It would be incorrect to say that the special election in Senate District 26 will be decided based on a single issue, but only slightly. 

Whatever other issues constituents here might be facing, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ surprise plan to build a prison in the Franklin County portion of the district has been the subject of such consternation and pushback that all but one of the candidates in the race has made express opposition to the 3,000-bed facility a key part of their candidacy. With that in mind — and with less than a month until the January 6 special primary — now seems like a good time to recap how we got to this point and take a look at the six people who currently aspire to the seat.

The very messy background

Senate District 26 was represented by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R-Branch) from 2013 until his death in September. Following his passing, and despite a state law requiring her to schedule a special election to fill the vacancy within 150 days, Sanders initially decreed that the special election for Senate District 26 would occur with the regularly scheduled general election in November 2026, 427 days after the vacancy occurred.

Immediate pushback from the residents of the district led the governor to walk the date for the special election back to June 9, which was still 280 days after the seat became vacant and 130 days past the deadline. In response, Franklin County resident and Senate District 26 voter Colt Shelby sued the governor and Secretary of State Cole Jester in early October, arguing that the governor was required to set the special election within 150 days as state law mandated.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Patricia James ruled in Shelby’s favor, directing the governor to set the election for the first practicable date after the 150-day period expires. Sanders appealed, but in mid-November the Arkansas Supreme Court refused her request to pause James’ ruling pending the outcome of the appeal. Following this defeat, Sanders grudgingly moved the special general election for Senate District 26 to March 3.

Sanders’ reluctance to schedule the election earlier without a court ordering it was widely assumed to be due to ongoing fights about funding the billion-dollar prison that Sanders wants to build in Franklin County. Stubblefield had been a vocal opponent of the project from the start, suggesting at a town hall last year, shortly after Sanders announced the purchase of property in Franklin County on which to build the prison, that the attorney general should investigate whether “any laws were broken” in the site selection or property purchase.

Stubblefield also voted against a $750 million funding package for the prison that failed to pass the senate on five separate occasions during the 2025 legislative session. Sanders has already endorsed Republican primary opponents for two other Republican senators who voted against the funding — Sen. Bryan King (R-Green Forest) and Sen. Ron Caldwell (R-Wynne) — so delaying the special election and leaving Senate District 26 without a senator during the upcoming 2026 fiscal session of the legislature seems right in line with her approach to punishing anyone she can for her failure to secure the money necessary to build the prison.

Following Stubblefield’s death, multiple candidates threw their respective hats in the ring to replace the longtime lawmaker. After one — Logan County Justice of the Peace Brenda Brewer — acknowledged that she was ineligible to run and dropped out, the voters of Senate District 26 were left with six candidates vying for the open seat. They include five Republicans, one independent and zero Democrats.

The Republicans 

The special primary election will take place on the democratically inauspicious date of January 6. Voters in the Republican primary will choose between businessman Brad Simon of Paris, retired general and former state representative Mark Berry of Ozark, retired businessman Wade Dunn of Greenwood, businessman Ted Tritt of Paris, and utility company community affairs coordinator Stacie Smith of Greenwood.

Simon currently leads the five Republicans in money raised for the race, reporting nearly $94,000 in available funds as of Oct. 31 after loaning his campaign $110,000. His website touts a campaign slogan of typical Republican pablum — “Freedom, Faith and Family First!” — and describes him as “a small business owner, family man, and lifelong conservative from Paris, Arkansas.”

“As a conservative fighter, I STRONGLY OPPOSE the wasteful $1 billion prison at Mill Creek Mountain — it’s government overreach threatening our water supply, environment, property values, and local economy,” Simon says on his website. “Crime demands tough solutions like backing law enforcement, not this secretive burden on our families.”

Simon also gives the standard Republican lip service to the Second Amendment (he’s for it), police (he supports them), and abortion (he’s opposed). All in all, it’s a very low-hanging-fruit approach to running for office.

Berry, a retired general in the U.S. Air Force/Air National Guard, served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2021 until 2025. He was reelected in 2022, and he announced in May 2023 that he would not seek a third term in the House. Following Stubblefield’s death in September, however, Berry said he was running for Senate because he “find[s] himself uniquely qualified to serve as the senator representing Senate District 26.”

