AR-Sen: Candidate filing closed Tuesday for Arkansas’ March 3 primary, and the state has a list of contenders available here. Runoffs will take place March 31 in contests where no candidate wins a majority of the vote.
GOP Sen. Tom Cotton and all four members of the state’s all-Republican House delegation are running for re-election in what has become a very red state during the last decade, and none of them face any primary opposition. Democrats also got some unwelcome news in the Senate race when Joshua Mahony, who was their only candidate, dropped out just over two hours after the deadline passed.
It’s not clear if Democrats can replace Mahony, who cited a “family health concern” as his reason for exiting the race. The secretary of state’s office said of the matter, “Until we receive the official notification letter and the reason for his withdrawal, we cannot make any determination.” Cotton is safe no matter what, but it’s always preferable to have a viable candidate in case the unexpected happens.
Democrats got a better news in the 2nd District when state Sen. Joyce Elliott, who was the 2010 Democratic nominee for a previous version of the seat, entered the race to take on GOP Rep. French Hill. (Check out our last Digest for more on this contest.) However, while Team Blue also has candidates against Reps. Steve Womack and Bruce Westerman, Rep. Rick Crawford has no opposition in the 1st District.
P.S: Alabama and Arkansas are the only states with November filing deadlines, though the deadline for the special election for Maryland’s 7th Congressional District will be on Nov. 20. Next month, though, we have filing deadlines in California, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas, as well as for the special election in Wisconsin’s Congressional 7th District. We've put together a calendar of every state's filing deadlines, primaries, and (where applicable) runoffs, which you'll want to bookmark and keep handy.