2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2022 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next governor of Arkansas. Incumbent Republican governor Asa Hutchinson was term-limited and could not seek a third term. Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, defeated Democrat Chris Jones to become the first woman ever elected to the office, and was sworn in on January 10, 2023.

2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election

← 2018 November 8, 2022 2026 →
Turnout	50.81%
Nominee Sarah Huckabee Sanders Chris Jones Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 571,105 319,242 Percentage 62.96% 35.20%
County results Congressional district results Sanders:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Jones:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Governor before election Asa Hutchinson Republican Elected Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders Republican

Primary elections in Arkansas were held on May 24. Runoff elections for instances where no candidate receives over 50% of the vote were scheduled for June 21. Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders won the Republican nomination, while Chris Jones won the Democratic nomination.^[1]

Leading up to the Republican primary, Sanders received many endorsements from key Republican figures, including Donald Trump, Mike Pence, incumbent Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas' entire U.S. Congressional delegation, and the majority of Republicans in both state legislative chambers. She faced little substantive opposition in the primary, as she won every county in the state with at least 70% of the vote.

As Arkansas is a staunchly Republican state, winning the party's nomination virtually guaranteed a victory for Sanders in the general election, in which she defeated Jones by 28 points. Jones became the first Democrat to win Washington County since 2010, and Sanders became the first Republican to win majority-Black Crittenden County since her father in 1998, winning the county by one vote. This was the only 2022 election where Washington County voted against the Republican nominee. This is the first time ever that the Republican Party won three straight gubernatorial elections in the state's history.

Sanders became the first female governor of Arkansas. With the election of Leslie Rutledge as lieutenant governor, Arkansas, along with Massachusetts, became the first two U.S. states to elect both a female governor and female lieutenant governor to serve at the same time.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former White House press secretary (2017–2019) and daughter of former governor Mike Huckabee^[2]

Eliminated in primary

• Francis "Doc" Washburn, radio personality^[3]

Withdrew

• Tim Griffin, lieutenant governor of Arkansas (2015–2023)^[4] (successfully ran for attorney general) (endorsed Sanders)
• Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas attorney general (2015–2023)^[5] (successfully ran for lieutenant governor) (endorsed Sanders)

Endorsements

Sarah Huckabee Sanders

U.S. Executive Branch officials

• Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States (2017–2021)^[6]
• Mike Pence, 48th vice president of the United States (2017–2021)^[7]
• Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state (2018–2021)^[8]
• Matt Schlapp, White House Director of Political Affairs (2003–2005)^[9]

U.S. senators

• John Boozman, Senator from Arkansas (2011–present)^[10]
• Tom Cotton, Senator from Arkansas (2015–present)^[10]

U.S. representatives

• Rick Crawford, U.S. representative from Arkansas's 1st congressional district (2011–present)^[10]
• French Hill, U.S. representative from Arkansas's 2nd congressional district (2015–present)^[10]
• Bruce Westerman, U.S. representative from Arkansas's 4th congressional district (2015–present)^[10]
• Steve Womack, U.S. representative from Arkansas's 3rd congressional district (2011–present)^[10]

U.S. Governors

• Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas (1996–2007) and candidate for President of the United States in 2008 and 2016 (candidate's father)^[11]
• Asa Hutchinson, Governor of Arkansas (2015–2023)^[10]

