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Arkansas' 4th Congressional District election, 2026

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2024
Arkansas' 4th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: November 12, 2025
Primary: March 3, 2026
Primary runoff: March 31, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Voting in Arkansas

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Arkansas' 4th Congressional District
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th
Arkansas elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

All U.S. House districts, including the 4th Congressional District of Arkansas, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is March 3, 2026, and a primary runoff is March 31, 2026. The filing deadline was November 12, 2025. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for U.S. House Arkansas District 4

Incumbent Bruce Westerman is running in the general election for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Bruce Westerman
Bruce Westerman (R)

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4

Steven O'Donnell and James Russell are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on March 3, 2026.


Candidate Connection = 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 Bruce Westerman advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4.

Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Arkansas

Election information in Arkansas: Nov. 3, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: Oct. 5, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 5, 2026
  • Online: N/A

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: Oct. 30, 2026
  • By mail: Received by Oct. 27, 2026
  • Online: Oct. 27, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: Oct. 30, 2026
  • By mail: Received by Nov. 3, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

Nov. 19, 2026 to Nov. 2, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

7:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. (CT)


Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Bruce Westerman Republican Party $1,395,220 $394,600 $4,034,181 As of September 30, 2025
Steven O'Donnell Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
James Russell Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]

Race ratings: Arkansas' 4th Congressional District election, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
12/23/202512/16/202512/9/202512/2/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The HillPendingPendingPendingPending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Arkansas in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Arkansas, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Arkansas U.S. House Ballot-qualified party N/A Fixed by party 11/12/2025 Source
Arkansas U.S. House Unaffiliated 3% of qualified voters in the district, or 2,000, whichever is less N/A 5/1/2026 Source


District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

General election

General election for U.S. House Arkansas District 4

Incumbent Bruce Westerman (R) defeated Risie Howard (D) in the general election for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Bruce Westerman
Bruce Westerman (R)
 
72.9
 
197,046
Image of Risie Howard
Risie Howard (D)
 
27.1
 
73,207

Total votes: 270,253
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for March 5, 2024, was canceled. Risie Howard (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for March 5, 2024, was canceled. Incumbent Bruce Westerman (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 without appearing on the ballot.

General election

General election for U.S. House Arkansas District 4

Incumbent Bruce Westerman (R) defeated John White (D) and Gregory Maxwell (L) in the general election for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Bruce Westerman
Bruce Westerman (R)
 
71.0
 
153,850
Image of John White
John White (D)
 
26.2
 
56,745
Image of Gregory Maxwell
Gregory Maxwell (L)  Candidate Connection
 
2.8
 
6,101

Total votes: 216,696
Candidate Connection = 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

The Democratic primary scheduled for May 24, 2022, was canceled. John White (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for May 24, 2022, was canceled. Incumbent Bruce Westerman (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 without appearing on the ballot.

Libertarian Party convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Arkansas District 4

Gregory Maxwell (L) advanced from the Libertarian Party convention for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on February 20, 2022.

Candidate
Image of Gregory Maxwell
Gregory Maxwell  Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection = 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.

General election

General election for U.S. House Arkansas District 4

Incumbent Bruce Westerman (R) defeated William Hanson (D) and Frank Gilbert (L) in the general election for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Bruce Westerman
Bruce Westerman (R)
 
69.7
 
191,617
Image of William Hanson
William Hanson (D)  Candidate Connection
 
27.5
 
75,750
Image of Frank Gilbert
Frank Gilbert (L)
 
2.8
 
7,668

Total votes: 275,035
Candidate Connection = 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

The Democratic primary scheduled for March 3, 2020, was canceled. William Hanson (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 without appearing on the ballot.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for March 3, 2020, was canceled. Incumbent Bruce Westerman (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Arkansas District 4 without appearing on the ballot.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_ar_congressional_district_04.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+20. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 20 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Arkansas' 4th the 34th most Republican district nationally.[5]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Arkansas' 4th Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
29.0% 69.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Arkansas, 2024

Arkansas presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 20 Democratic wins
  • 11 Republican wins
  • 1 other win
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D AI[6] R D R R R D D R R R R R R R
See also: Party control of Arkansas state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Arkansas' congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Arkansas
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 0 0
Republican 2 4 6
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 4 6

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Arkansas' top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Arkansas, October 2025
Office Officeholder
Governor Republican Party Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Lieutenant Governor Republican Party Leslie Rutledge
Secretary of State Republican Party Cole Jester
Attorney General Republican Party Tim Griffin

State legislature

Arkansas State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 6
     Republican Party 28
     Other 0
     Vacancies 1
Total 35

Arkansas House of Representatives

Party As of FOctober 2025
     Democratic Party 19
     Republican Party 80
     Other 0
     Vacancies 1
Total 100

Trifecta control

Arkansas Party Control: 1992-2025
Eleven years of Democratic trifectas  •  Eleven years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R

See also

Arkansas 2026 primaries 2026 U.S. Congress elections
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Arkansas congressional delegation
Voting in Arkansas
Arkansas elections:
202620252024202320222021202020192018
Democratic primary battlegrounds
Republican primary battlegrounds
U.S. Senate Democratic primaries
U.S. Senate Republican primaries
U.S. House Democratic primaries
U.S. House Republican primaries
U.S. Congress elections
U.S. Senate elections
U.S. House elections
Special elections
Ballot access

External links

Footnotes

  1. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  2. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  3. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  5. Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
  6. American Independent Party


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Republican Party (6)