Race · November 3, 2026

U.S. Senate · Arkansas

3 candidates on the ballot.^1,2,3,4

§1Candidates

Why this matters: Every candidate the state lists for this race on the November ballot, in the state's own order.

Tom Cotton

Republican · Incumbent

Currently serves as a U.S. senator from Arkansas.

Jeff Wadlin

Libertarian · Challenger

Hallie Shoffner

Democratic · Challenger

§2Side by side

Why this matters: The same facts for every candidate, in the same order. Where we found nothing for a candidate, the cell says so — that means we didn't find it in public sources, not that it doesn't exist.

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Fact	Tom Cotton	Jeff Wadlin	Hallie Shoffner
Party on the ballot	Republican^1,2	Libertarian^1,2	Democratic^1,2
Status	Incumbent⁵	Challenger	Challenger
Raised	$7,149,643 through October 14, 2026⁶	$80,063 through October 14, 2026⁷	$4,042,811 through October 14, 2026⁸
Cash on hand	$5,129,928⁶	$6,291⁷	$756,932⁸
Outside spending	$590,800 for · $0 against⁹	Not found in the public sources we checked	$0 for · $4,589,265 against¹⁰
Farm payments and crop insurance	Not found in the public sources we checked	His campaign website says he supports strong crop insurance and a long-term Farm Bill, and says aid may be justified when natural disasters or federal policies cause extraordinary losses but repeated bailouts show the system is failing.¹¹	Her campaign website says the Farm Bill should expand market access and strengthen risk management for farmers, and that she would help farmers diversify through regional food systems.¹²
Police funding	His campaign website says he backs law enforcement and opposes defunding the police.¹³	Not found in the public sources we checked	Her campaign website says she would support local law enforcement and first responders with training, staffing, mental health support and strong unions, and invest in community-based crime prevention.¹²
Federal minimum wage	Not found in the public sources we checked	His campaign website says he supports gradual and predictable minimum wage increases.¹¹	Her campaign website says she supports raising the minimum wage.¹²
Union organizing rules	Not found in the public sources we checked	His campaign website says workers should be free to organize and bargain collectively without retaliation.¹¹	Her campaign website says she would protect workers' right to organize and bargain collectively and supports strengthening labor protections.¹²
Data centers and electricity costs	His campaign website says he has written legislation to protect Arkansans from the costs associated with data centers.¹³	Require data centers to pay the full cost of the power plants and lines they need His campaign website says local communities should decide whether to allow data centers, and that data centers should pay the full cost of the electricity and other infrastructure they need.¹¹	Not found in the public sources we checked
Food assistance (SNAP)	Not found in the public sources we checked	His campaign website says SNAP should prioritize nutritious food over soda and candy and include reasonable work, training or service expectations for able-bodied adults, without paperwork traps for veterans, people experiencing homelessness or young adults leaving foster care.¹¹	Her campaign website says she would support food banks, expand nutrition programs and connect Arkansas farmers with families who need food.¹²
Health insurance system	His campaign website says he led the 2017 effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and has opposed one-size-fits-all government takeovers of health care.^13,14	His campaign website says the goal should be health coverage for everyone, reached by cutting total health care costs roughly in half over time through a public-private system that combines private delivery and consumer choice with universal access.¹¹	Her campaign website says she would strengthen the Affordable Care Act, protect Medicare and Medicaid, lower prescription drug prices and hold insurance companies accountable.¹²
Immigration enforcement inside the country	His campaign website says the right amount of illegal immigration is zero, and says he voted for the Laken Riley Act and has consistently voted to deport immigrants in the country illegally who commit crimes.¹³	His campaign website says people who pose security risks or commit serious crimes should be removed promptly, and that people in the country illegally can reasonably be expected to be returned home politely, with certain exceptions for people brought here as children.¹¹	Not found in the public sources we checked
Federal income tax rates	Not found in the public sources we checked	His campaign website says he supports a simpler, progressive tax system in which those with more wealth contribute more, without special-interest loopholes, and says tax cuts should be matched by spending cuts.¹¹	Her campaign website says she would cut taxes for working families.¹²

Issues only one candidate has addressed

By candidate, in ballot order. We found nothing public from the other candidates in this race on these issues.

