Party · Arkansas

Democratic Party of Arkansas

One of 3 parties we found with ballot status in Arkansas for the November 3, 2026 election, named as the state’s records name it.1,2,3

Research draftpolitical party
Picks nominees by
Primary election
State’s party list
Assembled from official records
Researched
October 27, 2026

Research draft. We gathered this from official sources on October 27, 2026: election offices, state laws and court records, each linked to its source. Separate reviewers checked a random sample of 54 facts from the party research against the cited sources and found 4 errors, since corrected; 1 couldn’t be checked because the source wouldn’t display its text. The rest hasn't been reviewed fact by fact yet, so check the linked source before relying on anything here.

§1Ballot status

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

It is on the list of Arkansas's parties that we assembled from state law and official candidate lists, ballots or results1,2,3, because we couldn't read a single official list. A list built that way can miss a party that has status but no 2026 candidates. The state's class for it: political party.1,2,3

The candidate handbook lists this party as one of the recognized political parties in Arkansas as of its August 2025 printing.1 p. 3

How a party qualifies in Arkansas

A group forms a new party by filing a petition with the Secretary of State signed by at least 10,000 registered voters, with each signature dated no earlier than January 1 after the last general election.1,4 Ark. Code § 7-7-205(a)(1)-(4); handbook pp. 22-23 To nominate candidates for the next general election, the petition must be filed at least three weeks before the preferential primary; for 2026 that deadline was February 10, 2026.4,5 Ark. Code § 7-7-205(a)(6); Calendar, February 10, 2026 The Secretary of State rules on the petition within 30 days, and the party's officers must also file a sworn statement that the party does not advocate terrorism or the violent overthrow of the government.1,4 Ark. Code § 7-7-205(b); handbook p. 23

How a party keeps its status

A group is a political party if its candidate for governor or its presidential electors received at least 3 percent of the total vote for that office at the last general election; a party that falls below 3 percent stops being a political party.4 Ark. Code § 7-1-101(28)(A), (C) (PDF p. 90) A new party keeps its status after its first general election only if it reaches that 3 percent mark in the race for governor or for presidential electors.4 Ark. Code § 7-7-205(c)(4)

§2How it picks nominees

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Primary election. 1,4

Arkansas's rules for nominating

Political parties nominate their candidates for federal, state, district and county offices in a party primary, where a nominee needs a majority; if no one wins a majority, a general primary (runoff) is held four weeks after the preferential primary.4 Ark. Code §§ 7-7-102(a), 7-7-202, 7-7-203(a)-(b) (PDF pp. 252-256) A new party formed by petition nominates by convention for its first general election.4 Ark. Code § 7-7-102(b) Candidates without a party reach the ballot by petition signed by 3 percent of the qualified electors, based on the 2022 vote for governor, capped at 10,000 signatures for statewide office and 2,000 for congressional or legislative districts.1,4 Handbook p. 21; Ark. Code § 7-7-103

§3On the 2026 ballot

6 Candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. House or governor whose label on Arkansas's November 3 ballot names this party, from the state's official candidate list. Labels are shown exactly as the ballot prints them. Other offices aren't covered yet.

Candidates whose ballot label names the Democratic Party of Arkansas, by race.
RaceCandidateLabel on the ballot
U.S. Senate · ArkansasHallie ShoffnerDemocratic6,7
Governor · ArkansasFred LoveDemocratic6,7
U.S. House · Arkansas's 1st DistrictTerri Yarbrough GreenDemocratic6,7
U.S. House · Arkansas's 2nd DistrictChris JonesDemocratic6,7
U.S. House · Arkansas's 3rd DistrictRobb RyerseDemocratic6,7
U.S. House · Arkansas's 4th DistrictJames "Rus" Russell, IIIDemocratic6,7

§4Notes on Arkansas’s party research

What the research couldn’t find or confirm about Arkansas’s parties, in its own plain words. Nothing is left out silently.

  • The Secretary of State publishes no current list of ballot-qualified parties. The State Board of Election Commissioners' candidate handbook (printed August 13, 2025) lists only the Democratic Party of Arkansas and the Republican Party of Arkansas as recognized parties; the Secretary of State's candidate page links those two and the Libertarian Party of Arkansas.
  • Libertarian candidates (marked LIB) are on the November 3, 2026 ballot per the Pulaski County notice of election. Because the party was not recognized when the handbook was printed and could not regain status from the 2024 results after that date, we treated it as a new party formed by petition, which by law nominates by convention; we found no official notice of the Secretary of State certifying its petition, so its class and nomination method are inferred and a reviewer should confirm.
  • The Libertarian Party name follows the link text on the Secretary of State's candidate page; the county notice prints only the abbreviation LIB.