | 954 | 60.08% | 1,588 | |
| Madison | 165 | 79.71% | 42 | 20.29% | 123 | 59.42% | 207 | |
| Marion | 279 | 75.00% | 93 | 25.00% | 186 | 50.00% | 372 | |
| Miller | 785 | 79.70% | 200 | 20.30% | 585 | 59.40% | 985 | |
| Mississippi | 514 | 80.44% | 125 | 19.56% | 389 | 60.88% | 639 | |
| Monroe | 311 | 84.05% | 59 | 15.95% | 252 | 68.10% | 370 | |
| Montgomery | 60 | 68.18% | 28 | 31.82% | 32 | 36.36% | 88 | |
| Nevada | 280 | 81.16% | 65 | 18.84% | 215 | 62.32% | 345 | |
| Newton | 119 | 80.95% | 28 | 19.05% | 91 | 61.90% | 147 | |
| Ouachita | 728 | 79.30% | 190 | 20.70% | 538 | 58.60% | 918 | |
| Perry | 225 | 86.54% | 35 | 13.46% | 190 | 73.08% | 260 | |
| Phillips | 1,943 | 83.53% | 383 | 16.47% | 1,560 | 67.06% | 2,326 | |
| Pike | 138 | 85.71% | 23 | 14.29% | 115 | 71.42% | 161 | |
| Poinsett | 189 | 83.63% | 37 | 16.37% | 152 | 67.26% | 226 | |
| Polk | 185 | 73.12% | 68 | 26.88% | 117 | 46.24% | 253 | |
| Pope | 926 | 75.04% | 308 | 24.96% | 618 | 50.08% | 1,234 | |
| Prairie | 51 | 80.95% | 12 | 19.05% | 39 | 61.90% | 63 | |
| Pulaski | 33,807 | 84.08% | 6,400 | 15.92% | 27,407 | 68.16% | 40,207 | |
| Randolph | 229 | 83.27% | 46 | 16.73% | 183 | 66.54% | 275 | |
| Saline | 3,924 | 82.59% | 827 | 17.41% | 3,097 | 65.18% | 4,751 | |
| Scott | 54 | 73.97% | 19 | 26.03% | 35 | 47.94% | 73 | |
| Searcy | 83 | 81.37% | 19 | 18.63% | 64 | 62.74% | 102 | |
| Sebastian | 2,472 | 73.77% | 879 | 26.23% | 1,593 | 47.54% | 3,351 | |
| Sevier | 28 | 77.78% | 8 | 22.22% | 20 | 55.56% | 36 | |
| Sharp | 217 | 73.81% | 77 | 26.19% | 140 | 47.62% | 294 | |
| St. Francis | 770 | 87.20% | 113 | 12.80% | 657 | 74.40% | 883 | |
| Stone | 157 | 75.12% | 52 | 24.88% | 105 | 50.24% | 209 | |
| Union | 928 | 80.14% | 230 | 19.86% | 698 | 60.28% | 1,158 | |
| Van Buren | 270 | 78.95% | 72 | 21.05% | 198 | 57.90% | 342 | |
| Washington | 12,859 | 82.95% | 2,643 | 17.05% | 10,216 | 65.90% | 15,502 | |
| White | 1,091 | 80.28% | 268 | 19.72% | 823 | 60.56% | 1,359 | |
| Woodruff | 208 | 85.25% | 36 | 14.75% | 172 | 70.50% | 244 | |
| Yell | 169 | 76.82% | 51 | 23.18% | 118 | 53.64% | 220 | |
| Totals | 104,522 | 81.03% | 24,468 | 18.97% | 80,054 | 62.06% | 128,990 | |
Third-party and independent candidates
Candidates
Declared
- Colt Shelby (Libertarian), farmer[9]
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[10] | Solid R | September 11, 2025 |
| Inside Elections[11] | Solid R | August 28, 2025 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[12] | Safe R | September 4, 2025 |
| Race to the WH[13] | Safe R | September 16, 2025 |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Sarah Huckabee Sanders (incumbent) | ||||
| Democratic | Fredrick Love | ||||
| Libertarian | Colt Shelby | ||||
| Total votes | |||||
See also
References
- ^ "2026 State Primary Election Dates". NCSL. May 9, 2025. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
- ^ a b Barrow, Bill (July 18, 2024). "Project 2028: GOP officials jockey during Republican National Convention for future White House runs". Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
[Sarah Huckabee Sanders] was focused only on Trump's election and then her own reelection in 2026
- ^ Leip, David. "2022 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Arkansas". www.uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
- ^ Nitzberg, Alex (November 3, 2025). "Trump backs Huckabee Sanders and a bunch of House Republicans for re-election with midterms on the horizon". Fox News. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
- ^ Biddison, Jennifer (December 3, 2025). "Maggie's List Endorses Eight More Candidates". Maggie's List. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
- ^ Brock, Roby (June 23, 2025). "Democratic State Sen. Fred Love announces for Arkansas Governor". Talk Business & Politics. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
- ^ Wickline, Michael R. (October 28, 2025). "Bentonville businesswoman running again for governor". Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
- ^ a b "2026 Special Primary Election". Arkansas Secretary of State. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ Brock, Roby (February 22, 2026). "Arkansas Libertarians nominate candidates for 2026". Talk Business & Politics. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
- ^ "2026 CPR Governor Race ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
- ^ "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
- ^ "2026 Governor". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ "Governor Forecast - 2026-2026". Race to the WH. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
External links
- Official campaign websites