State officials

• Bob Ballinger, state senator from District 5 (2019–2023)^[12]
• Sonia Eubanks Barker, state representative from District 7 (2016–present)^[12]
• Howard Beaty, state representative from District 9 (2021–present)^[12]
• Mary Bentley, state representative from District 73 (2015–present)^[12]
• Cecile Bledsoe, state senator from District 3 (2013–present)^[12]
• Ken Bragg, state representative from District 15 (2013–present)^[12]
• Karilyn Brown, state representative from District 41 (2015–present)^[12]
• Ron Caldwell, state senator from District 23 (2013–present)^[12]
• Alan Clark, state senator from District 13 (2013–present)^[12]
• Cameron Cooper, state representative from District 44 (2019–present)^[12]
• Bruce Cozart, state representative from District 24 (2011–present)^[12]
• Carol Dalby, state representative from District 1 (2017–present)^[12]
• Breanne Davis, state senator from District 29 (2018–present)^[12]
• Marsh Davis, state representative from District 61 (2019–present)^[12]
• Jonathan Dismang, state senator from District 28 (2013–present)^[12]
• Les Eaves, state representative from District 46 (2015–present)^[12]
• Jane English, state senator from District 34 (2013–present)^[12]
• John Eubanks, state representative from District 74 (2011–present)^[12]
• Charlene Fite, state representative from District 80 (2013–present)^[12]
• Lanny Fite, state representative from District 23 (2015–present)^[12]
• Scott Flippo, Majority Leader of the Arkansas Senate (2021–present) and state senator from District 17 (2015–present)^[12]
• Tony Furman, state representative from District 28 (2021–present)^[12]
• Trent Garner, state senator from District 27 (2017–present)^[12]
• Jimmy Gazaway, state representative from District 57 (2017–present)^[12]
• Justin Gonzales, state representative from District 19 (2015–present)^[12]
• Michelle Gray, state representative from District 62 (2015–present)^[12]
• Tim Griffin, Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas (2015–present)^[12]
• Delia Haak, state representative from District 91 (2021–present)^[12]
• Kim Hammer, state senator from District 33 (2019–present)^[12]
• Spencer Hawks, state representative from District 70 (2019–present)^[12]
• Bart Hester, state senator from District 1 (2013–present)^[12]
• Jimmy Hickey Jr., President pro tempore of the Arkansas Senate (2021–present) and state senator from District 11 (2013–present)^[12]
• Ricky Hill, state senator from District 29 (2018–present)^[12]
• David Hillman, state representative from District 13 (2013–present)^[12]
• Mike Holcomb, state representative from District 10 (2013–present)^[12]
• Missy Irvin, state senator from District 18 (2013–present)^[12]
• Lane Jean, state representative from District 2 (2013–present) and District 4 (2011–2012)^[12]
• Joe Jett, state representative from District 56 (2013–present)^[12]
• Vernon Jones, state representative for District 91 (2017–2021) and District 71 (1993–2001) ^[13]
• Jack Ladyman, state representative from District 59 (2015–present)^[12]
• Mark Lowery, state representative from District 39 (2013–2023)^[14]
• Robin Lundstrum, state representative from District 87 (2015–present)^[12]
• Roger Lynch, state representative from District 14 (2017–present)^[12]
• Julie Mayberry, state representative from District 27 (2015–present)^[12]
• Austin McCollum, state representative from District 95 (2017–present)^[12]
• Mark McElroy, state representative from District 11 (2021–present)^[12]
• Aaron Pilkington, state representative from District 69 (2017–present)^[12]
• Mathew Pitsch, state senator from District 8 (2019–2023)^[12]
• Jason Rapert, state senator from District 35 (2013–present) and District 18 (2011–2013)^[12]
• Terry Rice, state senator from District 9 (2015–present)^[12]
• Marcus Richmond, state representative from District 21 (2015–present)^[12]
• Bill Sample, state senator from District 14 (2011–present)^[12]
• Matthew Shepherd, Speaker of the State Representative (2018–present) and state representative from District 6 (2011–present)^[12]
• Nelda Speaks, state representative from District 100 (2015–present)^[12]
• Gary Stubblefield, state senator from District 6 (2013–present)^[12]
• James Sturch, state senator from District 19 (2019–present)^[12]
• Dan Sullivan, state senator from District 21 (2021–present)^[12]
• David Tollett, state representative from District 12 (2021–present)^[12]
• Dwight Tosh, state representative from District 52 (2015–present)^[12]
• Kendon Underwood, state representative from District 90 (2021–present)^[12]
• DeAnn Vaught, state representative from District 4 (2015–present)^[12]
• Jeff Wardlaw, state representative from District 8 (2011–present)^[12]
• Danny Watson, state representative from District 3 (2017–present)^[12]
• Richard Womack, state representative from District 18 (2013–present)^[12]

