The 2024 Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice election was held in the U.S. state of Arkansas on March 5, 2024 to elect the Chief Justice, also known as position 1, of the Arkansas Supreme Court. Karen Baker and Rhonda Wood defeated Barbara Webb and Jay Martin in the first round. No candidate received a majority of the vote, so a runoff election took place on November 5, 2024. Baker defeated Wood by a margin of 5.36%.[1][2][3] Baker was the first woman elected to the office.[4]
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| Turnout | 18.29%  15.9 pp (first round)38.67% (second round) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Baker: 20%-30% 30%-40% 40%-50% Wood: 20%-30% 30%-40% 40%-50% Webb: 20%-30% 30%-40% 40%-50% Martin: 20%-30%  Baker: 50%-60% 60%-70% 70%-80% Wood: 50%-60% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Incumbent Chief Justice John Dan Kemp retired due to a state law that strips justices of their retirement benefits if they seek re-election after the age of 70.[5]
Every candidate except Martin was currently serving as an Associate Justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court. Martin is an attorney who formerly served as a Democratic member of the Arkansas House of Representatives.[6]
Although Arkansas Supreme Court elections are nonpartisan,[1][2][4] Martin is a Democrat[6][7] and both Wood and Webb have connections to the Republican Party. Wood was appointed to a judgeship by former Republican Governor Mike Huckabee. Webb identifies as a conservative[8] and is married to a former chairman of the Arkansas GOP. Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not make an endorsement in the first round, but supported Wood in the runoff. Wood was also endorsed by the Republican Party of Arkansas and Republican Senator Tom Cotton.[4][7][9]
Abortion was the chief issue in the campaign. Wood wrote the majority opinion in Arkansans for Limited Government v. John Thurston, which affirmed the decision of Secretary of State John Thurston to disqualify a proposed ballot measure that would've enshrined the right to an abortion in the state constitution. Webb joined the majority opinion, while Baker wrote a dissent to the ruling.[10][11][4] Jay Martin unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2022, expressing opposition to abortion.[7]
First Round
edit| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karen Baker | 86,850 | 27.17% | |
| Rhonda Wood | 84,139 | 26.33% | |
| Barbara Webb | 82,735 | 25.89% | |
| Jay Martin | 65,875 | 20.61% | |
| Total votes | 319,599 | 100.00 | |
Runoff
edit| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karen Baker | 546,713 | 52.68% | |
| Rhonda Wood | 491,148 | 47.32% | |
| Total votes | 1,037,861 | 100.00 | |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Election Night Reporting". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ a b c "Election Night Reporting". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ "Arkansas Supreme Court elections, 2024". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ a b c d "First woman elected to serve as Arkansas chief justice". 5newsonline.com. 2024-11-06. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Mobley, Brett Rains, Andrew (2023-09-24). "Retiring chief justice Dan Kemp tours Arkansas judicial districts, questions age restriction rule for judges". KATV. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "A guide to the 2024 Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice race". KUAR. 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ a b c "2 races, including crowded chief justice campaign, could push Arkansas court further to the right". AP News. 2024-03-02. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ "Webb for Chief Justice". Webb for Arkansas. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ "Arkansas chief justice election won't change conservative tilt of court, but will make history". AP News. 2024-11-03. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ "LAUREN COWLES, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF ARKANSANS FOR LIMITED GOVERNMENT, A BALLOT QUESTION COMMITTEE V. JOHN THURSTON, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SECRETARY OF STATE; ARKANSANS FOR PATIENT ACCESS, A BALLOT QUESTION COMMITTEE; BILL PASCHALL, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF ARKANSANS FOR PATIENT ACCESS; LOCAL VOTERS IN CHARGE, A BALLOT QUESTION COMMITTEE; AND JIM KNIGHT, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF LOCAL VOTERS IN CHARGE - Arkansas Courts". opinions.arcourts.gov. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ DMM, Adam Roberts (2024-08-22). "READ: Opinion, dissents in Arkansas Supreme Court abortion ruling". KHBS. Retrieved 2024-11-28.