FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Arkansas voters will head to the polls on May 24, and the primary election for a U.S. Senate seat is one of the most important races on the ballot.
A pair of names may seem to be at the center of attention, but there are almost a dozen candidates vying to be The Natural State’s next U.S. Senator. Here are all 11 of them:
Republicans
Jake Bequette was an all-SEC defensive end for the Arkansas Razorbacks and was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He joined the U.S. Army in 2017 and became an infantry officer in the 101st Airborne Division. He founded a nonprofit dedicated to helping struggling businesses in 2021.
Incumbent Senator John Boozman is a fifth-generation Arkansan who also played football at the University of Arkansas and graduated from the Southern College of Optometry in 1977. He was first elected to the senate in 2010 and served the third district of Arkansas in the U.S. House of Representatives before that. He lives in Rogers.
Heath Loftis serves as a pastor at Park Avenue Missionary Baptist Church in Stuttgart. He served six years as a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and helps and teaches at an addiction recovery ministry, Breaking Bonds. He cites First Amendment rights as a reason for his entrance into politics.
Jan Morgan is a national conservative commentator and she serves as the National Spokesperson of Citizens for Trump. She has been a journalist for 27 years. She and her husband own an indoor firearms training facility in Hot Springs.
Democrats
Jack E. Foster is a Vietnam veteran and he attended the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He served as an Alderman on the Pine Bluff City Council and was convicted on federal extortion charges in 2004.
Natalie James grew up in Little Rock and attended the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. She began a career as a realtor in 2015. In 2020, she was appointed to the City of Little Rock Land Bank Commission to help neglected communities. In 2021, she served as Chair of the Branch Political Action Committee.
Dan Whitfield states that his campaign is “100% grassroots.” He was born in Clearlake, California and lived in Pea Ridge before moving to Bella Vista. He worked as an Engineering Intern at JB Hunt while completing an Associates of Applied Science degree and he is planning to transfer to the University of Arkansas.
Four other candidates will proceed to the general election in November: Libertarian Kenneth Cates, independent Stuart F. Shirrell, and write-in candidates Richard Gant and James Garner.
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Kenneth Wayne Cates -
Stuart Franklin Shirrell -
Richard Gant -
James Garner
Jake Bequette made headlines recently when he filed a lawsuit after his first name was misspelled on some Arkansas ballots.
Early voting is now underway across the state. If you need to verify your voter registration, you can do that here. Election day is May 24. KNWA is your local election headquarters, and you can follow all of our coverage here.
