| Election Name: | 2022 Arkansas elections |
| Country: | Arkansas |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2020 Arkansas elections |
| Previous Year: | 2020 |
| Next Election: | 2024 Arkansas elections |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Arkansas on November 8, 2022. All of Arkansas' executive officers were up for election as well as all four of the state's seats in the United States House of Representatives and a U.S. senator. Primaries were held on May 24, 2022, with runoff primaries on June 21. Polls were open from 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM CST.[1]
See main article: 2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election. Incumbent Republican governor Asa Hutchinson was term-limited and not eligible for re-election. Two Republicans and five Democrats were qualified to be major party candidates. Following the primary elections, Republican Sarah Sanders faced Democrat Chris Jones in the general election.
See main article: 2022 Arkansas lieutenant gubernatorial election. The incumbent lieutenant governor was term-limited and instead ran for attorney general. Two Democrats, six Republicans, and a Libertarian ran for lieutenant governor.[2] In November 2021, retiring attorney general Leslie Rutledge withdrew from the governor's race and ran for lieutenant governor instead.[3] Rutledge won the Republican primary and easily defeated Democrat Kelly Krout in the general election.[4]
See main article: 2022 Arkansas Secretary of State election. Incumbent secretary John Thurston ran for re-election. Originally facing two other Republicans and two Democrats, Thurston won the Republican primary and defeated Democratic candidate Anna Beth Gorman in the general election.[5] [6]
See main article: 2022 Arkansas Attorney General election. Incumbent attorney general Leslie Rutledge was term-limited and not eligible for re-election, and instead ran for lieutenant governor. Incumbent lieutenant governor Tim Griffin won the Republican primary on May 24 and defeated Democrat Jesse Gibson in the general election.[7]
See main article: article and 2022 Arkansas State Treasurer election. Incumbent treasurer Dennis Milligan was term-limited and not eligible for re-election, and instead ran for state auditor. In February 2021, Republican Mathew Pitsch declared his candidacy for treasurer of Arkansas in the 2022 election,[8] though lost his party primary to Arkansas House representative Mark Lowery.[9] Lowery defeated Democratic candidate Pam Whitaker in the general election.[10]
Incumbent auditor Andrea Lea was term-limited and unable to run for re-election.[11] Term-limited state treasurer Dennis Milligan entered the race as the Republican candidate and won against Democratic candidate Diamond Arnold-Johnson and Libertarian Simeon Snow.[12] Notably, Pulaski County, home to Little Rock, only voted for the Democratic nominee by a 4.7% margin.
Incumbent land commissioner Tommy Land ran for re-election and defeated Democratic candidate Darlene Gaines in the general election.[13]
See main article: 2022 United States Senate election in Arkansas. Incumbent senator John Boozman ran for a third term, easily defeating Democratic challenger Natalie James.
See main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas.
Republican incumbent Rick Crawford ran for a seventh term, defeating Democratic challenger Monte Hodges.
Republican incumbent French Hill ran for a fifth term, defeating Democratic challenger Quintessa Hathaway.
Republican incumbent Steve Womack ran for a seventh term, defeating Democratic challenger Lauren Mallett-Hays.
Republican incumbent Bruce Westerman ran for a fifth term, defeating Democratic challenger John White.
The "Legislative Authority to Call a Special Session Amendment" would have given the legislature the authority to call itself into an extraordinary session, instead of the governor. The measure failed passage.[15]
The "60% Supermajority Vote Requirement for Constitutional Amendments and Ballot Initiatives Measure" would have required 60% majority for voters to pass ballot measures, instead of the required simple majority of 50%. The measure failed passage.
| Issue 3 | |
| Question: | An amendment to the Arkansas Constitution to create the "Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment"; and to provide that government may never burden a person's freedom of religion except in the rare circumstance that the government demonstrates that application of the burden to the person is in furtherance of a compelling government interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling government interest. |
| Yes: | 433,473 |
| No: | 440,686 |
| Total: | 874,159 |
| Mapcaption: | Results by county NoYes |
| Map Size: | 200px |
The "Government Burden of Free Exercise of Religion Amendment" would have amended the state constitution to include language that the government cannot burden a person's freedom of religion. The measure failed passage.
| Issue 4 | |
| Question: | An amendment to authorize the possession, personal use, and consumption of cannabis by adults, to authorize the cultivation and sale of cannabis by licensed commercial facilities, and to provide for the regulation of those facilities. |
| Yes: | 392,938 |
| No: | 505,128 |
| Total: | 898,066 |
| Mapcaption: | Results by county NoYes |
| Map Size: | 200px |
The "Marijuana Legalization Initiative" would have legalized recreational use of marijuana for people over 21 years old and enacted a tax on marijuana sales. The measure failed passage.[16]