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United States Senate election in Arkansas, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary)

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← 2022
U.S. Senate, Arkansas
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
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
U.S. Senate, Arkansas
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 to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the state's general election on November 3, 2026.

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


Heading into the election, the incumbent is Tom Cotton (Republican), who was first elected in 2014.

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

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Arkansas

Ethan Dunbar and Hallie Shoffner are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Arkansas on March 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Ethan Dunbar
Ethan Dunbar Candidate Connection
Image of Hallie Shoffner
Hallie Shoffner

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.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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.

Ethan Dunbar

Image of Ethan Dunbar

WebsiteFacebookXYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "My name is Ethan N. Dunbar. I am a dedicated follower of Christ and a resident of Lewisville, Arkansas. I am also a veteran of the Army and the current mayor of Lewisville. I am a man of faith, guided by a divine calling to pursue justice and equality while living as a faithful Christian. My goal is to serve my community as an extension of my faith. I believe that we need to transform the core of our political process. Leaders should lead with respect—respect for everyone’s humanity, respect for opinions different from ours, respect for each person’s dignity and self-worth, and respect for individual freedoms. In this spirit, we can build stronger relationships that enhance our quality of life and address specific needs in Arkansas. Blaming a party, group, or individual only widens the divide. We must rise above this tendency and focus on the character of the leaders we elect. I am a 33-year retired Army Veteran. I reached the highest enlisted rank of Command Sergeant Major. I learned to follow first and then to lead early in my career. I led leaders and taught them how to lead. I served as a leader in combat for 42 months. Currently, I serve as the mayor of my small town, I serve as the Chairman of the Arkansas Black Mayors’ Association since October 2022. I am an active member of the Arkansas Lions Club, former District Governor of District 7L, past president of the Stamps Rotary Club. I am also a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and the Masonic Order."

Key Messages

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

1. Restore civility and integrity to political dialogue. Through this campaign, I hope to inspire hope in humanity. As our national and state demographics evolve, so must our perspective on how to best coexist within our governing principles— the U.S. Constitution and our respective State Constitutions. Our democracy depends on how our elected leaders represent our shared experiences, respect our differences, and focus on the common interests of all constituents. We must restore civility to our political conversations.

2. Hold elected leaders accountable. The combined efforts of our people create the standard of living we enjoy in the United States. We, the citizens, must serve as guardians of this system and our democracy, and the leaders we select should show genuine respect for every individual. Hard work, along with courageous, strong, and ethical leadership, combined with fundamental dignity and respect for all, has largely helped our nation become the leader of the free world. Any erosion of these principles and standards by elected officials weakens the collective efforts of citizens and must be addressed.

3. Fight for the dignity of hardworking, play-by-the-rules Arkansans. Here in Arkansas, we work with our hands. 97% of the roughly 50,000 farms are family-owned, so we must protect our agricultural well-being. The economic impact of Arkansas farmers on the state is about 8.5% of its GDP and provides numerous jobs. During these times of high inflation and wage instability, Arkansans also need to be concerned about rising healthcare costs and the threat of losing access to safety net healthcare for our most vulnerable citizens. We must stop allowing personal outrage in politics to blindly influence our actions toward the vulnerable and hardworking citizens. We are much better than this.

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
Ethan Dunbar Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Hallie Shoffner Democratic Party $663,452 $204,809 $458,644 As of September 30, 2025

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.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate 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. Senate candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Arkansas U.S. Senate Ballot-qualified party N/A Fixed by party 11/12/2025 Source
Arkansas U.S. Senate 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


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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