2010 Arkansas elections


Arkansas's 2010 general elections were held November 2, 2010. Primaries were held May 18, 2010 and runoffs, if necessary, were held November 23, 2010. Arkansas elected seven constitutional officers, 17 of 35 state senate seats, all 100 Arkansas [House of Representatives|house seats] and 28 district prosecuting attorneys, and voted on one constitutional amendment and one referred question. Non-partisan judicial elections were held the same day as the party primaries for four Supreme Court justices, four appeals circuit court judges, and eight district court judges.

Federal

United States Senate

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln ran unsuccessfully for re-election against Republican John Boozman. Arkansas had previously only elected one Republican senator since the Reconstruction, who was defeated after his first term in 2002 by Mark Pryor. Lincoln faced Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter and narrowly won the primary contest.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary was held on May 18, 2010, with early voting from May 3–17. As no candidate received 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election was held on June 8, with early voting from June 1–7.
Candidates

Republican primary

The Republican primary was held on May 18, 2010, with early voting from May 3–17.
Candidates

United States House

All four of Arkansas's seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2010. Only one of the four incumbents sought re-election, Democrat Mike Ross of District 4.

Results U.S. Congress District 01

This was an open seat, as Democratic incumbent Marion Berry chose to retire. Berry was always reelected in this district by a wide margin since his first reelection campaign in 1998, and was unopposed in 2008. The district is very Republican on a national level despite a long history of electing Democrats to local and state level offices.

Results U.S. Congress District 02

This district was represented by seven term Democrat Vic Snyder who was unchallenged in 2008 and received 70% of the vote. Snyder announced that he would retire in 2010, reportedly after polls showed him trailing Republican Tim Griffin.

Results U.S. Congress District 03

This district was represented by Republican John Boozman. Boozman ran for the U.S. Senate, against Blanche Lincoln. The district has been held by the GOP since 1966.

Results U.S. Congress District 04

This district was represented by five term Democrat Mike Ross, who won reelection in 2008 with 86.2% of the vote against a Green Party challenger. Ross won reelection, albeit in his narrowest margin since first being elected in 2000 [United States House of Representatives election in Arkansas|2000]. This is the last time a Democrat won a house election in Arkansas.

Governor

Democratic Party

Republican Party

Green Party

  • Jim Lendall, former state representative and 2006 nominee

Write-in

  • Billy Roper, Tea Party write-in candidate controversial for wanting an end to non-whites in the country and founder of the group White Revolution.

Results

Incumbent Mike Beebe won every county in Arkansas with between 52.10% and 85.44% of the votes.

Lieutenant governor

Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter ran for Senate and did not seek re-election as Lieutenant Governor.

Secretary of State

Democratic incumbent Charlie Daniels was term-limited and instead he ran for State Auditor. Republican Mark Martin narrowly won, becoming the first Republican to hold the office since Reconstruction.

Attorney general

Incumbent Dustin McDaniel won every county in Arkansas with between 59.71% and 88.28% of the votes.

Treasurer

Incumbent Martha Shoffner won every county in Arkansas with between 53.43% and 87.67% of the votes.

Auditor of State

Democratic incumbent Jim Wood was term-limited. Charlie Daniels won every county in Arkansas with between 58.52% and 88.51% of the votes.

Commissioner of State Lands

Democratic incumbent Commissioner Mark Wilcox was term-limited. Republican John Thurston won the election, becoming the first Republican Commissioner since Reconstruction.

General Assembly

State Senate

Half of the 35 members of the Arkansas Senate were up for election in 2010.

State House of Representatives

All 100 seats in the Arkansas House of Representatives were up for election in 2010.

Judicial positions

Multiple judicial positions were up for election in 2010.

Ballot measures

Three statewide ballot questions have been certified:
1. Right to hunt, fish and trap wildlife
2. Establish criteria before authorizing the issuance of bonds
3. Lower the threshold for issuing state bonds to attract major industries

Local

Many elections for county offices were also held on November 2, 2010.