RISON - The Cleveland County Republican Committee has announced that Malinda Berry of the Calmer community will be the party’s nominee for District 6 justice of the peace in the upcoming November general election, filling a vacancy left by the passing of former District 6 Justice Owen Rushing late last year.Rushing had filed to run for reelection as District 6 JP in the Republican primary. He was the only person from either party to file for the position. However, Rushing died on Dec. 26, 2025, leaving a vacancy not only for the primary but the general election as well.Since Malinda Berry will be filling Rushing’s place on the ballot, she too will be unopposed in the Nov. 3 general election.When a county office holder dies while serving in office, state law requires the governor to appoint someone to complete the remainder of that person’s term. In the case of a justice of the peace, the appointee must be a resident of that JP district.District 6 includes roughly the Woodlawn/Calmer area east of Big Creek between Brushy Creek Road to the north and Hwy. 114 to the south. The district extends along Hwy. 114 east to the Lincoln County line as well as the northeast comer of the county including the New Home area.Pat Berry, Malinda’s husband and chairman of the Cleveland County Republican Committee, was appointed by Gov. Sarah Sanders in February to fill the remainder of Rushing’s term, which expires on Dec. 31.State law also prohibits any appointee to a county office from running for that same position in the next election, which means Pat Berry is not eligible to run.Josh Curtis, director of governmental affairs for the Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC), told the Herald after Rushing’s death that when a registered candidate is no longer available to run for an office, the local county party committee meets after the primary election to elect someone to fill that vacancy on the general election ballot....
To access content, please login or purchase a subscription.