2018 Arkansas gubernatorial election
← 2014 November 6, 2018 (2018-11-06) 2022 →
 
Nominee Asa Hutchinson Jared Henderson
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 582,406 283,218
Percentage 65.3% 31.8%
Hutchinson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Henderson:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      40–50%      50%
Governor before election

Asa Hutchinson
Republican

Elected Governor

Asa Hutchinson
Republican

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Mayoral elections

The 2018 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Governor of Arkansas, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson won reelection to a second term, winning by more than 33 percentage points and carrying all but seven counties, marking the largest winning margin of any Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arkansas history.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Declined

Endorsements

Asa Hutchinson
Federal officials
Organizations
Newspapers

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin
of error 		Asa
Hutchinson 		Jan
Morgan 		Undecided
Hendrix College April 17–19, 2018 676 ± 3.8% 58% 31% 12%

Results

Results by county:
Hutchinson
  •   80–90%
  •   70–80%
  •   60–70%
  •   50–60%
Morgan
  •   50–60%
Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Asa Hutchinson (incumbent) 145,251 69.7
Republican Jan Morgan 63,009 30.3
Total votes 208,260 100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Declined

Results

Results by county:
Henderson
  •   70–80%
  •   60–70%
  •   50–60%
Sanders
  •   50–60%
Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jared Henderson 68,340 63.4
Democratic Leticia Sanders 39,382 36.6
Total votes 107,722 100.0

Independents

Candidates

Declined

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declared

General election

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[18] Safe R October 26, 2018
The Washington Post[19] Safe R November 5, 2018
FiveThirtyEight[20] Safe R November 5, 2018
Rothenberg Political Report[21] Safe R November 1, 2018
Sabato's Crystal Ball[22] Safe R November 5, 2018
RealClearPolitics[23] Safe R November 4, 2018
Daily Kos[24] Safe R November 5, 2018
Fox News[25][a] Likely R November 5, 2018
Politico[26] Safe R November 5, 2018
Governing[27] Safe R November 5, 2018
Notes
  1. ^ The Fox News Midterm Power Rankings uniquely does not contain a category for Safe/Solid races

Debates

Dates Location Hutchinson Henderson West Link
September 12, 2018 Little Rock, Arkansas Didn't participate Participant Participant Full debate - YouTube
October 12, 2018 Conway, Arkansas Participant Participant Participant Full debate - C-SPAN

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin
of error 		Asa
Hutchinson (R) 		Jared
Henderson (D) 		Mark
West (L) 		Other Undecided
University of Arkansas October 1–28, 2018 618 ± 3.9% 59% 35% – 6% –
Hendrix College October 18–19, 2018 528 ± 4.3% 60% 24% 5% – 11%
Hendrix College September 5–7, 2018 1,701 ± 2.4% 60% 25% 6% – 9%
Mason-Dixon March 21–24, 2018 625 ± 4.0% 63% 24% – – 13%

Results

2018 Arkansas gubernatorial election[28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Asa Hutchinson (incumbent) 582,406 65.33% +9.89%
Democratic Jared Henderson 283,218 31.77% -9.72%
Libertarian Mark West 25,885 2.90% +0.98%
Total votes 891,509 100.00% N/A
Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wickline, Michael R. (January 3, 2017). "Arkansas governor to hold fundraiser for term 2; re-election bid not yet formally announced". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  2. ^ Wickline, Michael R. (May 17, 2017). "Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson to pursue second term". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  3. ^ Lanning, Curt (October 3, 2017). "Gov. Hutchinson May Have a GOP Challenger". KNWA-TV. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  4. ^ "Republican Jan Morgan Announces Run for Arkansas Governor". U.S. News & World Report. January 1, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  5. ^ Ramsey, David (April 18, 2016). "Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin "opposes Obamacare" (duh), dodges questions on "Arkansas Works"". Arkansas Times. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  6. ^ DeMillo, Andrew (July 11, 2016). "Lt. Gov. Griffin says he's seeking re-election". Log Cabin Democrat. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  7. ^ Donald J. Trump. ".@AsaHutchinson, the great Governor of Arkansas, is in a primary tomorrow. He has done an incredible job with a focus on lower taxes, border security, and crime prevention. Asa loves our military and our veterans. I fully endorse Asa for Governor!". Twitter.
  8. ^ "NRA Endorses Governor Asa Hutchinson In Re-Election Bid". 5newsonline.com. September 20, 2018. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020.
  9. ^ "EDITORIAL: For Asa Hutchinson". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. October 23, 2018.
  10. ^ Brock, Roby (December 12, 2017). "Jared Henderson to run as Democratic candidate for Governor". Talk Business & Politics. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  11. ^ "Meet Jan Morgan, GOP Candidate For Arkansas Governor". KFSM. March 27, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  12. ^ Brock, Roby (November 28, 2017). "Former State Rep. Jay Martin eyeing run for governor on Democratic ticket". Talk Business & Politics. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  13. ^ "Martin says time is not right to run for Arkansas governor's office". Talk Business & Politics. December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  14. ^ "Radio host Bobby Bones considering run for Ark. governor". THV11 Digital, KTHV. January 3, 2017. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  15. ^ Taha, Nada (March 14, 2017). "Bobby Makes Official Statement On Political Plans". The Bobby Bones Show. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  16. ^ Wickline, Michael R. (June 28, 2017). "Libertarian to run for governor's post". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  17. ^ Lampe, Ellen (June 27, 2017). "Libertarian Party Candidate Announces Run for AR Governor". ArkansasMatters.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  18. ^ "2018 Governor Race Ratings for October 26, 2018". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  19. ^ "The Washington Post's gubernatorial race ratings". The Washington Post. October 16, 2018.
  20. ^ "2018 Governor Forecast | FiveThirtyEight". FiveThirtyEight. October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  21. ^ "2018 Gubernatorial Ratings | Inside Elections". insideelections.com. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  22. ^ "Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » 2018 Governor". www.centerforpolitics.org. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  23. ^ "2018 Governor Races". RealClearPolitics. October 9, 2018.
  24. ^ "2018 Governor Race Ratings". Daily Kos. June 5, 2018.
  25. ^ "2018 Midterm Power Ranking". Fox News. August 2, 2023.
  26. ^ "Politico Race Ratings". Politico.
  27. ^ "2018 Governor Elections: As November Nears, More Governors' Races Become Tossups". www.governing.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  28. ^ "2018 Arkansas Gubernatorial election". Retrieved January 6, 2022.

External links

Official campaign websites
Elections in Arkansas
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