The early and absentee vote in Pulaski County, perhaps a third of the total vote, is in and should provide some indication of how the night will go in Pulaski County.
GOVERNOR: Republican incumbent Gov. Asa Hutchinson is running ahead of Jan Morgan, 76-23. One outlet reported was claiming she’d at least have a moral victory tonight by starting a “movement.” A small one,
Democratic newcomer Jared Henderson is ahead of Leticia Sanders, 63-36. Media were declaring Henderson the statewide winner by 8 p.m.
2ND DISTRICT CONGRESS, DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY: State Rep. Clarke Tucker leads a four-way race against Paul Spencer, Gwen Combs and Jonathan Dunkley with 58 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a runoff. Repubs are still bleating Tucker is the DCCC candidate. They apparently have a lot of fellow travelers in Central Arkansas. Maybe this battle for the soul of the party was a little oversold?
ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT: Justice Courtney Goodson, the primary target of more than $1 million in dark money spending, is facing Court of Appeals Judge Kenneth Hixson and David Sterling, essentially a declared Republican in a nominally nonpartisan race who flouted judicial ethics rules by referring voters to statements he’d made as a partisan candidate for attorney general 2016 should they have any doubt where he stands on issues. Judicial ethics has become an oxymoron in Arkansas. This is a race where results could differ substantially by county. If Pulaski is a guide, there will be a runoff: Early county: Goodson 34%, Hixson, 33, and Sterling, 31. All the negative ads didn’t buy the race for Sterling her.
SHERIFF: The race in the Democratic primary pits Eric Higgins, a retired Little Rock police assistant chief, against Carl Minden, the current chief deputy to retiring Sheriff Doc Holladay. Higgins leads 55-44
All the Pulaski results here. For folks in Hillcrest, the race for Rep. Warwick Sabin’s House between Tippi McCullough and Ross Noland shows McCullough in the lead 55-44.
PS: The Democratic Party lost in both circuit court and a late emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to get extra hours of voting in Lonoke County where no Democratic ballots were provided for three hours in an England polling place.