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

1

Predecessor: John Thurston (R)

Compensation

Base salary

$101,323

Elections and appointments

Next election

March 3, 2026

Appointed

December 20, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Ouachita Baptist University

Law

University of Virginia School of Law

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

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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 is on the ballot in the Republican primary on March 3, 2026.^[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

Elections

2026

See also: Arkansas Public Lands Commissioner election, 2026

General election

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

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands

Cole Jester and Christian Olson are running in the Republican primary for Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Cole Jester
		Christian Olson

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Lance Restum (R)

Endorsements

Jester received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

• U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R)
• Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R)
• State Sen. Breanne Davis (R)
• State Sen. Tyler Dees (R)
• State Sen. Bart Hester (R)
• State Sen. Blake Johnson (R)
• State Sen. Matt Stone (R)
• State Sen. Dave Wallace (R)
• State Rep. Howard Beaty (R)
• State Rep. Brian Evans (R)
• State Rep. Kendra Moore (R)
• State Rep. Stetson Painter (R)
• State Rep. Dwight Tosh (R)
• State Rep. Les Warren (R)
• State Rep. Carlton Wing (R)
• Lieutenant Gov. Leslie Rutledge (R)

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

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Campaign website

Jester's campaign website stated the following:

• Shrink government while boosting efficiency
• Expand our energy dominance through state leases
• Protect Arkansas' waterways & natural resources
• Investigate Chinese ownership near navigable waterways & state resources

— Cole Jester's campaign website (January 16, 2026)

Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

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

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Newsletters

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External links

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Candidate

Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands

Website

Officeholder

Arkansas Secretary of State

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Footnotes

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

2026 state executive official elections

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