Age: 31
City: Batesville
Occupation: High school social studies teacher
Education: Master's of public administration, bachelor's degree in political science/secondary education from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Public service experience: State senator since 2019; state representative from 2015-2019
Website: www.sturchforarkansas.com
Why should people vote for you?
My experience and record show I stayed true to my word and have remained a common-sense conservative. I have protected the traditional values of our region, stood up for our local schools and promoted economic growth of our communities. I have fought to lower taxes, voting for the two largest income tax reducitons in state history. I have helped expand workforce training and scholarship opportunities for all students. I have worked to ensure we get our fair share of road money. If re-elected, I will continue listening to and working for you.
What is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how would you address it?
The most pressing issue facing us right now is inflation. With continued rising cost of necessities like food, gasoline, and electricity, families are feeling it in their pockebooks. The policies of President Biden and his liberal friends are not working. As a state Legislature, we need to continue reforming our tax code so we can further lower the tax burden on working families. Further, we can put pressure on the federal govenrment to stop shutting down busienssess, stop discouraging people from working and start taking actions needed to get our economy back where it needs to be.
What's the first thing you'd like to accomplish if elected?
I look forward to pushing more education reforms during the next legislative session. Too many children can't read or do math at grade level. We must improve this, and that starts by putting the emphasis back on kids rather than test scores. I believe we can accomplish this goal by giving more control of what's taught in our schools back to parents and local school boards. Once that's decided, we need to let teachers guide us on how to best get the job done. Education is the key to our state's future. We must be prepared to meet the challenges in front, and that starts with ensuring students are getting what they need and deserve
A team of reporters from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette compiled this series of candidate bios over the last three months. Candidates in most races were reached by email and completed questionnaires. Others who couldn't be reached by email provided information over the phone. Some candidates declined to participate or didn't respond to phone and email messages left by the Democrat-Gazette. Return to the main Voter Guide page to read more bios.