FAYETTEVILLE -- Retired engineer Robert E. Nowlin of Fayetteville entered the state Senate District 7 special election contest, filing as a Republican candidate Friday.
Candidate filing ends noon Monday for the special election to fill the seat vacated Oct. 28 by Lance Eads. Eads resigned to take a lobbying job. Party primaries are Dec. 14. A runoff, if needed, will take place Jan. 11. The special election is Feb. 8.
Nowlin makes the fourth Republican to announce as of Friday. The winner will face opposition with one Democrat having already entered the race.
Nowlin, 78, retired as an engineer at IBM after 40 years. He is s 1966 graduate of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville with a bachelor's degree in engineering, he said. He attained his master's degree in telecommunications science from Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1986. He will soon graduate again from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor's degree in music, he said.
"The First and Second amendments are my main issues," Nowlin said Friday, referring to the U.S. Constitution's guarantees of freedom of religion, speech, assembly and the right to bear arms. The federal government is overreaching its constitutional powers on a range of issues from promotion of critical race theory in schools to abortion in states, he said. States should check and balance the federal government, he said.
"All power comes from the people," he said. "The people loan some to the states and the federal government."
The 7th District includes Springdale along with the eastern side of Washington County, including Elkins and Goshen.
State senators serve a four-year term and receive a base salary of $42,428. They also receive per diem and reimbursement for expenses.
Candidate filing begins
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NoneFiling began last Monday at the Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office in the special election for state Senate District 7. Filing ends at noon Monday. Five candidates had filed as of Friday:
Republicans
- Jim Bob Duggar of Tontitown, former state representative
- Colby Fulfer of Springdale, city government chief of staff
- Steven Unger of Springdale, retired U.S. Navy captain
- Robert E. Nowlin of Fayetteville, retired engineer
Democrat
- Lisa Parks of Tontitown, attorney
Source: Secretary of State