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The 2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next
governor of Arkansas The governor of Arkansas is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics and government of Arkansas, Arkansas government a ...
. Incumbent Republican governor
Asa Hutchinson William Asa Hutchinson II (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, AY-sə''; born December 3, 1950) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 46th governor of Arkansas from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Part ...
was term-limited and could not seek a third term. Republican
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders ( Huckabee; born August 13, 1982) is an American politician serving as the 47th governor of Arkansas since 2023. Sanders is the daughter of Mike Huckabee, who served from 1996 to 2007 as Arkansas's 44th governor ...
, daughter of former Arkansas governor
Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...
, defeated Democrat Chris Jones to become the first woman ever elected to the office, and was sworn in on January 10, 2023. Primary elections in Arkansas were held on May 24. Runoff elections for instances where no candidate receives over 50% of the vote were scheduled for June 21. Former
White House press secretary The White House press secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the United States federal government, especially with regard to the president, senior aides and ...
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders ( Huckabee; born August 13, 1982) is an American politician serving as the 47th governor of Arkansas since 2023. Sanders is the daughter of Mike Huckabee, who served from 1996 to 2007 as Arkansas's 44th governor ...
won the Republican nomination, while Chris Jones won the Democratic nomination. Leading up to the Republican primary, Sanders received many endorsements from key Republican figures, including
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
,
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
, incumbent Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas' entire U.S. Congressional delegation, and the majority of Republicans in both state legislative chambers. Her primary victory was not remotely close, as she won every county in the state with at least 70% of the vote. As Arkansas is a Republican stronghold, her primary victory virtually guaranteed she would win the general election, in which she defeated Jones by 28 points. Jones became the first Democrat to win Washington County since
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, and Sanders became the first Republican to win majority-Black Crittenden County since her father in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
, winning the county by one vote. This was the only 2022 election where Washington County voted against the Republican nominee. This is the first time ever that the Republican Party won three straight gubernatorial elections in the state's history. Sanders became the first female governor of Arkansas. With the
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
of
Leslie Rutledge Leslie Carol Rutledge (born June 9, 1976) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the 21st lieutenant governor of Arkansas since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she was previously the 56th attorney general of Arkansas fr ...
as lieutenant governor, Arkansas, along with
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, became the first two U.S. states to elect both a female governor and female lieutenant governor to serve at the same time.


Republican primary


Candidates


Nominee

*
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders ( Huckabee; born August 13, 1982) is an American politician serving as the 47th governor of Arkansas since 2023. Sanders is the daughter of Mike Huckabee, who served from 1996 to 2007 as Arkansas's 44th governor ...
, former
White House press secretary The White House press secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the United States federal government, especially with regard to the president, senior aides and ...
(2017–2019) and daughter of former governor
Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...


Eliminated in primary

*Francis "Doc" Washburn, radio personality


Withdrew

*
Tim Griffin John Timothy Griffin (born August 21, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas, attorney general of Arkansas. He served as the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas, lieutenant governor of Arkans ...
,
lieutenant governor of Arkansas The lieutenant governor of Arkansas is the second-highest constitutional and elected office in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The lieutenant governor is the first in the Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Arkansas, gubernatorial ...
(2015–2023) ''(successfully ran for
attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
)'' ''(endorsed Sanders)'' *
Leslie Rutledge Leslie Carol Rutledge (born June 9, 1976) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the 21st lieutenant governor of Arkansas since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she was previously the 56th attorney general of Arkansas fr ...
,
Arkansas attorney general The attorney general of Arkansas, usually known simply as the attorney general (AG), is one of Arkansas's seven constitutional officers. The officeholder serves as the state's top law enforcement officer and consumer advocate. History The at ...
(2015–2023) ''(successfully ran for
lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
)'' ''(endorsed Sanders)''


Endorsements


Polling


Results


Democratic primary


Candidates


Nominee

* Chris Jones, nuclear engineer


Eliminated in primary

* Anthony Bland, public school teacher and nominee for lieutenant governor in
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
* Jay Martin, lawyer and former Majority Leader of the
Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...
* James "Rus" Russell, small business owner * Supha Xayprasith-Mays, entrepreneur


Declined

* Kelly Krout, candidate for
state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...
in 2020 ''(unsuccessfully ran for
lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
)'' *
Greg Leding Greg Leding (born April 10, 1978) is a Democratic politician who has represented the Fayetteville area in the Arkansas General Assembly since 2011. He served as minority leader in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2012 to 2014 and cur ...
,
state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
(2019–present), former state representative (2011–2019), and former minority leader of the
Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...
(2012–2014) ''(successfully ran for re-election to the
State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...
)'' *
Clarke Tucker Everett Clarke Tucker IV (born January 20, 1981) is an American attorney and Democratic politician from Central Arkansas. He served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019, and currently serves in the Arkansas Senate since Janu ...
, state senator (2021–present), former state representative (2015–2019), and nominee for
Arkansas's 2nd congressional district Arkansas's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district located in the central part of the U.S. state of Arkansas and includes most of the state capital of Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock, its suburbs, and surrounding areas. The dist ...
in
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
''(successfully ran for re-election to the State Senate)''


Endorsements


Polling


Results


Libertarian convention


Candidates


Nominee

*Ricky Harrington, Christian missionary, prison chaplain, and nominee for
U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
in
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...


Independents


Candidates


Declared

* William E. Gates, pastor


Write-ins


Candidates


Declared

*Dan Nelson, activist *Elvis Presley, perennial candidate *Michael Woodard


General election


Predictions


Post-primary endorsements


Polling

Aggregate polls
Graphical summary
Sarah Huckabee Sanders vs. generic Democrat
Generic Republican vs. generic Democrat


Debates


Results


Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Crittenden (largest city:
West Memphis West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 24,520 at the 2020 census, ranking it as the state's 20th largest city. It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area, and is located directly acro ...
)


Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

*
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
(largest city:
Fayetteville Fayetteville may refer to: *Fayetteville, Alabama *Fayetteville, Arkansas ** The Fayetteville Formation *Fayetteville, Georgia *Fayetteville, Illinois *Fayetteville, Indiana *Fayetteville, Washington County, Indiana *Fayetteville, Missouri *Fayette ...
)


By congressional district

Huckabee Sanders won all 4 congressional districts.


See also

*
2022 Arkansas elections A general election was held in the U.S. state of Arkansas on November 8, 2022. All of Arkansas' executive officers were up for election as well as all four of the state's seats in the United States House of Representatives and a U.S. senator. Pr ...


Notes


References


External links

Official campaign websites
William E. Gates (I) for Governor

Ricky Harrington (L) for Governor

Chris Jones (D) for Governor

Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) for Governor
{{Portal bar, Politics, United States
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
November 2022 in the United States May 2022 in the United States 2022 elections in the United States 2020s Arkansas elections