2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election

2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election
Turnout	50.81%
	Sanders: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Jones: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Governor before election; Asa Hutchinson; Republican	Elected Governor ; Sarah Huckabee Sanders; Republican

The 2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next governor of Arkansas. Incumbent Republican governor Asa Hutchinson was term-limited and could not seek a third term. Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, defeated Democrat Chris Jones to become the first woman ever elected to the office, and was sworn in on January 10, 2023.

Primary elections in Arkansas were held on May 24. Runoff elections for instances where no candidate receives over 50% of the vote were scheduled for June 21. Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders won the Republican nomination, while Chris Jones won the Democratic nomination.^[1]

Leading up to the Republican primary, Sanders received many endorsements from key Republican figures, including Donald Trump, Mike Pence, incumbent Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas' entire U.S. Congressional delegation, and the majority of Republicans in both state legislative chambers. Her primary victory was not remotely close, as she won every county in the state with at least 70% of the vote.

As Arkansas is a Republican stronghold, her primary victory virtually guaranteed she would win the general election, in which she defeated Jones by 28 points. Jones became the first Democrat to win Washington County since 2010, and Sanders became the first Republican to win majority-Black Crittenden County since her father in 1998, winning the county by one vote. This was the only 2022 election where Washington County voted for the Democratic nominee. This is the first time ever that the Republican Party won three straight gubernatorial elections in the state's history.

Sanders became the first female governor of Arkansas. With the election of Leslie Rutledge as lieutenant governor, Arkansas, along with Massachusetts, became the first two U.S. states to elect both a female governor and female lieutenant governor to serve at the same time.

^ "Arkansas Primary Election Results". The New York Times. May 24, 2022. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 3, 2022.

[1] "Arkansas Primary Election Results". The New York Times. May 24, 2022. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 3, 2022.

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