Republicans Settle on a Nominee in Senate District 26, With Opposition to Sanders Prison Plan

The stage is set in Arkansas Senate District 26, where a low profile special election has taken on outsized significance because it sits at the center of one of the state’s most contentious political fights. The race will help determine the public mood of a proposed prison that Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has championed with unusual intensity, even as resistance has hardened across much of the Legislature.

On Tuesday night, Brad Simon, a Paris business owner and a vocal opponent of the prison project, captured the Republican nomination for the seat vacated by the death of Sen. Gary Stubblefield, who had been one of the plan’s most forceful critics. In a district long considered safely Republican, Democrats chose not to field a candidate, leaving Simon to face independent Adam Watson in the March 3 general election.

A Crowded Primary Narrows to One

In a Republican stronghold where winning the GOP nomination is often tantamount to winning the seat, the primary field was crowded and highly competitive. After a campaign marked by heavy spending, Brad Simon defeated Wade Dunn, a retired businessman, in the Republican primary runoff for Arkansas Senate District 26 on February 3. The two advanced to the runoff after none of the five candidates in the Jan. 6 primary secured the majority needed to claim the nomination outright.

According to the Secretary of State’s office, Simon won 65.07 percent of the vote to Dunn’s 34.93 percent, with 5,577 ballots cast. Dunn had led the initial primary, earning 37.17 percent of the vote compared with Simon’s 30.76 percent, but the runoff results showed a consolidation of Republican support behind Simon. He carried every county in the district, receiving 3,629 votes overall, including 698 in Franklin County, 493 in Johnson County, 1,524 in Logan County, and 914 in Sebastian County. Dunn received 1,948 votes, including 535 in Franklin County, 234 in Johnson County, 382 in Logan County, and 797 in Sebastian County.

Money and Momentum

Simon significantly outspent Dunn during the primary and runoff. Simon reported total expenditures of $220,940, with $200,054 paid to Capitol Consulting Firm for political consulting services. He funded his campaign with $175,000 of his own money and raised $66,700 in donations. Of those donations, $9,500 came from various Capitol Consulting Firm political action committees in the form of monetary and nonmonetary contributions.

Dunn spent approximately $85,270 during the race. He raised $56,500 and loaned his campaign $52,500.

Dunn was endorsed by Stubblefield’s wife and daughter, while Simon received endorsements from the late senator’s brother and son. Simon also had the support of several local officials and Republican Rep. Aaron Pilkington of Knoxville. Two of Simon’s former primary opponents, Stacie Smith and former state Rep. Mark Berry, also endorsed him.

Reactions From the Candidates

Dunn conceded the race about two hours after polls closed Tuesday night. In a post on his campaign’s Facebook page, he said he hoped Simon would serve as a conservative legislator in the tradition of the late Sen. Gary Stubblefield. “Mr. Simon has big shoes to fill in Senate District 26, and my hope is that he will be a staunch, conservative vote in the same form as Senator Gary Stubblefield,” Dunn wrote.

Simon thanked supporters in a statement posted to Facebook later that evening, expressing gratitude for the outpouring of support he received. “I am humbled and deeply grateful for the support our district showed me during this election. I am overwhelmed,” he wrote. Simon thanked his wife, family, friends, and volunteers, noting that his phone had filled with messages and missed calls since the polls closed. “Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow we get back to work. Thank you all and God bless,” he added.

In a separate statement sent to Talk Business & Politics, Simon described the race as about more than individual personalities or single issues. “This race was not about one person, or one issue, or one county,” he said. “This election was about all of Senate District 26 and the values we hold dear being represented in Little Rock.” He said he did not take lightly the responsibility of succeeding the late Sen. Gary Stubblefield and again thanked his family, campaign team, volunteers, and God “for blessing me with the opportunity to continue our campaign.”

Adam Watson, the independent candidate in the March 3 general election, said the result of the Republican runoff would not change his campaign strategy. “My campaign plans don’t change on the result of this race,” Watson said. “I’m running for a seat that belongs to the people. I’m not running against an opponent.”

Watson said he believes voters in the district are confronting urgent challenges and a fundamental choice. “There is a lot that this district is dealing with that is at a crisis level,” he said. “The voters have a choice. They have a choice to stick with the two party system and the super majority that’s brought us to where we are today. Or they can vote for an independent voice that is only really beholden to the voters of this district.”

Prison Project Dominates the Race

The candidates were vying for the Republican nomination to succeed Sen. Gary Stubblefield, who died last year and had been a vocal opponent of the proposed 3,000 bed prison planned for Franklin County. Both Dunn and Simon said they would continue opposing the prison if elected. Resistance to the project quickly became a defining issue in the race, with all five Republican candidates pledging to vote against it in the Senate.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said the prison is necessary to address longstanding bed shortages in Arkansas’ prison system. Opponents, including Simon and Dunn, argue that the 815 acre site the state purchased in 2024 is not suitable for a facility of that scale, while others contend the funding would be better directed toward addressing the underlying factors that contribute to incarceration.

Funding for the prison could return to the agenda during the April legislative session after being rejected five times last year. That possibility prompted lawsuits following Stubblefield’s death. Sanders sought to delay a vote on the project until after key legislative sessions.

One Franklin County voter argued that the original schedule for the election to replace the late senator would deprive voters of a meaningful opportunity to weigh in on whether the prison should be funded. A state court ordered the election moved to its current dates, a decision Sanders appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court. The justices allowed the election to proceed while the appeal was under consideration.

Toward a General Election

Simon will face Adam Watson in the March 3 general election. With both candidates rejecting the project, the race is likely to hinge on which candidate voters see as the more credible and consistent opponent.

The absence of a Democratic candidate gives the Republican nominee a built in advantage in a district long dominated by the G.O.P. Still, Watson’s independent bid offers an alternative for voters dissatisfied with the party establishment. He is seeking to attract Democrats, independents, and Republicans uneasy with Simon, a coalition that could narrow the gap if it holds together.

The dynamics could shift further if Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders steps in to support anyone, potentially recasting the race as a referendum on her prison proposal. For now, the prison remains the central issue in Senate District 26, eclipsing nearly every other concern facing voters.