2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas

2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas

←  2016 November 6, 2018 (2018-11-06) 2020  →
All 4 Arkansas seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 4 0 Seats won 4 0 Seat change Popular vote 556,339 312,978 Percentage 62.56% 35.19% Swing 8.60% 24.77%
Election results by district Election results by county Republican   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90% Democratic   50–60%

The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the U.S. state of Arkansas, one from each of the state's four congressional districts. Primaries were held on May 22, 2018. The elections and primaries coincided with the elections and primaries of other federal and state offices. Polls were open from 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM CST. ^[1] This election marked the first time in eight years where the Democrats contested every seat.

Overview

Popular vote Republican   62.56% Democratic   35.19% Libertarian   2.21% Other   0.04%

House seats Republican   100% Democratic   0%

District

Results of the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas by district: ^[2]

District	Republican		Democratic		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	138,757	68.95%	57,907	28.77%	4,581	2.28%	201,245	100.0%	Republican hold
District 2	132,125	52.13%	116,135	45.82%	5,193	2.05%	253,453	100.0%	Republican hold
District 3	148,717	64.78%	74,952	32.65%	6,039	2.57%	229,568	100.0%	Republican hold
District 4	136,740	66.74%	63,984	31.23%	4,168	2.03%	204,892	100.0%	Republican hold
Total	556,339	62.56%	312,978	35.19%	19,981	2.25%	889,298	100.0%

District 1

2018 Arkansas's 1st congressional district election

←  2016 2020  →

Nominee Rick Crawford Chintan Desai Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 138,757 57,907 Percentage 68.9% 28.8%

Results by county Crawford:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Desai:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. Representative before election Rick Crawford Republican Elected U.S. Representative Rick Crawford Republican

See also: Arkansas's 1st congressional district

Incumbent Republican Rick Crawford, who had represented the district since 2011, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 76% of the vote in 206. The district had a PVI of R+16.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Rick Crawford, incumbent U.S. representative ^[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Chintan Desai, project manager for KIPP: Delta Public Schools and former Teach for America member ^[4]

Withdrawn

• Robert Butler

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Elvis D. Presley, Elvis impersonator, auto-mechanic, nominee for Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands in 2014 and for state senate in 2016

General election

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rick Crawford (R)	Chintan Desai (D)	Elvis Presley (L)	Undecided
Hendrix College [5]	September 5–7, 2018	422	± 4.7%	57%	22%	3%	18%

Results

Arkansas' 1st congressional district, 2018 ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rick Crawford (incumbent)	138,757	68.9
	Democratic	Chintan Desai	57,907	28.8
	Libertarian	Elvis Presley	4,581	2.3
Total votes			201,245	100.0
	Republican hold

District 2

2018 Arkansas's 2nd congressional district election

←  2016 2020  →

Nominee French Hill Clarke Tucker Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 132,125 116,135 Percentage 52.1% 45.8%

Results by county Hill:     60–70%     70–80% Tucker:     50–60%

U.S. Representative before election French Hill Republican Elected U.S. Representative French Hill Republican

See also: Arkansas's 2nd congressional district

Incumbent Republican French Hill, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 58% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+7.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• French Hill, incumbent U.S. representative (R-Little Rock) ^[7]

Democratic primary

The 2nd district was included on the initial list of Republican-held seats being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2018. ^[8]

Candidates

Nominee

• Clarke Tucker, state representative (D-Little Rock) ^[9]

Eliminated in primary

• Gwendolynn Millen Combs, teacher and businesswoman ^[10]
• Jonathan Dunkley ^[11]
• Paul Spencer, teacher and activist ^[12]

Declined

• Win Thompson, former University of Central Arkansas president ^[13]

Primary results

Democratic primary results ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Clarke Tucker	23,325	57.8
	Democratic	Gwen Combs	8,188	20.3
	Democratic	Paul Spencer	5,063	12.6
	Democratic	Johnathan Dunkley	3,768	9.3
Total votes			40,344	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Joe Swafford, residential appraiser

General election

Endorsements

Clarke Tucker (D)

