Incumbent John Boozman defeated three other candidates—Jake Bequette, Heath Loftis, and Jan Morgan—in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Arkansas on May 24, 2022.

Dr. Jay Barth, emeritus professor of politics at Hendrix College, said the key question in the primary was whether Boozman would be able to get more than 50% of the vote and avoid a runoff.^[1]^[2] With 90% of precincts reporting, Boozman led with 58% of the vote, followed by Bequette with 21% and Morgan with 19%.

Boozman, a former optometrist, was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010.^[3] Boozman had the endorsements of former President Donald Trump (R), U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and former White House Press Secretary and 2022 Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R). Boozman highlighted Trump’s endorsement and focused on his legislative record, saying, “[President Trump and I] rebuilt our military, stood up for our veterans, helped our farmers through challenging and unprecedented times, confirmed three conservative Justices to the Supreme Court and completely reshaped the judiciary.”^[4]^[5]

Bequette, a U.S. Army veteran and a former football player from Little Rock, cited immigration and law enforcement as top issues.^[6] Bequette described himself as a political outsider and highlighted his military service and time as a player for the Arkansas Razorbacks and the New England Patriots.^[7]^[8] Bequette said, “I’m no squish career politician. I’m a former all-SEC Razorback and an army veteran who left the NFL and volunteered for the 101st Airborne in Iraq.”^[9] Reps. Madison Cawthorn (R) and Burgess Owens (R) endorsed Bequette.^[10]

Morgan worked as a journalist and owned a firearms training facility in Hot Springs.^[11] Morgan focused on immigration and election administration and said she supported term limits.^[12]^[13] Morgan described herself as a conservative fighter, saying, “America needs aggressive fighters in D.C. who will get in the ring and boldly take on our enemies rather than stand on the sidelines.”^[14] Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn endorsed Morgan.^[15]

Bequette and Morgan called Boozman a RINO (Republican in Name Only) and criticized him for not challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election.^[14]^[16]^[12] Bequette also criticized Boozman for not committing to a debate.^[17] Boozman’s campaign responded by highlighting Trump’s endorsement and Boozman’s record. In one of Boozman’s campaign ads, the narrator said, “[Boozman] is a workhorse, not a show pony.” It continued, “Others have words; Boozman does the work.”^[18]

At the time of the primary, groups not directly affiliated with any of the candidates had spent $5 million in the race, the second largest amount of satellite spending for a U.S. Senate primary where a GOP incumbent was running for re-election in 2022, according to data from Open Secrets.^[19]^[20] The Arkansas Patriots Fund spent $1.5 million in support of Bequette, the most of any group. The group received a $1 million donation from businessman Richard Uihlein last year, according to data from the FEC. Several different groups spent a combined total of $2.1 million in support of Boozman.^[21]^[22]

At the time of the primary, three independent election forecasters considered the general election as Solid Republican.

Heath Loftis (R) completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. To read those survey responses, click here.

This page focuses on Arkansas' United States Senate Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Election news

Click below to view a timeline leading up to the election, including polling, debates, and other noteworthy events.

Election news (March 2021-May 2022)
- May 4, 2022: Hendrix College and Talk Business & Politics released a poll of 802 respondents showing Boozman at 45%, Bequette at 19%, Morgan at 16%, and 18% undecided. The margin of error was ± 4.3 percentage points.^[23]
- March 1, 2022: Candidate filing deadline passed.
- March 8, 2021: Former President Donald Trump (R) endorsed Boozman.^[24]

Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Arkansas

Incumbent John Boozman defeated Jake Bequette, Jan Morgan, and Heath Loftis in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Arkansas on May 24, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	John Boozman	58.0	201,677
	Jake Bequette	20.7	71,809
	Jan Morgan	19.0	65,958
	Heath Loftis	2.3	8,112

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 347,556
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Michael Deel (R)

Candidate comparison

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.

John Boozman

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office:

U.S. House of Representatives - Arkansas District 3 (2001-2011)

Biography: Boozman graduated from the Southern College of Optometry in 1977 and co-founded an eye clinic in Rogers, Arkansas. He served on the Rogers School Board and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2001.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Boozman's website said, "As a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, I have worked hard to defend the Second Amendment rights for the people of Arkansas, consistently earning high scores with Second Amendment groups including an A rating from the NRA and an A+ from Gun Owners for America."

Boozman highlighted his work with the Trump administration, including "[confirming] three conservative Justices to the Supreme Court and completely [reshaping] the judiciary."

Boozman wrote, "Our border is out of control, and Americans are less safe. More than two million migrants have streamed into the U.S. since Joe Biden took office. We need to reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy, secure the border, and hold employers accountable."

Show sources

Sources: Facebook, "John Boozman," March 22, 2022; Facebook, "John Boozman," March 8, 2022; John Boozman for U.S. Senate, "John on the Issues," accessed May 10, 2022; Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "BOOZMAN, John," accessed May 8, 2022; John Boozman for U.S. Senate, "About John," accessed March 10, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate Arkansas in 2022.

Jake Bequette

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography: Bequette received a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Arkansas, where he played for the Arkansas Razorbacks football team. In 2012, he was drafted by the New England Patriots and was part of the team until 2015. In 2017, Bequette joined the U.S. Army and was deployed in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Bequette's website said, "Jake is a staunch defender of the Second Amendment and the Constitutional right of Americans to keep and bear arms. He is a gun owner himself and believes that Arkansans, and all Americans, are entitled to safely own firearms for sport and for protection, as our Founding Fathers intended."

Bequette said, "without a strong border, we're never going to get a hold of our problem of illegal immigration, so I will never apologize for being against illegal immigration because I understand the threat that illegal immigration poses not just to American citizens and American jobs, but to American families."

