The Pulaski County Quorum Court appeared poised to undergo no change Tuesday night after incumbents in two justice of the peace races were leading at the polls, according to unofficial results.
With their wins, Democrats would retain a two-to-one majority on the county's governing body.
Pulaski County Sheriff Doc Holladay also handily defeated challenger Patrick Mulligan.
The remaining 12 re-elected justices of the peace ran unopposed, as did the county clerk, treasurer, assessor and county judge.
In District 3, Democratic incumbent Kathy Lewison was leading Republican challenger Lynn Jacuzzi.
As of 11:30 p.m., unofficial results were:
Lewison 5,815
Jacuzzi 5,500
The Pulaski County Election Commission didn't provide the number of precincts reporting.
If her lead holds, Lewison will serve her sixth two-year term since 2003. Both candidates' campaigns focused on the increase of crime in their west Little Rock district.
"As an elected official my No. 1 priority is public safety, and as such I plan to use the majority of my time working to keep our communities safe by funding our county jail and the sheriff's department," Lewison said. "I also want to work with the business community to create jobs and stimulate economic growth."
District 3 stretches from Interstate 430 and West Markham Street roughly to Cantrell Road and Taylor Loop Road in Little Rock.
In Jacuzzi's canvassing of her district's neighborhoods, she found a primary concern of residents to be the threat posed by criminals released by the county's overcrowded jail, she said.
"I want to make sure that we have the funding for our jail. I don't think everyone needs to go into jail, but we need to have space to put the violent offenders who need to go to jail," Jacuzzi has said.
Lewison put her focus on improving the county's drug court, the possibility of developing a mental health court and expanding the county's youth services programs.
"For me, west Little Rock is my family, and I love what I'm doing," Lewison said in October.
In District 7, Democratic incumbent Teresa Coney defeated Republican challenger Andrew Norwood.
As of 11:30 p.m., unofficial results were:
Coney 6,659
Norwood 4,103
Precinct totals were not provided by Pulaski County election officials.
Coney has been a member of the Quorum Court since 2011 and will be serving her fourth two-year term as the district's justice of the peace.
The candidates pinned their campaigns on separate issues. While Norwood held the deficiencies of District 7's roadways to be the most pressing concern, Coney's focus was raising wages for county employees and expanding the county's youth services programs.
District 7 covers a corner of southwest Little Rock and rural Pulaski County south of Lawson and Colonel Glenn roads.
"We've had a huge influx of population, but nothing's happened with the roads," Norwood has said.
The year's county races saw a new political player in Norwood -- a University of Arkansas at Little Rock law student with a doctorate degree in medical sciences.
And finally, Holladay, a Democrat, defeated Libertarian candidate Mulligan in a landslide in the sheriff's race.
As of 11:30 p.m., unofficial returns were:
Holladay 121,624
Mulligan 26,696
Precinct totals were not provided by Pulaski County election officials.
The year's race was the third face-off between the two candidates after Holladay defeated Mulligan in 2008 and 2010 with more than 70 percent of the vote.
Mulligan is Lonoke's police chief and previously worked for the Pulaski County sheriff's office under Sheriff Randy Johnson as a supervisor of patrol and narcotics.
"I'll be back at the office tomorrow and back to work," Holladay said Tuesday. "And I appreciate Pat for a good clean race, but I'm anxious to get onto my final term."
This term, he said, he will focus on ensuring raises for deputies, adopting a policy for the use of body cameras, and reducing the backlog of state inmates in the Pulaski County jail.
Holladay said before the election that this will be his last term as sheriff before retirement. It also will likely be the last two-year term for county sheriffs after voters approved a ballot item Tuesday to extend terms from two to four years for some elected officials, including county clerks, county judges, treasurers and assessors.
Four-year terms will begin in 2018.
"A new clerk, judge, assessor -- they need time to implement their own programs and philosophy," Holladay said. "I think it's important for stability that we increase terms."
Metro on 11/09/2016