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program ^[15]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 8, 2016

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	French Hill (R)	Clarke Tucker (D)	Joe Swafford (L)	Undecided
Hendrix College [16]	October 17–18, 2018	590	± 4.0%	51%	40%	2%	7%
Hendrix College [5]	September 5–7, 2018	428	± 4.7%	50%	40%	2%	8%
Public Policy Polling (D) [17]	April 16–17, 2018	610	± 4.0%	47%	42%	—	11%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [18]	Likely R	November 5, 2018
Inside Elections [19]	Likely R	November 5, 2018
Sabato's Crystal Ball [20]	Lean R	November 5, 2018
RCP [21]	Likely R	November 5, 2018
Daily Kos [22]	Likely R	November 5, 2018
538 [23]	Likely R	November 7, 2018
CNN [24]	Lean R	October 31, 2018
Politico [25]	Lean R	November 2, 2018

Results

Arkansas' 2nd congressional district, 2018 ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	French Hill (incumbent)	132,125	52.1
	Democratic	Clarke Tucker	116,135	45.8
	Libertarian	Joe Swafford	5,193	2.1
Total votes			253,453	100.0
	Republican hold

District 3

2018 Arkansas's 3rd congressional district election

←  2016 2020  →

Nominee Steve Womack Joshua Mahony Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 148,717 74,952 Percentage 64.7% 32.6%

Results by county Womack:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. Representative before election Steve Womack Republican Elected U.S. Representative Steve Womack Republican

See also: Arkansas's 3rd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Steve Womack, who had represented the district since 2011, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 77% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+19.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Steve Womack, incumbent U.S. representative (R-Rogers) ^[26]

Eliminated in primary

• Robb Ryerse, pastor and a "progressive Republican" ^[27]

Primary results

Republican primary results ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Womack (incumbent)	47,757	84.2
	Republican	Robb Ryerse	8,988	15.8
Total votes			56,745	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Joshua Mahony, president of the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund and former chairman of the Fayetteville Airport Commission (D-Fayetteville) ^[28]

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Michael Kalagias, retired teacher and volunteer firefighter (L-Rogers)

General election

Campaign

This was the first time since he was first elected in 2010 that Womack had faced a Democrat in the general election, having only had opposition from minor parties since.

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Steve Womack (R)	Josh Mahony (D)	Michael Kalagias (L)	Undecided
Hendrix College [5]	September 5–7, 2018	428	± 4.7%	53%	31%	5%	11%

Results

Arkansas' 3rd congressional district, 2018 ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Womack (incumbent)	148,717	64.7
	Democratic	Joshua Mahony	74,952	32.6
	Libertarian	Michael Kalagias	5,899	2.6
	Write-in		140	0.1
Total votes			229,708	100.0
	Republican hold

District 4

2018 Arkansas's 4th congressional district election

←  2016 2020  →

Nominee Bruce Westerman Hayden Shamel Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 136,740 63,984 Percentage 66.7% 31.2%

Results by county Westerman:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Shamel:     50–60%

U.S. Representative before election Bruce Westerman Republican Elected U.S. Representative Bruce Westerman Republican

See also: Arkansas's 4th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Bruce Westerman, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 75% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+17.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Bruce Westerman, incumbent U.S. representative (R-Hot Springs) ^[29]

Eliminated in primary

• Randy Caldwell, preacher ^[30]

Primary results

Republican primary results ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce Westerman (incumbent)	40,201	79.8
	Republican	Randy Caldwell	10,151	20.2
Total votes			50,352	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Hayden Shamel, teacher (D-Hot Springs) ^[31]

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Tom Canada, manufacturing lead

General election

Debate

2018 Arkansas's 4th congressional district debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic	Libertarian
Key:  P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Bruce Westerman	Hayden Shamel	Tom Canada
1	Oct. 8, 2018	AETN	Steve Barnes	[32]	P	P	A

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bruce Westerman (R)	Hayden Shamel (D)	Tom Canada (L)	Undecided
Hendrix College [5]	September 5–7, 2018	423	± 4.7%	54%	24%	5%	17%

