Sanders, Cotton have big funding leads

By STEVE BRAWNER

The latest campaign finance news isn’t surprising in that Republican incumbents for the state’s high-profile offices have lots of money in the bank. Meanwhile, at least a couple of Democrats look like they can raise enough money at least to run a credible campaign.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ campaign raised $1 million during the third quarter, has raised more than $6 million total, and had $5.5 million in cash on hand as of Sept. 30.

In contrast, the only Democrat to file a report, state Sen. Fred Love of Mabelvale, has raised $43,600 total so far and had $30,000 cash on hand. Gary Huskey of Blytheville has announced he is running but hasn’t filed a report. 

Democratic Party of Arkansas Chairman Marcus Jones told me Tuesday morning that others are considering entering the race.

“I think other people are thinking about it, but they’re not necessarily thinking about it and talking with us,” he said Tuesday morning.

The filing period runs from noon Nov. 3 until noon Nov. 11. If other credible Democrats plan to enter the race, they have until then to do so.

Sanders already was a heavy favorite to win re-election given her 63% majority in 2022 and the Republican Party’s dominance in Arkansas state politics. The campaign funding numbers reinforce that reality. By law, Democrats must run somebody for governor or otherwise be required to collect signatures to qualify for the 2028 ballot. So far, donors aren’t throwing their money behind any candidate.

The U.S. Senate race is a little more interesting. 

Not surprisingly, Sen. Tom Cotton, the incumbent, has a boatload of money. He’s raised almost $3.4 million through the first three quarters of the year and had $9.4 million on hand, according to the paperwork he’s filed with the Federal Election Commission. 

Several Democrats have announced they are running against him. One of them, Hallie Shoffner of Newport, announced she had raised more than $660,000 from 9,545 individual donors since launching her campaign in July. Her campaign said that more than 5,670 donations had come from Arkansas and that donations had come from all 50 states. She had more than $450,000 cash on hand. 

There’s obviously a huge disparity between Cotton’s $9.4 million war chest and Shoffner’s $450,000. Cotton is almost as heavy a favorite as Sanders is in a state where it’s been years since any Democrat running for a statewide office has broken 40%. 

Still, if Shoffner continues raising money at this pace, she’ll be able to pay staff, buy ads, and do other things campaigns do.

The other noteworthy race in Arkansas in 2026 involves the 2nd Congressional District race. Incumbent French Hill has raised $2.4 million this year and had $2.66 million cash on hand as of Sept. 30. 

Meanwhile, Democrat Chris Jones, one of two announced candidates, had raised just shy of $200,000 and had $125,000 cash on hand. Educator Zach Huffman has also announced for the race. However, he has not filed a campaign finance report with the Federal Election Commission.

Jones ran a credible race for governor against Sanders in 2026 but nevertheless won only 35%. The 2nd Congressional District, home to Democrat-heavy Little Rock, has been the state’s most competitive in recent years. Jones is the latest of several strong Democratic candidates – former state Sen. Joyce Elliott, now-state Sen. Clarke Tucker, and the aforementioned Marcus Jones – to challenge Hill. 

Hill has beaten them all, and none of those races have been extremely close in the end. His margin of victory against Marcus Jones was 59-41. Going into this election, he’s a heavy favorite once again. 

But Chris Jones at least has shown in the past that he can gain support and mount a campaign. So far, he’s doing it again this year.

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We shouldn’t let this column pass without noting that the federal government officially ran a budget deficit of $1.8 trillion in fiscal year 2025, which ended Sept. 30, the Treasury Department confirmed. The government collected $5.234 trillion in receipts – including $195 billion in tariffs – but spent more than $7 trillion. 

Let’s hope the candidates for Congress – from both parties – can parlay their skills at raising campaign money into balancing the budget.

Steve Brawner’s column is syndicated to 21 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.