By Joel Phelps
The Arkadelphian

Primary election season is in full swing now that the March 1 deadline to file for public office has passed. With eight of the 11 county’s justice of the peace districts being contested, campaigns are gearing up with each candidate hopeful for a win in the May primary.

There are five local contests in the Republican primary: Assessor, JP District 2, JP District 6, JP District 10 and JP District 11. No local Democrats have opposition in the primary election. On the state level there are two contested races in the primary: State Senate District 03 and State Representative District 90.

The Clark County Clerk’s Office released the candidates’ names after noon Tuesday, March 1. Candidates whose names include an embedded link provided their announcement for public office to The Arkadelphian before its March 1 deadline. Listed below, they are broken into office and listed in order of filing:

Clark County Offices

Assessor
Mona Vance (R)
Erin Arnold (R)

Circuit Clerk
Brian Daniel (R)

Constable
George Hawthorn (R)
Zachariah Garrett (D)

Coroner
Tim Welch (R)

County Clerk
Tracy Rider (R)
Tina Johnson (D)

County Judge
Troy Tucker (R)

Sheriff & Collector
Jason Watson (D)

Treasurer
Karen Arnold (R)

JP 1
Zachary Bledsoe (D)
Matthew Taylor (R)

JP 2
Michael Ankton (D)
Darin “Spud” Buscher (R)
Fred Phillips (R)

JP 3
Vanilla Hannah (D)
Nick Stover (R)

JP 4
Albert Neal (D)

JP 5
Jimmy King Jr. (R)

JP 6
Mark Overturf (R)
John Ledbetter (R)

JP 7
Jenna Scott (R)

JP 8
Garry “BJ” Johns (R)
Amelia Johnson (I)

JP 9
Andrea Angle (R)
Valerie Johnson (D)

JP 10
Wayne Baumgardner (R)
Darin Robbins (R)

JP 11
Ricky Arnold (R)
Tracy Ellis Drake (R)

“The Democratic Party of Clark County is proud of the candidates who have filed for public office during the filing period which concluded at noon today,” said Zach Bledsoe, chair of the DPCC. “Our candidates represent a balance of experience, diversity and new ideas. We look forward to working with these candidates as they campaign and carry their message across our country.”

“The Clark County Republican Committee is pleased with the slate of candidates who have filed to run in 2022,” said Eddie Arnold, chair of the CCRC. “This is a new record for Republican candidates in Clark County.”

School Board

There is a hotly contested race for a seat on the Arkadelphia Board of Education, as the school district’s Zone 1 has three candidates on the ballot, including incumbent Casey Motl. School board elections will be held in May with the primary.

APSD Z-1
Matt Johnson
Sharon Adams
Casey Motl

APSD Z-2
Kenneth Harris Jr.

GPS Z-8
Christopher Harper

GPS Z-9
Bernard Hatley

GPS Z-10
Rodney Hurst

GPS Z-11
Kirk Rhodes

GPS Z-12
Yolonda Sue Calley

GPS Z-13
Cassie Lynn Gonzales

GPS Z-14
Robert Moore

Centerpoint School Zone 1
Randy Bradford

Centerpoint School Zone 2
Scottie Criswell

Centerpoint School Zone 3
Dale Sutton
Clinton Arnold

Centerpoint School Zone 4
Larry Harvey

Centerpoint School Zone 5
Blake Forga
Nan Kirksey

Centerpoint School At Large
Kerry Horn

Centerpoint School At Large
Lisa K. Wright

State Offices

In local Arkansas races, incumbent state Rep. Richard Womack faces a challenger in the May primary from Alan Floyd, and incumbent state Sen. Charles Beckham has an opponent in Alderman Steve Crowell. The following information came from the Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office:

State Senate District 03
Sen. Charles Beckham (R)
Alderman Steve Crowell (R)

State Representative District 89
Justin Gonzales (R)

State Representative District 90
Alan Floyd (R)
Richard Womack (R)

Prosecuting Attorney 9E
Dan Turner (non-partisan judicial)

Federal Offices

U.S. Senate
Jake Bequette (R)
Sen. John Boozman (R)
Kenneth Cates (L)
Jack E Foster (D)
Richard “Nap” Gant (Write-In)
James Garner (Write-In)
Natalie James (D)
Heath Loftis (R)
Jan Morgan (R)
Stuart F. Shirrell (I)
Dan Whitfield (D)

U.S. Congress District 4
Gregory Maxwell (L)
U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R)
John White (D)