The race for chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme is tied three weeks from the election, a new poll from Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College finds

Here’s the breakdown:

Advertisement

32% Judge Dan Kemp
31% State Supreme Court Justice Courtney Goodson
37% Don’t Know

Meanwhile, Circuit Judge Shawn Womack holds a small lead over lawyer Clark Mason for an associate justice position with plurality of those polled undecided.

Advertisement

28% Judge Shawn Womack
22% Clark Mason
50% Don’t Know

Some analysis from Jay Barth, who constructed the poll:

Advertisement

Kemp and Goodson are in a statistical tie at this point in the race at 32% for Kemp and 31% for Goodson; more voters — 37% – are unclear in their ultimate vote. An examination of crosstabs suggests that there appears to be little variation in the vote across key demographic and political groups with two exceptions. There is a slight gender gap with Kemp leading among men and Goodson among women. Most interesting is a 10-point lead by Kemp in Goodson’s native 3rd congressional district, suggesting that voters there may be most troubled by aspects of Goodson’s personal or professional history; Goodson counters this with a lead in the First Congressional District (the eastern portion of Arkansas).

Circuit Judge Shawn Womack of Mountain Home does lead his opponent, Clark Mason of Little Rock, but half of the electorate has no preference at this point, meaning that this race is also up for grabs. Womack, a former Republican state Senator, does have a 13-point lead among those expecting to vote in the GOP primary (there is a tie vote among Democrats). Womack is also running strongly with voters who are 65 or above and with white voters (where he leads 30-21%).

Be a part of something bigger

As a reader of the Arkansas Times, you know we’re dedicated to bringing you tough, determined, and feisty journalism that holds the powerful accountable. For 50 years, we've been fighting the good fight in Little Rock and beyond – with your support, we can do even more. By becoming a subscriber or donating as little as $1 to our efforts, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers to expand our coverage and continue to bring important stories to light. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, it's clear that our readers value our great journalism. Join us in the fight for truth.

Previous article Outside money coming to Supreme Court race Next article Here’s your Saturday night line