For the period ending Oct. 31, Berry reported a balance of almost $50,000 on hand, which included a $30,000 personal loan to his campaign. The first four lengthy paragraphs of Berry’s bio on his campaign website are about his military career (which, again, ended in 2019). The remainder of the biography is about what committees he served on while in the Arkansas House, what organizations he currently belongs to, where he went to college and where he and his wife currently live. 

Somewhat impressively, there is absolutely no mention of any political issues important to Senate District 26 on Berry’s website. Though that might be in part because Berry is the only candidate in this race not to come out explicitly against Sanders’ proposed prison. But he did show up to file as a candidate wearing a $16,000 watch, carrying a $480 Montblanc pen and sporting a three-carat total weight diamond ring. So he definitely has his finger on the pulse of a district with a median income under $30,000 per year.  

Dunn, who did not register as a candidate for the race until early November, was not required to file a financial disclosure for the period ending Oct. 31, and he did not. Before he had even officially registered as a candidate, Dunn, who lost a Republican primary for House of Representatives in 2022, had received the endorsement of the Stubblefield family. When it comes to the proposed prison, Dunn is opposed.

“Billion dollar prison boondoggles and power grabs must be stopped immediately,” he said.

How he plans to stop the prison — or what he thinks about much of anything else — is less clear. While it seems almost impossible, Dunn’s website manages to have even less information on it than Berry’s does.

Tritt, the other businessman from Paris in the race, reported just over $1,600 on hand as of Oct. 31. He said he’d raised about $4,500 in donations, had loaned himself $7,200 and had spent just over $10,000 so far.

While devoid of any useful information, Tritt’s website suggests he’s a member (or at least a big fan!) of Gun Owners of Arkansas. It also suggests that he isn’t entirely aware of what office he’s trying to get elected to.

“I have always loved our area of the State and know that I would like to have the opportunity to represent our communities in the State Legislature,” Tritt said. “With my business and civic background I feel I have the experience to be a Representative.”

Smith, who is the only woman in the race, is a community affairs coordinator for Arkansas Oklahoma Gas, a subsidiary of Summit Utilities, Inc. For the period ending Oct. 31, she reported about $18,500 cash on hand, consisting of no contributions, a $20,000 loan to herself and expenditures of roughly $1,500.

On her campaign website, Smith describes herself as a “conservative Republican” who believes in “the enduring strength of faith, the importance of family, and the necessity of fiscal discipline.” She says health care should be “accessible, affordable, and compassionate,” and she says she will work to increase access to mental health treatment. Smith says she opposes abortion, supports gun rights, and believes in school choice. As for the prison?

“I am against the proposed prison at Mill Creek Mountain,” she said. “As your Senator, I would not support it, nor would I vote to fund it.”

The five Republicans will square off on the Jan. 6 primary ballot and, if necessary, the top two Republicans will advance to a special run-off election on Feb. 3, according to the governor’s petulant decree setting the special election dates.

The Independent

Independent candidate Adam Watson got onto the ballot by collecting signatures from voters after the new election dates were announced last month. Watson is a farmer and small business owner who lives in Branch in Franklin County. He is also the founding director of Gravel & Grit, a nonprofit organization opposed to the proposed prison. He is also vice-chair of the Arkansas Civic Action Network, a group focused on civic engagement and education.

“I’m running because the people of District 26 deserve better than backroom deals and top-down decisions,” Watson said. “We deserve honesty, accountability, and a representative who answers to neighbors — not to party leaders or special interests in Little Rock.”

Watson says his experience fighting against the prison has prepared him to represent the district in the Arkansas Senate.

“Through the countless hours I’ve spent pushing back against the prison, I’ve seen the worst of party politics, special interest influences, and the heavy hand of the establishment leaning on our lawmakers,” he said. “With all of that power now squarely aimed at our District, we need someone free from establishment influences and party pressures to be the peoples’ voice at the Capitol.”

Watson will automatically appear on the March 3 ballot by virtue of qualifying as an independent. 

The Democrats

LOL. There are no Democrats in this race. Don’t be silly. Sanders won Franklin County in 2022 with 76% of the vote. She took 78% in Logan County, 72% in Johnson County and 67% in Sebastian County. Even if Senate District 26 follows national trends and moves leftward by 10 to 15 points like we’ve seen elsewhere, that wouldn’t be enough to get a Democrat elected in 2026.