Bequette's website said, "Washington is full of career politicians who have spent far too many years in the D.C. swamp advancing their own agendas. Jake Bequette is an outsider who will be a fresh voice in Congress."

Show sources

Sources: YouTube, "Jake Bequette," July 15, 2021; Jake Bequette for Senate, "2nd Amendment," accessed May 10, 2022; Jake Bequette for Senate, "Term Limits," accessed May 10, 2022; Bequette for Senate, "Biography," accessed May 9, 2022; Cotton Bowl, "Jake Bequette," accessed May 9, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate Arkansas in 2022.

Heath Loftis

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "Heath Loftis was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Loftis served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2011 to 2017. He earned a bachelor's degree from Arkansas State University in 2006. He earned a master's degree from Central Arkansas Baptist Bible Institute in 2015. He earned a doctorate from Slidell Baptist Seminary in 2020. Loftis' career experience includes working as a pastor."

Key Messages

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

Abolition of Abortion

Smaller Government/Federalist

Fair Tax System

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate Arkansas in 2022.

Jan Morgan

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography: Morgan worked as a journalist for 27 years and taught broadcast journalism at Texas High School in Texarkana for seven years. She owned an indoor firearms training facility in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Jan Morgan's website said, "Securing our border is a national security issue. Jan Morgan is the only candidate in this race who actually went to the border, providing Arkansans and all Americans an up-close live view, exposing the truth."

Morgan said, “The RIGHT to keep and bear arms is an inalienable RIGHT, not a government-issued PRIVILEGE.”

Morgan's website said, "Jan supports term limits, so there is a consistent rotation of representation. Jan believes this will end the problem of career politicians who lose touch with their constituents and become servants of special interest."

Show sources

Sources: Jan for Senate, "The Issues," accessed May 10, 2022; Jan for Senate, "Meet Jan," accessed May 9, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate Arkansas in 2022.

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. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Republican primary endorsements
Endorser	John Boozman	Jake Bequette	Jan Morgan
Government officials
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R) ^source	✔
U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R) ^source		✔
U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens (R) ^source		✔
Individuals
Frmr. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn ^source			✔
Frmr. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders ^source	✔
Frmr. President Donald Trump ^source	✔
Organizations
Arkansas Right to Life ^source	✔
National Right to Life Committee ^source	✔

U.S. Senate Election in Arkansas, 2022: Republican Primary election polls
Poll	Date	Boozman	Bequette	Loftis	Morgan	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size^[27]	Sponsor^[28]
Hendrix College	May 2, 2022	45%	19%	1%	16%	18%	± 4.3%	802 LV	Talk Business & Politics

Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in Arkansas, 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.

U.S. Congress campaign reporting schedule, 2022
Report	Close of books	Filing deadline
Year-end 2021	12/31/2021	1/31/2022
April quarterly	3/31/2022	4/15/2022
July quarterly	6/30/2022	7/15/2022
October quarterly	9/30/2022	10/15/2022
Pre-general	10/19/2022	10/27/2022
Post-general	11/28/2022	12/08/2022
Year-end 2022	12/31/2022	1/31/2023

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
John Boozman	Republican Party	$7,768,918	$7,335,379	$892,220	As of December 31, 2022
Jake Bequette	Republican Party	$1,395,154	$1,390,351	$4,803	As of December 31, 2022
Heath Loftis	Republican Party	$39,678	$40,178	$0	As of May 25, 2022
Jan Morgan	Republican Party	$622,789	$622,789	$0	As of July 27, 2022
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2022. 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.

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 in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Arkansas^[38]
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%

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

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%

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

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

Demographic Data for Arkansas
	Arkansas	United States
Population	2,915,918	308,745,538
Land area (sq mi)	51,990	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	76.7%	72.5%
Black/African American	15.3%	12.7%
Asian	1.5%	5.5%
Native American	0.7%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0.3%	0.2%
Other (single race)	2.8%	4.9%
Multiple	2.7%	3.3%
Hispanic/Latino	7.5%	18%
Education
High school graduation rate	86.6%	88%
College graduation rate	23%	32.1%
Income
Median household income	$47,597	$62,843
Persons below poverty level	17%	13.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019).
**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.

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

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

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

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tom Cotton (R)	66.5	793,871
	Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. (L)	33.5	399,390

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,193,261
= 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.

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John Boozman Incumbent	59.8%	661,984
	Democratic	Connor Eldridge	36.2%	400,602
	Libertarian	Frank Gilbert	4%	43,866
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	1,070
Total Votes				1,107,522
Source: Arkansas Secretary of State

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
John Boozman Incumbent	76.5%	298,039
Curtis Coleman	23.5%	91,795
Total Votes		389,834
Source: Arkansas Secretary of State

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tom Cotton	56.5%	478,819
	Democratic	Mark Pryor Incumbent	39.5%	334,174
	Libertarian	Nathan LaFrance	2%	17,210
	Green	Mark Swaney	2%	16,797
Total Votes				847,000
Source: Arkansas Secretary of State

United States Senate election in Arkansas, 2022 (May 24 Republican primary)

Election news

Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Arkansas

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Candidate comparison

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Campaign advertisements

John Boozman

Jake Bequette

Heath Loftis

Jan Morgan

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Election competitiveness

Polls

General election race ratings

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Election analysis

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Cook PVI by congressional district

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2012-2020

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Statewide elections

U.S. Senate elections

Gubernatorial elections

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

State executive

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Arkansas State Senate

Arkansas House of Representatives

Trifecta control

Demographics

Election context

Ballot access requirements

Arkansas U.S. Senate election history

2020

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Arkansas

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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2010

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