Multiple County Sheriff and Judge races to be decided in March 31 runoff

Several closely contested races across North Central Arkansas will be decided in the March 31 Preferential Primary runoff election after no candidate reached the required 50 percent plus one vote needed in their respective races to win the March 3 primary.The most closely watched race in the region is the Baxter County sheriff’s contest. Mark Hollingsworth led the primary with 3,346 votes, or 46 percent. Hollingsworth will face Brian Davis, who received 2,917 votes, or 40 percent. The two candidates were separated by 429 votes.

Boone County voters will return to the polls to decide the race for county judge. County Judge Tyler Gentry finished first in the primary with 2,250 votes, or 39 percent, while Bobby Woods received 1,750 votes, or 30 percent. The two candidates were separated by a margin of 500 votes.

Another Boone County runoff will determine the Republican nominee for State Representative District 5. Mike Bishop led the primary with 1,563 votes, or 32 percent, narrowly ahead of Jeff Pratt with 1,477 votes, or 30 percent. The margin between the two candidates was just 86 votes.

In Stone County, the race for county judge will be decided between Tim Hudspeth and Darryl Sullivan. Hudspeth led the field with 1,364 votes, or 46 percent, again falling just short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Sullivan received 956 votes, or 32 percent, placing 408 votes behind the leader.

The Searcy County sheriff’s race will move to a runoff between incumbent Sheriff Kenny Cassell and Troy Dye. Cassell led the primary with 1,067 votes, or 47 percent, coming very close to the majority threshold. Dye received 637 votes, or 28 percent, trailing by 430 votes.

In the race for county collector, Melissa Ward finished first with 718 votes, or 33 percent, followed by Jenny Gray with 567 votes, or 26 percent, a difference of 151 votes.

Voters statewide will also decide the Republican runoff for Arkansas Secretary of State. Bryan Norris led the primary with 91,432 votes, or 34 percent, while State Sen. Kim Hammer followed closely with 88,939 votes, or 33 percent. The two candidates were separated by 2,493 votes.

Early voting for the runoff election continues at the same locations used during the primary election. Early voting is under way with Election Day set for next Tuesday.

Voting resources and polling locations can be viewed at KTLO.com/ElectionCentral.

KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot News will provide election night coverage from the Baxter County Courthouse on March 31 live on KTLO-FM 97.9, with streaming coverage available on YouTube at KTLOStreaming and on KTLO’s Facebook page.

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