Arkansas held its general election on November 8, 2016, deciding 117 legislative seats. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Republicans won a 73-27 House majority and a 26-9 Senate, and the House majority kept growing after the election. Three newly re-elected Democrats switched parties: Jeff Wardlaw (D) the day after the vote, David Hillman (D) later that month, and Joe Jett (D) in December. Hillman's switch gave the GOP the three-fourths majority needed to pass appropriations without Democratic votes. Jett's left Republicans holding 76 of the 100 House seats.
- Every seat that changed hands went to Republicans, and 6 Democratic incumbents lost:
- In the Senate, Dave Wallace (R) beat David Burnett (D) by about 21 points in Senate District 22, and Trent Garner (R) beat Bobby Pierce (D) by about 9 points in Senate District 27.
- In the House, Fran Cavenaugh (R) ousted James Ratliff (D) by 164 votes in House District 60; Roger Lynch (R) beat Camille Bennett (D) by about 4 points in House District 14; Steve Hollowell (R) beat Marshall Wright (D) by about 11 points in House District 49; and Danny Watson (R) beat Brent Talley (D) by about 15 points in House District 3.
- Republicans also took four open Democratic House seats: Sonia Barker (R) in House District 7, Les Warren (R) in House District 25, Jimmy Gazaway (R) in House District 57, and Aaron Pilkington (R) in House District 69.
- Voters approved all 4 measures whose votes were counted. Issue 6 made Arkansas the first Bible Belt state to legalize medical marijuana. A rival proposal, Issue 7, stayed on the printed ballot, but its votes were not counted because the state Supreme Court had ruled it invalid. The three amendments the legislature placed on the ballot also passed: Issue 1 lengthened terms for some county officials, Issue 2 let the governor keep his powers while out of state, and Issue 3 removed a cap on state-issued bonds.
- In all, 79 of the 117 legislative races had only one candidate on the ballot, including the races of all three Democrats who later switched parties.
Legislature
- House (100 seats): 36 D, 64 R before the election, 24 D, 76 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (35 seats): 11 D, 24 R before the election, 9 D, 26 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Issue 1 | Rules governing certain county officials | Passed (70.22% yes) |
| Issue 2 | Role of governor when absent from the state | Passed (72.42% yes) |
| Issue 3 | Removes the cap on the amount of bonds the state is allowed to issue | Passed (65.34% yes) |
| Issue 6 | Legalize medical marijuana | Passed (53.11% yes) |