Breanne Davis and Luke Heffley, both of Russellville, said they're seeking the Republican nomination in a Feb. 13 special primary election for a state Senate seat that became vacant when the incumbent died.
Russellville Democrat Teresa Gallegos said she also intends to run for the Senate seat if she raises enough to pay the Democratic Party's filing fee that she expects to be $4,500. The state Democratic Party on Saturday will determine its filing fee for candidates in the special election, while the state Republican Party's filing fee for the election is $7,500 according to officials in the parties.
The candidates are seeking the seat for District 16, which includes Newton and Pope counties and parts of Boone, Carroll and Van Buren counties. Sen. Greg Standridge, R-Russellville, served from April 2016 until he died Nov. 16 after a battle with cancer.
The District 16 seat is one of two Senate vacancies up for grabs in special elections next year.
The other is District 29, where Cabot Republican Eddie Williams held the seat. Williams resigned Nov. 15 to become President Donald Trump's federal representative to the Southern States Energy Board. The district includes parts of Faulkner, Lonoke, Pulaski and White counties.
Cabot Republican Ricky Hill announced this week that he is seeking his party's nomination in District 29. Hill is the second candidate to announce for the Senate seat. Shortly after Williams resigned, Cabot Republican Jim Coy confirmed that he would vie for it.
The filing period for the two seats starts at noon Wednesday at the state Capitol and ends at noon Dec. 13. The special primary elections are Feb. 13. If needed, a special primary runoff will be held March 13. The special election for filling the seats will be held May 22 -- the same day as the regular primary election.
Williams' and Standridge's departures leave the chamber with 33 senators and two vacancies with a fiscal session scheduled to start in February. Both Williams and Standridge were re-elected in 2016 to four-year terms, so the winners of their seats will serve until January 2021.
In a news release, Davis said Standridge "was passionate about many issues, including rural fire departments, law enforcement and being accessible to our community. If elected, I will continue making those issues a high priority.
"My years of experience on the school board have equipped me to work effectively with schools and state education officials to ensure our teachers and students have all the tools they need for success," said Davis, who has served on the Russellville School Board since her election to it in 2009. Davis, 34, is a senior account executive for SAS Institute, a Cary, N.C.-based global analytics firm.
Asked about her position on the Medicaid expansion that provides health insurance to low-income people, Davis said, "Last week, I believe our governor was in [Washington] D.C. leading negotiations on a waiver that, if granted, would be the first of its kind, requiring able-bodied adults on Medicaid to seek meaningful employment.
"We need to find a solution that takes care of patients, supports medical providers and does not needlessly add to the Medicaid rolls," she said.
Heffley, a 46-year-old special-projects coordinator at Arkansas Tech University, said in an interview that it will be difficult to fill Standridge's shoes in the Senate but he's running for the seat because the people in District 16 deserve a good senator.
In 1996, he ran unsuccessfully for the state House of Representatives.
Heffley said his top priorities would include reducing the size of government, improving education and opposing abortion.
He said he doesn't have a stance yet on the state's Medicaid expansion, adding, "I think we need to make sure we are spending the money the right way."
Gallegos, 29, a business manager, said in an interview she wants to run for the District 16 seat because the political system is broken and too many lawmakers represent the special interests and "not people and our environment."
She said she supports the state's Medicaid expansion because she was on Medicaid as a child and she believes that each man, woman and child should have access to health care.
In the District 29 race, Hill said in a news release that "as state senator, I will work to bring decency and common sense back to our political process.
"I will use my experiences to advance Arkansas' future through improved education, support of our state's agriculture, and investing in the infrastructure needed to spur job growth," said Hill, 50, executive vice president with Bank of the Ozarks. Hill served five years on the Cabot School Board.
Asked about his stance on Arkansas' version of Medicaid expansion, Hill said in an interview that he supports Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson's efforts to mitigate the negative effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in Arkansas and he wants to work with Hutchinson and lawmakers "to improve what we have in Arkansas." He said he's always opposed the act, which was an initiative of President Barack Obama.
Coy said, "From a general standpoint, I don't favor Medicaid expansion," but he wants to gather more information before he takes a final stance. Coy, 56, is vice president of sales for Oakbrook, Ill.-based Infutor Data Solutions. He worked for 18 years at Acxiom and served eight years on the Cabot School Board.
He said he wants to reduce the size of government and reduce taxes and also make sure the people in the Senate district have a strong voice.
Metro on 11/30/2017