Arkansas
Welcome to the Arkansas state page! Here, Arkansas organizers can access and document ongoing projects, current leadership positions, upcoming races, and other important information. This list is non-exhaustive, and state teams are encouraged to expand and adapt these pages to their organizing needs.
Political Landscape of Arkansas
Partisan Composition of Arkansas
Overall, Arkansas is considered a deep red state, with a Cook PVI of R+16 as of 2022, regularly voting 60-65% Republican in statewide races. Their governor, both US Senators and all four US House representatives are Republicans. Republicans also hold comfortable supermajorities in the state house (82-18) and state senate (29-6), giving them a veto-proof trifecta (as of 2/10/24).
Progressive Outlook for Arkansas
The overall progressive strategy for Arkansas is bleak. The main focus should be on harm reduction and blunting the Republican legislature with citizen-led ballot initiatives while federal help arrives. Arkansas also has the unique problem of extremely low voter turnout - for instance, MAGA Republican John White was able to register as a Democrat in one of the US House races completely unchallenged with no experience in 2022, and Democrats didn't even submit a candidate for US Senate in 2020! There's a racial component to Arkansas too, as the state went from strongly supporting Bill Clinton to voting against Obama with a very strong swing rightward. A conservative Democrat could potentially make the governorship competitive in the future and ultimately be better on at least some issues. Increasing turnout is a key to turning Arkansas around in the future and voting rights ballot initiatives are popular with everyone. As Arkansas is an open primary state, it is strongly-recommended to participate in the Republican primaries to elect moderate Republicans who will be less harmful.
Get Involved
Register to Vote in Arkansas
Progressive Organizations in Arkansas
Below is a list of progressive organizations in Arkansas. If you see a state organization that isn't on this list, please add it.
- Arkansas Democrats: As with many red states, the Democratic party is the key means of progressive or liberal organizing in the state.
Notable Campaigns in 2024
Below is a list of progressive candidates or ballot measures in the 2024 election cycle for Arkansas. Non-progressive candidates may also be placed here if they are substantially to the left of their district's partisan lean and worth campaigning for. If you see a candidate or ballot measure that should be on this list, please add them.
November 5th General Election
There are currently no known swing races on November 5th. If you know of any, please add them.
Ballot Measures
- Arkansas Lottery Proceed Funding for Vocational-Technical School Scholarships and Grants Amendment (2024)- Voting yes on this amendment would allow lottery funds to be used on educational scholarships.
Run for Local Office
An underrated way to impact change is to run for a local position! Please feel free to add information on doing so below.