RISON - Eudora Mayor Tomeka Butler, a Democrat, has filed to run in the special election to fill the Arkansas State Senate District 1 seat left vacant by the resignation of Ben Gilmore to join the state Attorney General’s office.
Butler is the only Democrat to file for the open seat, and will automatically represent the party in the Nov. 3 special election. She will face the winner of the Republican special primary between Laura “Missy” Wardlaw of Hermitage and Harrell Wilson of the Staves community. That primary election will be held Aug. 18.
State Senate District 1 covers much of the southeast corner of Arkansas. It includes includes all of Cleveland, Ashley, Bradley and Drew counties, and portions of Chicot, Desha, Grant, Jefferson and Lincoln counties.
Butler was a late entry into the District 1 race, filing at 11:57 a.m. Thursday, July 16, just three minutes before the filing deadline.
“I’m running because Southeast Arkansas deserves a fighter who will work across the aisle to get things done,” Butler said in a statement released by the Democratic Party of Arkansas. “That means lower prices, better healthcare, hospitals that stay open, and great public schools for every child growing up in Arkansas today.”
Butler became the first African American woman to be elected mayor of Eudora when she won the office in 2020. She took office at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and has spent her tenure focused on the fundamentals as mayor, which includes municipal infrastructure, water quality, and stretching limited resources.
“When I was told that this seat might go uncontested, I had to step up and give my community a choice,” Butler said in the statement about her decision to run. “My faith has guided me during my service as mayor, and it guides me as I make the decision to seek this seat in the State Senate. As your State Senator, I will work every day to make you proud and actually get things done for you, for your family, and for our communities.”
A lifelong resident of E…