| Election Name: | 2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Arkansas |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2018 Arkansas gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 2018 |
| Next Election: | 2026 Arkansas gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 2026 |
| Election Date: | November 8, 2022 |
| Image1: | File:Sarah Huckabee Sanders (53296895183).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Sarah Huckabee Sanders |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 571,105 |
| Percentage1: | 62.96% |
| Nominee2: | Chris Jones |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 319,242 |
| Percentage2: | 35.20% |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Asa Hutchinson |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Sarah Huckabee Sanders |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Map Size: | 200px |
| Turnout: | 50.81% |
The 2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next governor of Arkansas. Incumbent Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson was term-limited and could not seek a third term. Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, defeated Democrat Chris Jones to become the first woman ever elected to the office, and was sworn in on January 10, 2023.
Primary elections in Arkansas were held on May 24. Runoff elections for instances where no candidate receives over 50% of the vote were scheduled for June 21. Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders won the Republican nomination, while Chris Jones won the Democratic nomination.[1]
Leading up to the Republican primary, Sanders received many endorsements from key Republican figures, including Donald Trump, Mike Pence, incumbent Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas' entire U.S. Congressional delegation, and the majority of Republicans in both state legislative chambers. Her primary victory was not remotely close, as she won every county in the state with at least 70% of the vote.
As Arkansas is a Republican stronghold, her primary victory virtually guaranteed she would win the general election, in which she defeated Jones by 28 points. Jones became the first Democrat to win Washington County since 2010, and Sanders became the first Republican to win majority-Black Crittenden County since her father in 1998, winning the county by one vote. This was the only 2022 election where Washington County voted for the Democratic nominee. This is the first time ever that the Republican Party won three straight gubernatorial elections in the state's history.
Sanders became the first female governor of Arkansas. With the election of Leslie Rutledge as lieutenant governor, Arkansas, along with Massachusetts, became the first two U.S. states to elect both a female governor and female lieutenant governor to serve at the same time.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Leslie Rutledge | Sarah Huckabee Sanders | Francis Washburn | Undecided | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hendrix College | May 2, 2022 | 802 (LV) | ± 4.3% | – | 73% | 17% | 10% | |||||||||
| Remington Research (R) | May 1–2, 2022 | 1,622 (LV) | ± 2.2% | – | 80% | 14% | 6% | |||||||||
| Rutledge withdraws from the race | ||||||||||||||||
| Remington Research (R) | October 25–26, 2021 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 16% | 73% | – | 11% | |||||||||
| Hendrix College | May 26–31, 2021 | 535 (LV) | ± 5.5% | 35% | 43% | – | 22% | |||||||||
| Source | Ranking | As of | |
|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | The Cook Political Report[21] | March 4, 2022 | |
| align=left | Inside Elections[22] | March 4, 2022 | |
| align=left | Sabato's Crystal Ball[23] | January 26, 2022 | |
| Politico[24] | April 1, 2022 | ||
| align=left | RCP[25] | January 10, 2022 | |
| align=left | Fox News[26] | May 12, 2022 | |
| 538[27] | June 30, 2022 | ||
| Elections Daily[28] | November 7, 2022 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) | Chris Jones (D) | Ricky Harrington (L) | Undecided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arkansas | October 13–31, 2022 | 557 (LV) | – | 53% | 34% | 4% | 9% | ||
| Hendrix College | October 17–18, 2022 | 835 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 51% | 41% | 3% | 5% | ||
| Remington Research Group (R) | September 14–15, 2022 | 1,418 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 59% | 34% | 3% | 4% | ||
| Hendrix College | September 12, 2022 | 835 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 51% | 40% | 2% | 7% | ||
| Echelon Insights | August 31 – September 7, 2022 | 382 (RV) | ± 7.7% | 62% | 32% | – | 6% | ||
| Remington Research Group (R) | February 26–27, 2022 | 827 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 58% | 28% | 3% | 10% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Generic Republican | Generic Democrat | Undecided | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arkansas | October 12–24, 2021 | 800 (A) | ± 3.5% | 46% | 21% | 34% | |
| 555 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 50% | 23% | 27% |
Huckabee Sanders won all 4 congressional districts.[29]
| District | Huckabee Sanders | Jones | Representative | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70.1% | 27.9% | Rick Crawford | ||||
| 55.5% | 42.8% | French Hill | ||||
| 59.6% | 38.3% | Steve Womack | ||||
| 67.9% | 30.5% | Bruce Westerman |