U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs has defeated Pentecostal preacher the Rev. Randy Caldwell to win the Republican nomination in the state’s 4th Congressional District race.
The Associated Press called the race at 8:32 p.m. At that time, unofficial results showed Westerman with 13,506 votes and Caldwell with 2,792 votes, with 11.3 percent of the vote said to be in.
In the Nov. 6 general election, Westerman will face Democratic candidate Hayden Catherine Shamel of Hot Springs and Libertarian Tom Canada of Scranton.
Westerman, 50, previously said he considers national security and border security, and transitioning people from welfare to work as some of his top issues. He was first elected to the position in 2014.
Caldwell, 54, said he was running at the Lord’s direction. Due to a clerical error, he was not added to the state’s voter rolls until about a month after he opened his campaign. And last month, Texas officials revoked the property tax exemption granted to his nonprofit ministry, which owns a home in League City, after the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette inquired about the residence’s status.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
