Arkansas Democrats Make Final Push in 2026 Midterm Race

Arkansas Democrats are campaigning across the state in the final days of the 2026 midterm election. NPR reported that the party is trying to take advantage of Trump administration unpopularity, high prices and anti-incumbent sentiment, which is voter discontent with officeholders seeking reelection.

The party's Senate candidate is Hallie Shoffner. She won the Democratic primary in March, defeating Ethan Dunbar, according to the Arkansas Advocate. On Oct. 23, she held a campaign stop in Hope, Ark. In the final days of the race, she and other Democrats have traveled around the state.

Shoffner is a multigenerational farmer. She shut down her family's farming operation in 2025. She cited rising input costs, which are the expenses of running a farm, along with Trump administration tariff and trade policies, as reasons for the closure. She said the decision inspired her Senate run. In an interview with NPR, she said Arkansas is "the sleeper race" that no one will see coming.

Her opponent is Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, who won a three-person primary in March for the Republican nomination. Nearly two out of three Arkansas voters supported Cotton in 2020, and nearly two out of three supported President Trump in 2024, NPR reported.

The Cook Political Report, an election forecaster, rates the Senate race as Solid Republican. It rates Arkansas' 2nd Congressional District, based in Little Rock, as Likely Republican.

Republicans have put significant money into the state. NPR reported that Republicans poured millions of dollars into the Senate race, the 2nd District and get-out-the-vote efforts, which aim to bring supporters to the polls. On Oct. 15, Cotton and Arkansas Republicans announced a $1 million get-out-the-vote effort ahead of the November midterm election, according to the Arkansas Advocate. Nationally, KATV reported on Oct. 22 that Republicans entered the final stretch of the midterms with a significant financial advantage over Democrats.