Trend – Election 2022

Democrats projected to retain U.S. Senate control after winning Nevada seat

BY: - November 12, 2022

Democratic U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada will win reelection, according to Associated Press projections late Saturday, ensuring Democrats will remain in the majority next year no matter what happens in a runoff election in Georgia next month.  After days of vote counting, U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Cortez Masto were both […]

A smiling young Black woman holds an "I voted" sticker after voting at a polling place.

Young Black and Latino voters seen as key in turning back midterm ‘red wave’

BY: - November 11, 2022

WASHINGTON — Young Black and Latino voters were critical in holding off the Republican “red wave” in several battleground states for U.S. Senate seats and in tight U.S. House races in the midterm elections, according to analyses by researchers and grassroot organizations.  Young, diverse voters between the ages of 18 and 29 had the second-highest […]

Side view of Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)

Arkansas House, Senate incumbents enjoy strong showing in general election

BY: - November 9, 2022

The 94th General Assembly will feature mostly familiar faces after the majority of incumbents won reelection Tuesday night. If unofficial returns hold, Republicans strengthened their supermajorities in both chambers, gaining two seats in each.  As it stands, the state Senate will be comprised of 29 Republicans and six Democrats.  The state House will include 82 […]

Arkansas Supreme Court Associate Justice Robin Wynne (left) and Faulkner County Circuit Judge Chris Carnahan face off in a nonpartisan runoff election Nov. 8. (Photos courtesdy of Arkansas Secretary of State's website)

Robin Wynne secures second term on Arkansas Supreme Court

BY: - November 9, 2022

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Robin Wynne overcame a strong challenge from Circuit Judge Chris Carnahan to win reelection to the high court’s Position 2 in Tuesday’s election. Wynne finished with 58.4% of the vote to Carnahan’s 41.6%, according to the Secretary of State’s election results website. With 73 of 75 counties reporting as of Wednesday, […]

U.S. Senate control too close to call as multiple states grapple with tight vote counts

BY: , and - November 9, 2022

WASHINGTON —  Control of the U.S. Senate remained unclear early Wednesday as races in a handful of swing states in the midterm elections were still too close to call, and it appeared it might be days — or even weeks — before a final result was known. But Democrats flipped the open Pennsylvania Senate seat, […]

Sarah Huckabee Sanders blows a kiss to a supporter following her victory remarks Tuesday evening at an election watch party in the Wally Allen Ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center in downtown Little Rock. The Associated Press declared her the winner almost immediately after the polls closed; later returns bore out that call. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate/11/08/2022)

Sarah Huckabee Sanders elected first female governor of Arkansas

BY: and - November 8, 2022

*This story was updated at 2:04 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, with complete but unofficial vote totals from the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the former White House press secretary, was elected Arkansas governor on Tuesday. Sanders, whose father served as Arkansas governor from 1996-2007, is the first woman elected to lead the […]

Ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in Arkansas fails

BY: - November 8, 2022

This story was updated at 2:15 p.m, Nov. 9, to reflect the latest vote totals from the Arkansas Secretary of State’s website. The proposal to legalize recreational marijuana in Arkansas was rejected by voters on Tuesday after an opposition campaign from social conservatives and some cannabis proponents who disliked the strictness of Issue 4. The […]

The newly renovated Jefferson County Courthouse in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)

An Arkansas reporter’s election eve travel diary

BY: - November 7, 2022

Advocate Senior Reporter Antoinette Grajeda visited a number of county seats in southern Arkansas on Monday to assess the election environment on the day before Arkansans finish selecting a new governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, among numerous other federal, state, county and local officials. She tweeted throughout her journey, and here were a few […]

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (right) and Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton were among nine GOP senators who voted Dec. 15, 2022, for a one-week spending bill to keep the government running and give negotiators more time to wrap up legislation that would fund the government through the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Mitch McConnell-aligned super PAC pours record advertising cash into U.S. Senate races

BY: - November 4, 2022

WASHINGTON — The super PAC aligned with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, has spent a record amount advertising for GOP Senate candidates this cycle, according to AdImpact.  The Senate Leadership Fund has “become the highest-spending advertiser” AdImpact, started in 2014, has ever reported on, according to data it released Thursday. The […]

El Paso County, Colorado, Clerk and Recorder Chuck Broerman speaks with a reporter in his office in Colorado Springs on Aug. 31, 2022. (Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline)

Conspiracy theorists urge voting as late as possible on Election Day to ‘stop the steal’

BY: - November 4, 2022

A close ally of Republican Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano has a plan that she claims will help win him the election and prevent voter fraud: She wants voters to cast their ballots “as late in the day as possible” on Election Day.  Conspiracy theorist Toni Shuppe, who has ties to QAnon and who is […]

An employee of a cannabis store speaks to people as they wait in line with menu boards on April 21, 2022, the first day of legal recreational marijuana sales in New Jersey. Voters approved the issue in 2020. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Campaign for recreational marijuana in Arkansas breaks fundraising records; polls show cracks

BY: - November 3, 2022

*This story has been updated with comments from the director of the Arkansas Poll.  The campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Arkansas is already the most expensive ballot initiative in Arkansas history. The sponsor of Issue 4, Responsible Growth Arkansas, reported Tuesday nearly $12.4 million in spending to pass the constitutional amendment. Even with a […]

The 60% question: Is Issue 4 Arkansas’ last shot at recreational marijuana?

BY: - November 2, 2022

For some voters, whether they’ll vote to legalize recreational marijuana in Arkansas next week comes down to one question.  Could 60% of Arkansas voters support marijuana legalization in a future election?  It’s this group of cannabis proponents that makes Issue 4 on the Nov. 8 ballot so interesting. They dislike Issue 4’s strict market structure […]