RISON - Contested races for both the Fourth Congressional District and State Representative District 96 have developed with the close of the 2024 last Tuesday, Nov. 14, based on filings with the Arkansas Secretary of State office.
According to the Secretary of State website, five-time incumbent Fourth District Congressman Bruce Westerman (R-Hot Springs) is being contested by Democrat Risie Howard, a lawyer from Pine Bluff, and Independent John White, a disabled veteran from Stephens. Those three candidates will square off in the general election to be held Nov. 5, 2024.
Meanwhile, there will be a contested race in the Democratic primary for State House of Representative District 96 between Robin Roark of Smackover and Horace Ray Charles of El Dorado. That primary election will be held March 5, 2024.
The winner of the District 96 Democratic primary will face Republican incumbent, Sonia Eubanks Barker, in the general election on Nov. 5, 2024.
District 96 encompasses roughly the western half of Cleveland County. The district includes the Rison city limits as well as Kingsland and New Edinburg. It also includes the Staves community west of Hwy. 212 as well as the Toledo and Macedonia communities along Hwy. 35 south of Rison.
District 93 State Rep. Mike Holcomb of Jefferson County, a Republican, will be uncontested in the 2024 election.
This will be White's second time to run for the Fourth Congressional District seat. He ran as a Democrat in 2022, though the Democratic Party of Arkansas did not endorse his candidacy.
During an debate televised by Arkansas PBS featuring the 2022 Fourth Congressional District candidates, Arkansas NPR reported that White, as well as Libertarian candidate Gregory Maxwell, often sided with Westerman on policy issues. White also said during the debate that the 2020 presidential election was "definitely stolen," though he said he could not prove that assertion.
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