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Arkansas' 4th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary)

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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. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th
Arkansas elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

A Democratic Party primary takes place on March 3, 2026, in Arkansas' 4th Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
November 12, 2025
March 3, 2026
November 3, 2026



A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Arkansas utilizes an open primary system. Registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1][2]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Arkansas' 4th Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

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
Image of Steven O'Donnell
Steven O'Donnell Candidate Connection
Image of James Russell
James Russell

There are no incumbents in this race.

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.

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Steven O'Donnell

Image of Steven O'Donnell

Website

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Born and raised in Arkansas, Graduate of Gillham High School class of 1985. I worked part time after school at the Lane Poultry feed mill in Grannis Ar. and other odd jobs my agriculture teacher would line me up with. after graduation, I worked in the construction industry building apartment buildings and custom homes across the country in Texas, Arkansas ,North Carolina and Florida before joining the U.S. Navy and serving four and a half years as a Navy Seabee. Rejoining civilian life, I began my journey of 30 years of business management and ownership. My wife and I have been together for 25 years and also, I inherited and beautiful and intelligent stepdaughter that gave us 3 beautiful grand kids. Life is busy and there's never enough time it seems..."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

The U.S. House of Representatives must reclaim its role as the vigilant watchdog of our national interest, ensuring every dollar is spent with integrity and transparency. Our funding decisions must be scrutinized, with clear receipts of how budgetary allocations come to be and whom they benefit.

Now is the time for D.C. to return to its true allegiance- not to a handful of billionaires, but to " We The People". Together, we can restore the power to voices like your and mine, Voices that resonate with values , concerns and aspirations of Arkansas fourth district.

Lets turn the tide and elect someone who shares your fight , who lives our common struggles and who will stand unwavering for the issues that mold our daily lives. Lets be the catalyst for change. Together, lets take back the promise of American democracy and create a future where every citizen, not just a privileged few , is truly heard. Onward, Together, for a government that truly represents us all.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Arkansas

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

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: Feb. 2, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by Feb. 2, 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: Feb. 27, 2026
  • By mail: Received by Feb. 24, 2026
  • Online: Feb. 24, 2026

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

  • In-person: Feb. 27, 2026
  • By mail: Received by March 3, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

Feb. 16, 2026 to March 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)


Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
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.

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.[3]

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[4] 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

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

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ LexisNexis, "Ark. Stat. Ann. § 7-7-307," accessed November 19, 2025
  2. ↑ LexisNexis, "Ark. Stat. Ann. § 7-7-308," accessed November 19, 2025
  3. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
  4. ↑ American Independent Party


Arkansas' current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
John Boozman (R)
Tom Cotton (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Republican Party (6)


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