2026 United States Senate election in Arkansas

2026 United States Senate election in Arkansas

November 3, 2026
 
Party Republican Democratic

Incumbent U.S. senator

Tom Cotton
Republican



The 2026 United States Senate election in Arkansas will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Arkansas. Primary elections will be held on March 3, 2026, with a run-off election held on March 31 if no candidate gets a majority in the primary. Incumbent Republican senator Tom Cotton, who was first elected in 2014, is running for re-election.[1] Arkansas has been represented in the U.S. Senate exclusively by Republicans since 2015.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Endorsements

Tom Cotton
Executive branch officials
U.S. representatives
Organizations

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of December 31, 2025
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Micah Ashby (R) $40,407 $126 $40,326
Tom Cotton (R) $11,515,888 $8,267,688 $9,645,153
Jeb Little (R) $53,440 $42,283 $11,157
Source: Federal Election Commission[8]

Results

Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Micah Ashby
Republican Tom Cotton (incumbent)
Republican Jeb Little
Total votes 100.0%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

  • Ethan Dunbar, mayor of Lewisville (2019–present)[9]
  • Hallie Shoffner, farmer and entrepreneur[10]

Withdrawn

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of December 31, 2025
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Hallie Shoffner (D) $1,027,659 $525,200 $502,459
Source: Federal Election Commission[8]

Results

Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ethan Dunbar
Democratic Hallie Shoffner
Total votes 100.0%

General election

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
Inside Elections[13] Solid R January 12, 2026
The Cook Political Report[14] Solid R January 12, 2026
Sabato's Crystal Ball[15] Safe R January 29, 2026
Race To The WH[16] Safe R February 2, 2026

See also

References

  1. ^ Johnson, Julia (February 27, 2025). "Top Intel Republican Tom Cotton seeking re-election to Senate in 2026". Fox News. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Search Candidate Filings". Arkansas Secretary of State.
  3. ^ "FEC Form 2 for Report FEC-1619668". docquery.fec.gov. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  4. ^ "- Trump endorses Senator Tom Cotton's re-election bid".
  5. ^ a b c d e Grajeda, Antoinette (July 15, 2025). "Arkansas farmer challenges Cotton for U.S. Senate seat". Arkansas Advocate. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  6. ^ "- AIPAC Political Portal". candidates.aipacpac.org. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  7. ^ "Leading Nat'l Pro-Life Group Endorses Senator Tom Cotton for Re-Election". sbaprolife.org. January 7, 2026. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  8. ^ a b "2026 Election United States Senate - Arkansas". fec.gov. Federal Election Commission. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  9. ^ K8 Newsdesk (September 10, 2025). "Ethan Dunbar announces run for U.S. Senate". KAIT. Retrieved September 11, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Jared, George (May 13, 2025). "Hallie Shoffner running for US Senate to challenge Cotton". Talk Business & Politics. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  11. ^ Vrbin, Tess (August 27, 2025). "James Russell III of Little Rock joins Democratic primary effort to unseat U.S. Sen. Cotton in 2026". Arkansas Advocate. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  12. ^ Earley, Neal (October 22, 2025). "Arkansas candidate for U.S. Senate withdraws, will seek another office instead". The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  13. ^ "Senate Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  14. ^ "2026 CPR Senate Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  15. ^ "2026 Senate ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  16. ^ "2026 Senate Forecast". Race to the WH. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
Official campaign websites