Arkansas House of Representatives District 96
Arkansas House of Representatives District 96 is represented by Sonia Eubanks Barker (R).
As of the 2020 Census, Arkansas state representatives represented an average of 30,138 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 29,262 residents.
About the office
Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives serve two-year terms with term limits of no more than 12 consecutive years with the opportunity to return after a four-year break.[1] Arkansas legislators assume office on the second Monday of January following their election.[2]
Qualifications
Article 5, Section 4 of the Arkansas Constitution states: "No person shall be a Senator or Representative who, at the time of his election, is not a citizen of the United States, nor any one who has not been for two years next preceding his election, a resident of this State, and for one year next preceding his election, a resident of the county or district whence he may be chosen. Senators shall be at least twenty-five years of age, and Representatives at least twenty-one years of age."[3]
Article 19, Section 3 of the Arkansas Constitution states: "No persons shall be elected to, or appointed to fill a vacancy in, any office who does not possess the qualifications of an elector."[4]
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[5] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $44,356/year | For legislators residing within 50 miles of the capitol: $59/day. For legislators residing more than 50 miles from the capitol: $166/day. |
Term limits
- See also: State legislatures with term limits
The Arkansas legislature is one of 16 state legislatures with term limits. The Arkansas House of Representatives has been term-limited since Arkansas voters approved the Arkansas Term Limits Initiative in 1992 as an initiated constitutional amendment. The first year that the term limits enacted in 1992 impacted the ability of incumbents to run for office was 2000.
In 2014, voters approved the Arkansas Elected Officials Ethics, Transparency and Financial Reform Amendment, which permitted a legislator to serve a total of 16 years in the House or Senate during his or her lifetime.[6] In 2020, voters modified the term limits for Arkansas state legislative members. Voters passed Issue 2 in November 2020 with 55.38% of the vote. The measure imposed term limits of 12 consecutive years for state legislators with the opportunity to return after a four-year break. State legislators elected in November 2020 or already in office would be allowed to serve the former term limit of 16 years.
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the Arkansas General Assembly, the governor must call for a special election to fill the vacancy. The election must be called by the governor without delay.[7][8] For all special elections in the Senate, the county that first established the district is responsible for conducting the election.[9] If the special election is to fill a House seat, the county board of election commissioners representing the vacant district conducts the election.[10][11]
See sources: Arkansas Stat. Ann. § 7-11-103 and Arkansas Cons. Art. 5, § 6
District map
Redistricting
2020 redistricting cycle
On December 29, 2021, new state House and Senate district maps went into effect.[12] The Arkansas Board of Apportionment—made up of the governor, secretary of state, and attorney general—initially displayed these maps on Oct. 29, 2021, beginning a month-long public comment period.[13] The board met on Nov. 29 to incorporate feedback and then voted 3-0 in favor of the final maps. These maps took effect for Arkansas' 2022 legislative elections.
How does redistricting in Arkansas work? The Arkansas General Assembly is responsible for drawing congressional district lines. Both chambers of the state legislature must approve a single redistricting plan. The governor may veto the lines drawn by the state legislature.[14]
Arkansas' state legislative district lines are drawn by a politician commission, the Arkansas Board of Apportionment. The commission comprises the governor, the secretary of state, and the attorney general.[14]
The Arkansas Constitution requires that Arkansas State Senate district lines be "contiguous, and that they follow county lines except where necessary to comply with other legal requirements." There are no such requirements in place for congressional districts.[14]
Arkansas House of Representatives District 96
until January 8, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Arkansas House of Representatives District 96
starting January 9, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2024
See also: Arkansas House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96
Incumbent Sonia Eubanks Barker defeated Robin Roark in the general election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Sonia Eubanks Barker (R) | 72.8 | 8,990 |
 | Robin Roark (D)  | 27.2 | 3,358 | |
| Total votes: 12,348 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96
Robin Roark defeated Horace Charles in the Democratic primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robin Roark | 52.7 | 375 |
 | Horace Charles | 47.3 | 336 | |
| Total votes: 711 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Sonia Eubanks Barker advanced from the Republican primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96.
2022
General election
General election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96
Incumbent Sonia Eubanks Barker won election in the general election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sonia Eubanks Barker (R) | 100.0 | 15,466 |
| Total votes: 15,466 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Sonia Eubanks Barker advanced from the Republican primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96.
2020
Special election
A special election for District 96 of the Arkansas House of Representatives took place on November 3, 2020.[15]
The seat became vacant on July 10, 2020, after Grant Hodges (R) resigned from the state legislature to take a job with Northwest Arkansas Community College.[16][17] The winner of the special election served until January 2021, when the winner of the regular election was sworn-in.
At the time the special election was called, the regular election Republican candidate Joshua Bryant was serving as a justice of the peace. To run in the special election, he would have had to resign from that office. Instead, his wife Jill Bryant (R) filed to run in his place.
General election
Special general election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96
Jill Bryant won election in the special general election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jill Bryant (R) | 100.0 | 10,444 | |
| Total votes: 10,444 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Regular election
General election
General election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96
Joshua Bryant defeated Jon Comstock in the general election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Joshua Bryant (R) | 64.5 | 7,838 |
 | Jon Comstock (D) | 35.5 | 4,313 | |
| Total votes: 12,151 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Jon Comstock advanced from the Democratic primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Joshua Bryant advanced from the Republican primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96.
