Cole Jester

Cole Jester

Republican Party

Candidate, Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands

Arkansas Secretary of State

Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

0

Predecessor

John Thurston

Compensation

Base salary

$101,323

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 3, 2026

Appointed

December 20, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Ouachita Baptist University

Law

University of Virginia School of Law

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Official Instagram

Official YouTube

Campaign website

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Cole Jester (Republican Party) is the Arkansas Secretary of State. He assumed office on January 1, 2025. His current term ends on January 12, 2027.

Jester (Republican Party) is running for election for Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.^[source]

Governor of Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) appointed Jester as Arkansas Secretary of State on December 20, 2024, to replace John Thurston (R).

Biography

Cole Jester earned a bachelor's degree from Ouachita Baptist University and a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. His career experience includes working as the Deputy Chief Legal Counsel for Sarah Huckabee Sanders and as an appellate clerk for Chief Judge Lavenski Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Political career

Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.

Jester's political career includes the following offices:

• 2025-present: Arkansas Secretary of State

Campaign finance summary

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.

Elections

2026

See also: Arkansas Public Lands Commissioner election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands

Cole Jester, Christian Olson, and Lance Restum are running in the general election for Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Cole Jester (R)
		Christian Olson (R)
	Submit photo	Lance Restum (R)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Cole Jester has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Cole Jester, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 22,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

Help improve Ballotpedia - send us candidate contact info.

Campaign finance summary

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.

See also

2026 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands

Website

Officeholder

Arkansas Secretary of State

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Personal

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by John Thurston (R)	Arkansas Secretary of State 2025-Present	Succeeded by -

2026 state executive official elections

Governor

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • Northern Mariana Islands • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Vermont • U.S. Virgin Islands • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Lieutenant Governor

Alabama • Alaska • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • New York • Northern Mariana Islands • Ohio • Oklahoma • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Texas • Vermont • U.S. Virgin Islands • Wisconsin

Attorney General

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • New York • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Texas • Vermont • Wisconsin

Secretary of State

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Georgia • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • North Dakota • Ohio • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Treasurer

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Massachusetts • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • Ohio • Oklahoma • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Auditor

Alabama • Arkansas • Delaware • Iowa • Massachusetts • Minnesota • Missouri • Nebraska • New Mexico • Ohio • Oklahoma • South Dakota • Vermont • Wyoming

Comptroller

California • Connecticut • Idaho • Illinois • Maryland • Nevada • New York • South Carolina • Texas

Education officials

Alabama (board of education) • Arizona (superintendent) • California (superintendent) • Colorado (board of education) • Colorado (board of regent) • District of Columbia (board of education) • Georgia (superintendent) • Guam (education board) • Idaho (superintendent) • Kansas (board of education) • Michigan (board of education) • Michigan (board of regent) • Michigan (board of trustees) • Michigan (board of governors) • Nebraska (board of education) • Nebraska (board of regents) • Nevada (board of regents) • New Mexico (board of education) • Northern Mariana Islands (board of education) • Ohio (board of education) • Oklahoma (superintendent) • South Carolina (superintendent) • Texas (board of education) • Utah (board of education) • U.S. Virgin Islands (board of education) • Wyoming (superintendent)

Commissioners

Alabama (agriculture) • Alabama (public service) • Arizona (corporation) • Arizona (mine inspector) • Arkansas (public lands) • California (board of equalization) • California (insurance) • Florida (agriculture) • Georgia (agriculture) • Georgia (labor) • Georgia (insurance) • Georgia (public service) • Guam (utilities) • Hawaii (Hawaiian affairs) • Iowa (agriculture) • Kansas (insurance) • Louisiana (public service) • Massachusetts (governor's council) • Montana (public service) • Nebraska (public service) • New Hampshire (executive council) • New Mexico (public lands) • North Dakota (agriculture) • North Dakota (public service) • North Dakota (tax) • Oklahoma (corporation) • Oklahoma (insurance) • Oklahoma (labor) • Oregon (labor) • South Carolina (agriculture) • South Dakota (public lands) • South Dakota (public utilities) • Texas (agriculture) • Texas (public lands) • Texas (railroad)