Loss of family farm leads Shoffner to challenge Sen. Cotton

By STEVE BRAWNER

Hallie Shoffner, a sixth generation farmer, quit farming this year after she created six different spreadsheets and realized that, in this agriculture economy, there was no scenario where she could turn a profit. Faced with that prospect, she sold the operation and instead is campaigning for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Tom Cotton.

Shoffner officially launched her campaign as a Democrat for the 2026 election Tuesday. Dan Whitfield, who unsuccessfully sought the party’s nomination in 2022, has also said he is running.

Shoffner, 37, grew up on her family farm near Newport and spent the last nine years running the operation. She raised rice, soybeans, cotton, corn and grain sorghum. The married mother of a six-year-old also is the founder and owner of Delta Harvest. That’s a business that connects small- and midsize farmers such as specialty rice growers with food buyers. Her experience losing her farm is a big part of her campaign.

“We are living in a time in which hard work does not mean a good life anymore because we live in an economy that’s rigged against real people,” she said. “We live in an economy that helps corporations and politicians, and that does not work for real Arkansans. And as a sixth-generation farmer who knows what that’s like, if I can’t farm, I’m going to fight for the people of Arkansas.”

Shoffner said Congress is largely to blame for farmers’ struggles because it has failed to update the Farm Bill since 2018 to reflect current realities. She said it’s difficult for farmers to make a profit in this volatile agriculture economy while relying on the 2018 Farm Bill’s supports, which are based on 2012 reference prices. 

It’s not just Cotton and Republicans that she is running against. The graduate of the Clinton School of Public Service also was critical of her own party.

“The ag economy being where it is right now, I lay the blame at the feet of both Republicans and Democrats, because in truth, they have ignored places like Arkansas,” she said. “The Democratic Party has ignored places like Arkansas, and so we kicked them out, as we should have. We got tired of Ivy League-educated politicians that dug themselves up in D.C., and pushed real Arkansans to the back of the line. The problem is, is that Tom Cotton turned around and did exactly the same thing, and we are no better off for it, which is why I think it’s important for us to have a farmer, a working Arkansan representing us in the Senate who’s going to be laser-focused on the things that matter.”

She said that Cotton voted against the Farm Bill twice. Asked to respond, Cotton campaign advisor Brian Colas said it is too early for the campaign to react to Democratic attacks. However, he noted that Cotton voted this year for President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the big tax cut bill that also included agricultural support provisions. 

In addition to farming, Shoffner is basing her campaign on bread-and-butter issues such as access to health care. 

She does not want to focus on social issues such as abortion and transgender rights that drive so much of today’s political debate. Asked about abortion and whether she is pro-choice, she did not assign herself a label. Instead, she said states now can decide their own laws, and that restrictive laws can keep women from having access to life-saving surgery.

Shoffner is putting a “D” beside her name at a difficult time for Democrats in Arkansas (and nationwide). Statewide Democratic candidates haven’t broken 40% in quite a while. Meanwhile, Cotton is a well-established national figure and chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He had a campaign war chest of $8.4 million as of the end of the first quarter. 

Asked about the long shot nature of her campaign, she said with a laugh,“I’m a farmer. This doesn’t scare me at all. I know what it means to do something that has a long shot to it, and I know how to take risks because farmers are the ultimate risk takers. 

“You know, that being said, like a farmer, I know how to roll up my sleeves and get to work and get it done.”

It looks like the campaign has begun. The primary elections are March 3, 2026, and the general election is the following November 3.

Steve Brawner’s column is syndicated to 20 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.