Results

Arkansas' 4th congressional district, 2018 ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce Westerman (incumbent)	136,740	66.8
	Democratic	Hayden Shamel	63,984	31.2
	Libertarian	Tom Canada	3,952	1.9
	Write-in		216	0.1
Total votes			204,892	100.0
	Republican hold

References

1. "2016 Arkansas Code: Title 7, Chapter 5, Subchapter 3; § 7-5-304 - Opening and closing polls -- Time". Justia; US law. Archived from the original on March 9, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
2. Johnson, Cheryl L. (February 28, 2019). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 2018". Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives . Retrieved April 27, 2019.
3. "FEC Form 2 Statement of Candidacy" (PDF). Retrieved July 1, 2019.
4. "Chintan Desai Announces Race for AR 1st District Congress Seat". ARKANSASMATTERS. November 17, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
5. Hendrix College
6. "2018 Arkansas general election results". Arkansas Secretary of State. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
7. "FEC Form 2 Statement of Candidacy" (PDF). Retrieved July 1, 2019.
8. Cheney, Kyle (January 30, 2017). "Amid Democratic doldrums, DCCC identifies 2018 targets". Politico . Retrieved March 23, 2017.
9. Brantley, Max. "Rep. Clarke Tucker announces race for French Hill's 2nd District congressional seat". Arkansas Times. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
10. "FEC Form 2 Statement of Candidacy" (PDF). Retrieved July 1, 2019.
11. Brantley, Max. "A 4th Democratic candidate for 2nd District Congress". Arkansas Times. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
12. THV11 Digital Team (July 13, 2017). "Paul Spencer officially announces campaign to challenge Rep. French Hill" . Retrieved July 13, 2017.
13. Max Brantley (April 28, 2017). "Political speculation: A Democrat to run for 2nd District Congress". arktimes.com. Arkansas Times. Archived from the original on August 10, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
14. "2018 Arkansas primary election results" . Retrieved June 9, 2019.
15. "Red to Blue". dccc.org/. DCCC. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
16. Hendrix College
17. Public Policy Polling (D)
18. "2018 House Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
19. "2018 House Ratings". The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
20. "2018 House". Sabato's Crystal Ball . Retrieved November 5, 2018.
21. "Battle for the House 2018". RCP. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
22. "Daily Kos Elections 2018 race ratings". Daily Kos . Retrieved November 5, 2018.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
23. Silver, Nate (August 16, 2018). "2018 House Forecast". FiveThirtyEight . Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
24. "CNN's 2018 Race Ratings". cnn.com. Turner Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
25. "Who wins 2018? Predictions for Every House & Senate Election". POLITICO. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
26. "FEC Form 2 Statement of Candidacy" (PDF). Retrieved July 1, 2019.
27. Jilani, Zaid (May 19, 2017). "MEET THE PASTOR RUNNING AS A PROGRESSIVE REPUBLICAN TO GET BIG MONEY OUT OF POLITICS". The Intercept. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
28. DeMillo, Andrew (May 8, 2017). "Arkansas Scholarship Fund Head Says He'll Run for Congress". U.S. News & World Report . Retrieved May 8, 2017.
29. "FEC Form 2 Statement of Candidacy" (PDF). Retrieved July 1, 2019.
30. "Forms lacking for 2 Arkansas congressional candidates, FEC says". NWADG.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
31. "FEC Form 2 Statement of Candidacy" (PDF). Retrieved July 1, 2019.
32. YouTube

External links

• Candidates at Vote Smart
• Candidates at Ballotpedia
• Campaign finance at FEC
• Campaign finance at OpenSecrets

Official campaign websites for first district candidates

• Chintan Desai (D) for Congress
• Rick Crawford (R) for Congress

Official campaign websites for second district candidates

• Clarke Tucker (D) for Congress
• French Hill (R) for Congress

Official campaign websites for third district candidates

• Joshua Mahony (D) for Congress
• Steve Womack (R) for Congress

Official campaign websites for fourth district candidates

• Hayden Shamel (D) for Congress
• Bruce Westerman (R) for Congress