Tom Cotton — 7 issues

Classroom teaching on race, gender and sexuality
His campaign website says he has worked to keep critical race theory out of schools and opposes policies that divide children by race or undermine parents' rights.^13,14
Vouchers and education savings accounts
His campaign website says he supports school choice so parents can pick the best option for their children.¹³
Medical transition for minors
His campaign website says he supports stopping gender transition surgeries for minors and defended Arkansas's state ban on them.^13,14
Border wall and barriers
His campaign website says he backed President Trump's border enforcement policies and pushed to finish the border wall.¹³
Legal immigration levels
His campaign website says he wrote the RAISE Act to overhaul legal immigration by ending what it calls chain migration and putting American workers first.¹³
Income tax on Social Security benefits
His campaign website says he passed no tax on Social Security.¹³
Taxes on tips and overtime
His campaign website says he helped pass the Working Families Tax Cut and passed no tax on tips.¹³

Jeff Wadlin — 23 issues

Foreign intelligence surveillance (FISA Section 702)
Renew it, but require a warrant to search the collected records for Americans' communications
His campaign website says FISA Section 702 should require a warrant before agencies search its records for Americans' communications.¹¹
Marijuana laws
Make it legal for adults to buy and use
His campaign website says adults should not be jailed for growing or using cannabis in private, and that adult use should be legal and regulated much like alcohol.¹¹
Federal Reserve independence
His campaign website says the Federal Reserve needs clearer rules and more accountability, with price stability as its main duty and a published rules-based benchmark it must explain any major departure from.¹¹
Tariffs
Lower or remove most tariffs
His campaign website says broad tariffs should be eliminated because they raise prices on food, equipment and household goods and invite retaliation against Arkansas farm exports.¹¹
Campaign finance rules
Limit spending by outside groups, including by amending the Constitution to overturn Citizens United
His campaign website says he supports undoing Citizens United and related rulings that allow unlimited election spending, along with real-time disclosure of major political spending.¹¹
Drawing district lines (redistricting)
His campaign website says partisan gerrymandering should end, that congressional districts should keep counties and metropolitan areas together where practical, and that state districts should keep towns and neighborhoods together.¹¹
Proof of citizenship to register to vote
His campaign website says he supports the core goal of the SAVE Act that only citizens register and vote, but says any new citizenship-document requirement should be phased in with free documents, checks of existing records and time to fix errors.¹¹
Ranked-choice voting
His campaign website says he supports ranked-choice voting, that states and communities should be free to adopt it, and that Arkansas's ban on it should be reversed.¹¹
Term limits for Congress
His campaign website says he supports reasonable term limits for members of Congress and upper age limits for federal elected office, adopted through a constitutional amendment.¹¹
Permitting for energy projects
His campaign website says reasonable permitting for energy projects should be sped up, and that local communities should decide which energy installations they accept.¹¹
Aid to Ukraine
His campaign website says he supports helping Ukraine defend its sovereignty, with clear objectives, accountability, shared costs with allies and a realistic path to peace.¹¹
Iran's nuclear program and sanctions
His campaign website says Iran must not get a nuclear weapon, but that diplomacy, inspections, targeted sanctions and pressure from allies should be exhausted before war.¹¹
Military spending
His campaign website says military strength is not measured by spending, and calls for fewer unnecessary overseas bases and more capability for each defense dollar.¹¹
Who decides on military action
His campaign website says he opposes open-ended military action that Congress has not authorized and wants Congress to restore its constitutional war powers.¹¹
AR-15-style rifles
His campaign website says semi-automatic firearms should remain legal and rejects bans based on a gun's features.¹¹
Medicaid work requirements
Keep the requirement but ease it, such as with wider exemptions or less frequent checks
His campaign website says Medicaid should enforce reasonable work requirements without paperwork traps, with employment verified automatically where possible.¹¹
Zoning and new housing
His campaign website says federal policy should reduce financing and infrastructure barriers to building homes while leaving zoning mainly to state and local governments.¹¹
Asylum rules
His campaign website says he supports faster immigration and asylum decisions and more immigration judges.¹¹
Work eligibility checks (E-Verify)
His campaign website says he supports reliable workplace verification and that managers of companies that employ immigrants without legal status should face fines and criminal penalties.¹¹
Rules for citizen ballot measures
His campaign website says he supports protecting Arkansas's citizen-initiative process.¹¹
Balanced budget amendment
Add a balanced budget requirement to the Constitution
His campaign website says he supports a balanced budget amendment with emergency provisions and a multiyear transition, along with a law limiting spending growth in normal years.¹¹
Children and social media
His campaign website says he supports phone-free school policies but opposes broad federal app bans and age checks that require uploading an ID or face scan, and favors parental controls set up through phone carriers.¹¹
Private care for veterans
His campaign website says veterans should have more freedom to get care outside the VA when it cannot provide timely or appropriate treatment.¹¹

Hallie Shoffner — 3 issues

Child care costs
Her campaign website says she would work to lower the cost of child care for working families.¹²
Paid family and medical leave
Her campaign website says supporting mothers means affordable child care, paid leave and quality health care.¹²
Social Security payroll tax cap
Her campaign website says she would protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare and lift the cap on Social Security contributions for the very wealthy.¹²

Issue statements are drafted by AI from the public sources cited, and only cover what each candidate has said publicly.

All 2026 races in Arkansas