The GOP candidates facing off in a five-way primary Tuesday include a former member of the state House of Representatives, a gas utility community affairs coordinator and three businesspeople.
They’re hoping to serve the remaining term of a Republican lawmaker who was a vocal opponent of a project that has roiled this rural community 45 minutes from Fort Smith so much that one critic has placed placards and fake skeletons across from the prison site in protest of it.
Whoever wins the GOP nomination will go on to face Adam Watson, an independent, in the special general election held on March 3. If none of the candidates win an outright majority, the top two advance to a runoff Feb. 3.
The seat became vacant in September, after the death of Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield of Branch, who was among the lawmakers who voted against the prison’s construction when it was repeatedly rejected during last year’s legislative session.
Stubblefield’s seat has been the focus of a lawsuit over Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ decision to schedule the election for his successor in June. The move prompted complaints that the timing would have left voters without representation in this year’s legislative session, when the prison project is likely to come up. Sanders eventually moved up the election after being ordered to do so by a judge.
The candidates are:
Former state Rep. Mark Berry
Wade Dunn, a businessman
Brad Simon, a businessman
Stacie Smith, community affairs coordinator for Arkansas Oklahoma Gas
Ted Tritt, a businessman
Prison
The five candidates said in interviews and during a candidate forum in Booneville last month that they believed spending on the prison was irresponsible, citing issues obtaining water at the 815-acre site, lack of an available workforce and lack of input.
Berry, who represented House District 26 when the prison was announced in October 2024, said the prison issue has been “poorly handled” by state officials, expressing frustration with how he was informed about it. Generally, Berry was in support of building a new prison – just not in Franklin County, and possibly not as large either – and for increasing state spending on public safety.
“One thousand to 1,500 beds would be adequate, with the ability to expand that prison as we actually need it,” Berry said. He added that expanding Calico Rock was another potential option.
Dunn, who has been endorsed by Stubblefield’s family, criticized the surprise announcement of the prison site as “sneaky” and “underhanded,” before adding that he would never be in favor of it.
He also proposed an alternate location, saying Mountainburg, just off Interstate 49’s Exit 29, could draw on Fort Smith and the northwest Arkansas region for employees.
Simon said the state would be better off using that money to address the number of inmates who return to prison after being released, a root cause for the state’s prison bed shortage.
“We invest about $5 million a year on our reentry program,” Simon said. “We could spend $100 million on reentry programs, and it wouldn’t even be a drop in the bucket to what that prison’s going to cost.”
Tritt disputed there was an overcrowding problem. He said there needed to be a greater focus on providing additional support for people locked up for nonviolent crimes and those with mental health issues.
Smith said in an emailed statement that she could not support spending “$1 billion on a 3,000-bed prison when our state has so many other needs.”
Taxes and priorities
The Republican hopefuls sounded similar on other issues. The four who spoke at the forum cited lowering income or property taxes as a priority if elected, while also saying such cuts had to be fiscally responsible.
Dunn said, if elected, he would push to eliminate property taxes for veterans and those over the age of 65.
“They’ve contributed a tax base to the tax base for 40 years, paid for their homes, paid for their property, but they still have to rent it from the government,” Dunn said.
Simon said cutting regulations and taxes were his top priorities, along with reducing spending, arguing those moves would expand the economy.
Berry supported eliminating income taxes, especially the corporate income tax.
Tritt also agreed with continuing to cut Arkansans’ taxes. But he also said listening to constituents would be most important, because “people don’t feel like their voices have been heard” in Little Rock.
Tritt said he was also concerned with a recent Arkansas Supreme Court ruling that legislators can alter or repeal constitutional amendments passed by voters with a two-thirds majority in each chamber.
that’s going to stand up for the Constitution,” Tritt said.
Smith said her top priority other than the prison was strengthening workforce development via “vocational training, apprenticeships, and partnerships with local businesses.”
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