Arkansas Special Elections Set for Vacant State Senate District 26 and House District 70 Seats

State Sen. Ben Gilmore, a Republican representing Crossett, resigned from Arkansas's State Senate District 26 to take a position as senior adviser to Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin. Separately, a circuit court ordered a special election be held for the vacant State Representative District 70 seat on March 3, 2026. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded by announcing updates to the special election timelines for both District 70 and Senate District 26. A special primary election for the Senate District 26 seat was held on Aug. 18, 2026, with a special general election to follow at a later date. In a related southeast Arkansas special primary race, one candidate reportedly raised and spent significantly more money than his opponent, though specific figures were not disclosed. Governor Sanders publicly objected to the circuit court's March 3, 2026 election date, arguing it did not provide sufficient time for overseas military members to cast ballots and could risk invalidating the election results. The special general election date for Senate District 26 following the August primary has not been specified in available reporting. It remains unclear how Governor Sanders ultimately revised the House District 70 election timeline in response to her objections, or whether the court's original March 3 date was changed. The identities of the candidates in the Senate District 26 primary and the specific fundraising and spending totals in the related southeast Arkansas race were not detailed in the available reports.