2018
General election
General election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96
Incumbent Grant Hodges defeated Christie Craig in the general election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Grant Hodges (R) | 66.4 | 5,614 |
 | Christie Craig (D) | 33.6 | 2,840 | |
| Total votes: 8,454 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96
Christie Craig advanced from the Democratic primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Christie Craig |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96
Incumbent Grant Hodges advanced from the Republican primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Grant Hodges |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Ballotpedia's analysis revealed that only 42 of the 100 seats up for election in 2016 involved competition between Democrats and Republicans. This made it numerically impossible for Democrats to take control of either Arkansas legislative chamber in 2016.
The reason for the low competition was that candidates were in safe districts for their parties. Between 1972 and 2014, an upward trend in uncontested state legislative elections occurred.
The Democratic Party of Arkansas focused its 2016 efforts on the state’s House of Representatives. Without the numbers to win the state Senate, H.L. Moody, communications director for the Democratic Party of Arkansas, told Ballotpedia that the party’s goal was to “start building back where we can,” beginning with the House.
Ballotpedia spoke to political analyst Richard Winger, who said that the early primary deadline for the 2016 elections was a possible factor as well, making it difficult for Democrats to recruit candidates early.
The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing period began at noon local time on November 2, 2015, and ended at noon local time on November 9, 2015.[18]
Incumbent Grant Hodges defeated Michael Kalagias in the Arkansas House of Representatives District 96 general election.[19]
| Arkansas House of Representatives, District 96 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Grant Hodges Incumbent |
71.43% | 7,299 | |
| Libertarian | Michael Kalagias | 28.57% | 2,919 | |
| Total Votes | 10,218 | |||
| Source: Arkansas Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Grant Hodges ran unopposed in the Arkansas House of Representatives District 96 Republican Primary.[20][21]
| Arkansas House of Representatives, District 96 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Grant Hodges Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Arkansas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014; a runoff election took place where necessary on June 10, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 3, 2014. Tom McClure was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Grant Hodges defeated Damon Wallace in the Republican primary. Hodges defeated McClure and Michael Kalagias (L) in the general election.[22][23]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Grant Hodges |
59.2% | 4,330 | |
| Democratic | Tom McClure | 35.6% | 2,605 | |
| Libertarian | Michael Kalagias | 5.1% | 375 | |
| Total Votes | 7,310 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Grant Hodges |
68.7% | 1,395 |
| Damon Wallace | 31.3% | 635 |
| Total Votes | 2,030 | |
2012
Elections for the office of Arkansas House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on May 22, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 1, 2012. Incumbent Duncan Baird ran unopposed in the May 22 Republican primary before winning the general election without opposition.[24][25]
Campaign contributions
From 2000 to 2024, candidates for Arkansas House of Representatives District 96 raised a total of $472,931. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $19,705 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Arkansas House of Representatives District 96 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2024 | $44,769 | 3 | $14,923 |
| 2022 | $14,427 | 1 | $14,427 |
| 2020 | $83,921 | 2 | $41,961 |
| 2018 | $51,178 | 2 | $25,589 |
| 2016 | $31,364 | 2 | $15,682 |
| 2014 | $82,874 | 4 | $20,719 |
| 2012 | $16,970 | 1 | $16,970 |
| 2010 | $25,346 | 1 | $25,346 |
| 2008 | $10,733 | 1 | $10,733 |
| 2006 | $36,173 | 1 | $36,173 |
| 2004 | $16,695 | 1 | $16,695 |
| 2002 | $39,823 | 3 | $13,274 |
| 2000 | $18,657 | 2 | $9,329 |
| Total | $472,931 | 24 | $19,705 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Arkansas State Legislature, "Constitution of the State of Arkansas of 1874," accessed January 14, 2015
- ↑ Justia, "Arkansas Constitution Article 5 - Legislative Department Section 5 - Time of meeting," accessed October 26, 2021
- ↑ Justia, "Arkansas Constitution Article 5 - Legislative Department Section 4 - Qualifications of senators and representatives," accessed May 21, 2025
- ↑ Justia, "Arkansas Constitution Article 19 - Miscellaneous Provisions," accessed May 23, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ Arkansas Legislature, "HJR1009," accessed February 9, 2021
- ↑ Arkansas Legislature, "Arkansas Code - Unannotated," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statutes, 10-2-118)
- ↑ Arkansas Legislature, "Arkansas Code - Unannotated," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statutes, 10-2-119)
- ↑ Arkansas Legislature, "Arkansas Code - Unannotated," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statutes, 10-2-120(a)(1))
- ↑ Arkansas Legislature, "Arkansas Code - Unannotated," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statutes, 7-11-103(a))
- ↑ Arkansas Legislature, "Arkansas Code - Unannotated," accessed February 24, 2025 (Statutes, 7-11-105 1 (a)-(c))
- ↑ Democracy Docket, "Arkansas State Conference NAACP v. The Arkansas Board of Apportionment complaint," Dec. 29, 2021
- ↑ Arkansas Online, "Arkansas board accepts redrawn legislative district maps," Oct. 30, 2021
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 All About Redistricting, "Arkansas," accessed April 20, 2015
- ↑ Arkansas Democrat Gazette, "Husband, wife running to succeed each other in the same state House seat in Rogers," July 30, 2020
- ↑ Fox16, "St. Rep. Grant Hodges resigns from Arkansas House of Representatives," July 10, 2020
- ↑ Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, "State Representative Hodges hired by Northwest Arkansas Community College," June 25, 2020
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2016 Election Dates," accessed November 17, 2015
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election and Nonpartisan Runoff Election," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Candidate Information," accessed July 25, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Results," accessed April 19, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Candidate Information," accessed March 5, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 26, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, “2012 General Election,” October 21, 2013
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, “2012 General Primary,” October 21, 2013