Individuals

• Kid Rock, musician^[15]
• Donald Trump Jr., businessman and son of former president Donald Trump^[16]

Organizations

• American Conservative Union^[9]
• Maggie's List^[17]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Leslie Rutledge	Sarah Huckabee Sanders	Francis Washburn	Undecided
Hendrix College[18]	May 2, 2022	802 (LV)	± 4.3%	–	73%	17%	10%
Remington Research (R)[19]	May 1–2, 2022	1,622 (LV)	± 2.2%	–	80%	14%	6%
	November 9, 2021	Rutledge withdraws from the race
Remington Research (R)[20]	October 25–26, 2021	800 (LV)	± 3.5%	16%	73%	–	11%
Hendrix College[21]	May 26–31, 2021	535 (LV)	± 5.5%	35%	43%	–	22%

Results

Results by county:

  Sanders

•   70–80%
•   80–90%
•   >90%

Republican primary results^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sarah Huckabee Sanders	289,249	83.14%
	Republican	Francis "Doc" Washburn	58,638	16.86%
Total votes			347,887	100.0%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Chris Jones, nuclear engineer^[23]

Eliminated in primary

• Anthony Bland, public school teacher and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2018^[24]
• Jay Martin, lawyer and former Majority Leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives^[25]
• James "Rus" Russell, small business owner^[26]
• Supha Xayprasith-Mays, entrepreneur^[27]

Declined

• Kelly Krout, candidate for state representative in 2020^[28] (unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor)
• Greg Leding, state senator (2019–present), former state representative (2011–2019), and former minority leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives (2012–2014)^[29] (successfully ran for re-election to the State Senate)
• Clarke Tucker, state senator (2021–present), former state representative (2015–2019), and nominee for Arkansas's 2nd congressional district in 2018^[30] (successfully ran for re-election to the State Senate)

Endorsements

Chris Jones

Newspaper and other media

• Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Democratic primary only)^[31]

Organizations

• 314 Action^[32]
• The Collective PAC^[33]
• Democracy for America^[34]

Supha Xayprasith-Mays

Governors

• Jim Guy Tucker, former governor of Arkansas (1992–1996)^[35]

Statewide officials

• Richard Mays, former associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court (1979–1980) (candidate's husband)^[35][36]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Anthony Bland	Chris Jones	Supha Xayprasith-Mays	Jay Martin	James Russell	Undecided
Hendrix College[18]	May 2, 2022	597 (LV)	± 5.0%	3%	60%	2%	3%	2%	31%

Results

Results by county:

  Jones

•   20–30%
•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

Democratic primary results^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chris Jones	66,540	70.43%
	Democratic	Anthony Bland	9,055	9.58%
	Democratic	Jay Martin	7,731	8.18%
	Democratic	James "Rus" Russell	6,421	6.80%
	Democratic	Supha Xayprasith-Mays	4,725	5.00%
Total votes			94,472	100.0%

Libertarian convention

The Libertarian nominee, prison chaplain Ricky Harrington from Pine Bluff

Candidates

Nominee

• Ricky Harrington, Christian missionary, prison chaplain, and nominee for U.S. senator in 2020^[37][38][39]

Independents

Candidates

Declared

• William E. Gates, pastor^[40]

Write-ins

Candidates

Declared

• Dan Nelson, activist^[41]
• Elvis Presley, perennial candidate^[42]
• Michael Woodard^[41]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[43]	Solid R	March 4, 2022
Inside Elections[44]	Solid R	March 4, 2022
Sabato's Crystal Ball[45]	Safe R	January 26, 2022
Politico[46]	Solid R	April 1, 2022
RCP[47]	Safe R	January 10, 2022
Fox News[48]	Solid R	May 12, 2022
538[49]	Solid R	June 30, 2022
Elections Daily[50]	Safe R	November 7, 2022

