A Republican Party primary took place on May 24, 2022, in Arkansas to determine which candidate would earn the right to run as the party's nominee in the state's gubernatorial election on November 8, 2022.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of Arkansas.

This page focuses on Arkansas' Republican Party gubernatorial primary. For more in-depth information on Arkansas' Democratic gubernatorial primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Republican primary for Governor of Arkansas

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Sarah Huckabee Sanders	83.1	289,249
	Doc Washburn	16.9	58,638

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 347,887
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Election competitiveness

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 gubernatorial election, 2022
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 8, 2022	November 1, 2022	October 25, 2022	October 18, 2022
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe 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 requirements

The table below details filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates in Arkansas in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Arkansas, click here.

Filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates, 2022
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source	Notes
Arkansas	Governor	Ballot-qualified party	N/A	Fixed by party	3/1/2022	Source
Arkansas	Governor	Unaffiliated	3% of total votes cast for governor in 2018 or 10,000, whichever is less	N/A	5/1/2022	Source

State profile

Demographic data for Arkansas
	Arkansas	U.S.
Total population:	2,977,853	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	52,035	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	78%	73.6%
Black/African American:	15.5%	12.6%
Asian:	1.4%	5.1%
Native American:	0.6%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.2%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.1%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	6.9%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	84.8%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	21.1%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$41,371	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	22.9%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Arkansas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Arkansas

Arkansas voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Arkansas, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.^[5]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Arkansas had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Arkansas coverage on Ballotpedia

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

	2026 → ← 2018
Governor of Arkansas
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election;
Election details
	Filing deadline: March 1, 2022
	Primary: May 24, 2022; Primary runoff: June 21, 2022; General: November 8, 2022; Pre-election incumbent(s):; Asa Hutchinson (Republican)
How to vote
	Poll times: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Voting in Arkansas
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Solid Republican; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican; Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2022; Impact of term limits in 2022; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
Arkansas; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Secretary of State; Treasurer; Auditor; Public Lands Commissioner

See also: Presidential voting trends in Arkansas and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Arkansas, 2022
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
Arkansas' 1st	Rick Crawford	Republican	R+22
Arkansas' 2nd	French Hill	Republican	R+9
Arkansas' 3rd	Steve Womack	Republican	R+15
Arkansas' 4th	Bruce Westerman	Republican	R+20

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Arkansas^[6]
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Arkansas' 1st	28.1%	69.0%
Arkansas' 2nd	42.1%	55.2%
Arkansas' 3rd	36.8%	60.2%
Arkansas' 4th	31.0%	66.2%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 80.4% of Arkansans lived in one of the state's 66 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 19.4% lived in one of eight Solid Democratic counties. Overall, Arkansas was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Arkansas following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Arkansas county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Republican	66	80.4%
Solid Democratic	8	19.4%
Trending Republican	1	0.2%
Total voted Democratic	8	19.4%
Total voted Republican	67	80.6%

Historical voting trends

Arkansas presidential election results (1900-2020)

20 Democratic wins
10 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
Winning Party	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	AI^[7]	R	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Arkansas

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Arkansas.

U.S. Senate election results in Arkansas
Race	Winner	Runner up
2020	66.5%	33.5%
2016	59.7%	36.3%
2014	56.5%	39.4%
2010	58.0%	36.9%
2008	79.5%	20.5%
Average	64.0	33.3

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Arkansas

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Arkansas.

Gubernatorial election results in Arkansas
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	65.3%	31.8%
2014	55.4%	41.5%
2010	64.4%	33.6%
2006	55.6%	40.7%
2002	52.0%	47.0%
Average	58.5	38.9

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Arkansas' congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Arkansas, November 2022
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 November 2022.

State executive officials in Arkansas, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Asa Hutchinson
Lieutenant Governor	Tim Griffin
Secretary of State	John Thurston
Attorney General	Leslie Rutledge

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Arkansas State Legislature as of November 2022.

Arkansas State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	7
	Republican Party	27
	Independent	1
	Vacancies	0
Total		35

Arkansas House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	22
	Republican Party	78
	Vacancies	0
Total		100

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Arkansas was a Republican trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Arkansas Party Control: 1992-2022
Eleven years of Democratic trifectas • Eight 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
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
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
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

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Arkansas and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for Arkansas
	Arkansas	United States
Population	3,011,524	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	51,992	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	75.4%	70.4%
Black/African American	15.2%	12.6%
Asian	1.5%	5.6%
Native American	0.6%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0.3%	0.2%
Other (single race)	2.9%	5.1%
Multiple	4%	5.2%
Hispanic/Latino	7.6%	18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate	87.2%	88.5%
College graduation rate	23.8%	32.9%
Income
Median household income	$49,475	$64,994
Persons below poverty level	16.1%	12.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022
↑ American Independent Party

[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] The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

[6] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022

[7] American Independent Party

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[3]

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[6]

[7]

Arkansas	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis

Arkansas State Executive Offices Arkansas State Legislature Arkansas Courts	2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 Arkansas elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016	Party control of state government State government trifectas State of the state addresses Partisan composition of governors

	v • e State of Arkansas Little Rock (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? \| Elections in 2025 \| How to vote \| How to run for office \| Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? \| U.S. President \| U.S. Congress \| Federal courts \| State executives \| State legislature \| State and local courts \| Counties \| Cities \| School districts \| Public policy

Arkansas gubernatorial election, 2022 (May 24 Republican primary)

Candidates and election results

Republican primary election