A special primary for District 36 of the Arkansas House of Representatives is scheduled on August 6. Denise Ennett, Philip Hood, Darrell Stephens, Roderick Talley, and Russell Williams III are running in the Democratic primary. No Republican candidates filed for the election. A primary runoff will take place on September 3 if no candidate receives more than 50% of the primary vote. The general election is on November 5.
The seat became vacant when Charles Blake (D) resigned his seat on May 16 to take a job as chief of staff to the mayor of Little Rock. Blake had served in the state House since 2015.
Heading into the special election, Republicans have a 76-23 majority in the state House with one vacancy. Arkansas has a Republican state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers.
As of August, 70 state legislative special elections have been scheduled or held in 24 states. Between 2011 and 2018, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.
Additional reading:
https://ballotpedia.org/State_legislative_special_elections,_2019
https://ballotpedia.org/Arkansas_House_of_Representatives_District_36
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