This year’s filing deadline for candidates running for Congress in Arkansas was Nov. 14, 2023.
Nine candidates filed to run for Arkansas’ four U.S. House districts—four Democrats and five Republicans. That’s 2.25 candidates per district, fewer than the three candidates per district in 2022, but more than the 1.75 candidates in 2020. In 2018, 3.25 candidates ran per district, the most this decade.
Here are some other highlights from this year’s filings:
- Incumbents filed to run in every district. The last year there was an open seat in Arkansas was 2014, when two incumbents didn’t run.
- The Republican primary in the 3rd district is this cycle’s only contested primary. Three primaries—all Republican—were contested in 2022, tying 2018 as the most this decade. No primaries were contested in 2020.
- Rep. Steve Womack (R), the incumbent in the 3rd district, is the only incumbent facing a primary challenger this cycle.
- Democratic and Republican candidates are running in all four districts, meaning no districts are guaranteed to either party.
Arkansas and four other states—Alabama, California, North Carolina, and Texas—are holding primaries on March 5.
In Arkansas, a primary candidate must win a majority of the vote to be declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority, the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff.
