Secretary of State race heating up in Arkansas

Arkansans will be heading to the polls later this month to decide a number of statewide party primary challenges.

One of the most consequential primary elections set for May will no doubt center on Arkansas’ next secretary of state. The office isn’t surrounded by extreme fanfare, but that doesn’t detract from its significance. In fact, given the Secretary of State’s roles in administering elections – from the local to the national levels – it is certainly one of the state’s most vital offices.

Arkansas voters will decide between two GOP candidates seeking the office in 2022: Incumbent Secretary of State John Thurston and fellow GOP challenger Eddie Joe Williams.

Earlier this year, we had a chance to speak with Williams about his challenge to Thurston, who’s held the office since winning the 2018 election. Recently, we spoke with Incumbent John Thurston about why he’s asking Arkansans to elect him to a second term.

Thurston said that, by voting for him, Arkansans will know what they’re getting: an officeholder with experience to guide the state over the next four years.

That’s an opinion Thurston reinforces with statistics from the 2020 election. Thurston stresses it was not only the largest election in the state’s history, but also the most secure.

President Trump secured more votes in Arkansas in 2020 than he did when he was elected in 2016. In the past two decades, only a handful of voter fraud cases were discovered in Arkansas, and none during Thurston’s first term. In terms of election integrity, Arkansas ranks fourth place across the entire nation according to the National Heritage Foundation. These are all symbols, Thurston stresses, of the healthy election environment he’s helped to build within the state.

Thurston has launched a number of initiatives and partnerships during his first term to support voting initiatives across the state. One of the more recent efforts includes a partnership with We Are the 22, an Arkansas-based veterans advocacy group.

During his first four years as Arkansas Secretary of State Thurston also pioneered cybersecurity measures aimed specifically at countering possible foreign influence in American elections. Given the cybersecurity threats posed by an increasingly aggressive Russia, these measures are perhaps more critical than ever to safeguard state and national elections.

Thurston said he’s asking for the support of every voter in Arkansas to ensure the continued integrity of state elections and to ensure his leadership remains in Little Rock to help guide the future of the state.

For more information on the office of Arkansas Secretary of State, visit sos.arkansas.gov. More information on Thurston and his reelection campaign can be found online at www.votejohnthurston.com.