Arkansas State Representative Jeremy Wooldridge Defeats Incumbent in State Senate
17 seats in the Arkansas Senate are up this year.
The Democratic and Republican primaries occurred today in Arkansas to select candidates for the November 2026 general election. This post covers the races for 17 seats in the State Senate. Separate posts will be covering the primaries for federal offices, statewide executive races, every seat in the State House of Representatives, and county contests.
In Arkansas, a candidate needs to achieve a 50%+1 majority in the primary to receive their party’s nomination. If that doesn’t happen, then the top two finishers will advance to a runoff scheduled for March 31, 2026.
The general election for these 17 seats in the Arkansas Senate will be held on November 3, 2026.
District 2:
No candidate qualified for the Democratic primary.
Incumbent Matt Stone won the Republican primary unopposed.
District 7:
No candidate qualified for the Democratic primary.
Incumbent Alan Clark won the Republican primary unopposed.
District 9:
State Representative Jessie McGruder won the Democratic primary unopposed.
Businessman Kenny Phillips won the Republican primary unopposed.
District 10:
No candidate qualified for the Democratic primary.
Incumbent Ronald Caldwell won the Republican primary with 70.2% (7,224) against businessman Trey Bohannan with 29.8% (3,071). 10,295 votes counted.
District 11:
No candidate qualified for the Democratic primary.
Incumbent Ricky Hill won the Republican primary unopposed.
District 13:
2022 nominee Allison Sweatman won the Democratic primary with 54.7% (4,658) against nurse practitioner Jason Williams with 45.3% (3,864). 8,522 votes counted.
State Representative Brandon Achor won the Republican primary with 55.3% (4,136) against former state DCFS director Mischa Martin with 44.7% (3,345). 7,481 votes counted.
District 14:
Incumbent Clarke Tucker won the Democratic primary unopposed.
No candidate qualified for the Republican primary.
District 15:
Educator Charity Smith-Allen and State Representative Tara Shephard will advance in the Democratic primary with 43.1% (3,990) and 32.4% (3,005) against former state Minority Health Commission director ShaRhonda Love with 24.5% (2,271). 9,266 votes counted.
No candidate qualified for the Republican primary.
District 16:
Security professional Joshua Irby won the Democratic primary unopposed.
Saline County sheriff Rodney Wright won the Republican primary with 67.7% (5,443) against insurance agent Randy Sams with 32.3% (2,593). 8,036 votes counted.
District 21:
No candidate qualified for the Democratic primary.
State Representative Jeremy Wooldridge won the Republican primary with 62.4% (7,441) against incumbent Blake Johnson with 37.6% (4,478). 11,919 votes counted.
District 24:
No candidate qualified for the Democratic primary.
Incumbent Missy Irvin won the Republican primary unopposed.
District 27:
Professor Eduardo Guzman won the Democratic primary unopposed.
Incumbent Justin Boyd won the Republican primary unopposed.
District 28:
No candidate qualified for the Democratic primary.
Incumbent Bryan King won the Republican primary with 59.6% (8,521) against former State Senator Bob Ballinger with 40.4% (5,774). 14,295 votes counted.
District 30:
State Representative Denise Garner won the Democratic primary unopposed.
No candidate qualified for the Republican primary.
District 31:
No candidate qualified for the Democratic primary.
Incumbent Clint Penzo won the Republican primary unopposed.
District 32:
No candidate qualified for the Democratic primary.
Incumbent Joshua Bryant won the Republican primary unopposed.
District 35:
No candidate qualified for the Democratic primary.
Incumbent Tyler Dees won the Republican primary unopposed.