LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A justice who wrote a blistering dissent when the Arkansas Supreme Court blocked an abortion-rights measure from the ballot has been elected to lead the court.
Justice Karen Baker defeated Justice Rhonda Wood to replace Chief Justice Dan Kemp in Tuesday’s election. The result won’t change the court’s conservative majority.
In Tuesday's election, all four of Arkansas’ Republican congressmen fended off challenges from Democrats who were trying to break the GOP’s hold on the state’s federal seats.
Voters also approved a constitutional amendment that revokes the license issued by a state panel for a casino.
Baker became the first woman elected chief justice in Arkansas, defeating Wood in Tuesday's nonpartisan runoff election.
The two justices were on opposite sides of the debate over whether to allow a measure on the ballot that would have scaled back an Arkansas law banning nearly all abortions.
Wood wrote the court’s 4-3 majority opinion that upheld the state’s decision to reject petitions submitted in favor of the proposal. The court ruled sponsors of the measure did not comply with paperwork requirements for paid signature gatherers.
In a blistering dissent, Baker asked: “Why are the respondent and the majority determined to keep this particular vote from the people?”
Baker has served on the court since 2011. Wood had the support of the state's top Republicans, including Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Sen. Tom Cotton. The Republican Party of Arkansas' state committee had also endorsed her bid.
Arkansas’ court races have been targeted in past years by conservative groups that have spent heavily on efforts to push the court further to the right. Those groups, however, had not identified Arkansas as a target this year and instead focused on battleground states like Michigan and Ohio.
Arkansas has had one other woman serve as chief justice, but Betty Dickey was appointed to the post by former Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2003, not elected.
Republican-backed justices currently hold a 4-3 majority on the court. Even with Baker's victory, that majority is set to expand to 5-2 because Sanders is now slated to fill two vacancies on the seven-member court after the election.
All four of Arkansas’ Republican congressmen fended off challenges from Democrats who were trying to break the GOP’s hold on the state’s federal seats.
Rep. Rick Crawford won reelection to the U.S. House seat representing Arkansas’ 1st District, which covers the eastern part of the state including Jonesboro and West Memphis. He defeated Democrat Rodney Govens, who has worked in the telecommunications industry. Libertarian nominee Steve Parsons was also running. Crawford, first elected in 2010, is a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee and has said he’ll seek the top Republican spot on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“That really tees up, hopefully, in the next Congress to serve as a committee chairman, and we're looking forward to that opportunity,” Crawford told The Associated Press Tuesday night. “That will really help serve the citizens of Arkansas even more.”
Rep. French Hill beat retired Army colonel Democrat Marcus Jones to win reelection in the race for the 2nd District, which includes Little Rock and surrounding areas. Hill was first elected to the seat in 2014 and is vice chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
“I am deeply humbled to once again have the privilege of representing the people of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District," Hill said in a statement. “I wake up every day energized to serve my home state and fellow Arkansans, and I stand ready to fight for our beloved nation over the next two years.”
In northwest Arkansas’ 3rd District Rep. Steve Womack defeated Democrat Caitlin Draper, a clinical social worker. Womack was first elected in 2010 to the district, which includes Fayetteville and Fort Smith. Libertarian Bobby Wilson was also running. Womack is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee.
“Conservative principles such as less government, lower taxes, pro-growth and pro-family policies, the rule of law, and a strong national defense are what I believe creates a better America for all," Womack said in a statement. “Tonight, we see that Third District Arkansans agree with me.”
In the 4th District, which covers south Arkansas, Rep. Bruce Westerman triumphed over Democrat Risie Howard, an attorney from Pine Bluff. Westerman was first elected to the U.S. House in 2014 and chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources.
“It is an honor of a lifetime to continue representing the 4th district of Arkansas," Westerman said in a statement. “I still stand by the statement that Arkansas has what America needs, and I look forward to getting back to work in DC.”
Arkansas voters approved a measure blocking the last of four casinos planned in the state in what had become an expensive battle between the Cherokee and Choctaw nations.
The proposed constitutional amendment revokes a license the state issued to Cherokee Nation Entertainment to build a casino in Pope County. Choctaw Nation spent more than $17 million on the campaign for the proposal. Under the measure, any future casino licenses will have to be approved by voters in a special countywide election.
“This is a great day for the people of Arkansas: today, and every day forward, no Arkansas community will have a casino that they don’t want forced into their hometown,” Hans Stiritz, spokesperson for Local Voters in Charge, the campaign behind the measure, said in a statement.
Pope County was one of four sites where casinos were allowed to be built under a constitutional amendment that voters approved in 2018. Casinos have already been set up in the other three locations. Cherokee Nation Businesses spent at least $12 million on the campaign against the amendment.
“Issue 2 is a devastating setback to the economic future of the communities in Pope County and the state of Arkansas,” Chuck Garrett, CEO of Cherokee Nation Businesses, said in a statement late Tuesday night.
Other proposals that would have scaled back the state’s abortion ban and expanded its medical marijuana program were disqualified from the ballot by state election officials and the state Supreme Court. The marijuana proposal appeared on the ballot but votes for it won’t be counted.
Voters approved a measure the Legislature placed on the ballot that allows proceeds from the state's lottery to be used to fund scholarships at vocational and technical schools.