Post-primary endorsements

Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R)

U.S. Executive Branch officials

• William Barr, former attorney general of the United States (1991–1993, 2019–2020)

Chris Jones (D)

Labor unions

• Communications Workers of America^[51]

Polling

Aggregate polls

Source of poll aggregation	Dates administered	Dates updated	Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R)	Chris Jones (D)	Undecided [b]	Margin
FiveThirtyEight[52]	August 31 – October 31, 2022	November 3, 2022	54.4%	36.1%	9.5%	Sanders +18.3

Graphical summary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R)	Chris Jones (D)	Ricky Harrington (L)	Undecided
University of Arkansas[53]	October 13–31, 2022	557 (LV)	–	53%	34%	4%	9%
Hendrix College[54]	October 17–18, 2022	835 (LV)	± 3.8%	51%	41%	3%	5%
Remington Research Group (R)[55]	September 14–15, 2022	1,418 (LV)	± 3.4%	59%	34%	3%	4%
Hendrix College[56]	September 12, 2022	835 (LV)	± 3.8%	51%	40%	2%	7%
Echelon Insights[57]	August 31 – September 7, 2022	382 (RV)	± 7.7%	62%	32%	–	6%
Remington Research Group (R)[58]	February 26–27, 2022	827 (LV)	± 3.4%	58%	28%	3%	10%

Hypothetical polling

Sarah Huckabee Sanders vs. generic Democrat

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R)	Generic Democrat	Other	Undecided
Hendrix College[59]	February 7–8, 2022	961 (LV)	± 4.4%	44%	34%	8%	15%

Generic Republican vs. generic Democrat

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Generic Republican	Generic Democrat	Undecided
University of Arkansas[60]	October 12–24, 2021	800 (A)	± 3.5%	46%	21%	34%
		555 (LV)	± 4.2%	50%	23%	27%

Debates

2022 Arkansas gubernatorial debates

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic	Libertarian
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Non-invitee   I  Invitee  W  Withdrawn
					Sarah Huckabee Sanders	Chris Jones	Ricky Harrington Jr
1	Oct, 2022	Arkansas PBS		[61]	P	P	P

Results

Swing by county

Legend

•   Democratic — +>15%
•   Democratic — +12.5–15%
•   Democratic — +10-12.5%
•   Democratic — +7.5–10%
•   Democratic — +5-7.5%
•   Democratic — +2.5-5%
•   Democratic — +0-2.5%
•   Republican — +0-2.5%
•   Republican — +2.5-5%
•   Republican — +5-7.5%
•   Republican — +7.5–10%
•   Republican — +10-12.5%
•   Republican — +12.5–15%
•   Republican — +>15%

Trend by county

Legend

•   Democratic — +>15%
•   Democratic — +12.5–15%
•   Democratic — +10-12.5%
•   Democratic — +7.5–10%
•   Democratic — +5-7.5%
•   Democratic — +2.5-5%
•   Democratic — +0-2.5%
•   Republican — +0-2.5%
•   Republican — +2.5-5%
•   Republican — +5-7.5%
•   Republican — +7.5–10%
•   Republican — +10-12.5%
•   Republican — +12.5–15%
•   Republican — +>15%

2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election^[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Sarah Huckabee Sanders	571,105	62.96%	−2.37%
	Democratic	Chris Jones	319,242	35.20%	+3.43%
	Libertarian	Ricky Dale Harrington Jr.	16,690	1.84%	−1.06%
Total votes			907,037	100.0%	N/A
Turnout			907,037	50.81%
Registered electors			1,799,136
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Crittenden (largest city: West Memphis)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Washington (largest city: Fayetteville)

By congressional district

Huckabee Sanders won all four congressional districts.^[63]

District	Huckabee Sanders	Jones	Representative
1st	70%	28%	Rick Crawford
2nd	56%	43%	French Hill
3rd	60%	38%	Steve Womack
4th	68%	30%	Bruce Westerman

See also

• 2022 Arkansas elections

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.