2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election

The 2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next governor of Arkansas. Incumbent Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson was term-limited and could not seek a third term. Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, defeated Democrat Chris Jones to become the first woman ever elected to the office, and was sworn in on January 10, 2023.

Primary elections in Arkansas were held on May 24. Runoff elections for instances where no candidate receives over 50% of the vote were scheduled for June 21. Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders won the Republican nomination, while Chris Jones won the Democratic nomination.

Leading up to the Republican primary, Sanders received many endorsements from key Republican figures, including Donald Trump, Mike Pence, incumbent Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas' entire U.S. Congressional delegation, and the majority of Republicans in both state legislative chambers. Her primary victory was not remotely close, as she won every county in the state with at least 70% of the vote.

As Arkansas is a Republican stronghold, her primary victory virtually guaranteed she would win the general election, in which she defeated Jones by 28 points. Jones became the first Democrat to win Washington County since 2010, and Sanders became the first Republican to win majority-Black Crittenden County since her father in 1998, winning the county by one vote. This was the only 2022 election where Washington County voted for the Democratic nominee. This is the first time ever that the Republican Party won three straight gubernatorial elections in the state's history.

Sanders became the first female governor of Arkansas. With the election of Leslie Rutledge as lieutenant governor, Arkansas, along with Massachusetts, became the first two U.S. states to elect both a female governor and female lieutenant governor to serve at the same time.

Nominee

 * Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former White House press secretary (2017–2019) and daughter of former governor Mike Huckabee

Eliminated in primary

 * Francis "Doc" Washburn, radio personality

Withdrew

 * Tim Griffin, lieutenant governor of Arkansas (2015–2023) (successfully ran for attorney general) (endorsed Sanders)
 * Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas attorney general (2015–2023) (successfully ran for lieutenant governor) (endorsed Sanders)

Results
[[File:2022 Arkansas gubernatorial Republican primary election results map by county.svg|thumb|200px|Results by county: {{legend|#E27F7F|Sanders}}

{{legend|#d72f30|70–80%}}

{{legend|#c21b18|80–90%}}

{{legend|#a80000|>90%}}]]

Nominee

 * Chris Jones, nuclear engineer, MIT graduate, and former executive director of the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub

Eliminated in primary

 * Anthony Bland, public school teacher and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2018
 * Jay Martin, lawyer and former Majority Leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives
 * James "Rus" Russell, small business owner
 * Supha Xayprasith-Mays, entrepreneur

Declined

 * Kelly Krout, candidate for state representative in 2020 (unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor)
 * Greg Leding, state senator (2019–present), former state representative (2011–2019), and former minority leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives (2012–2014) (successfully ran for re-election to the State Senate)
 * Clarke Tucker, state senator (2021–present), former state representative (2015–2019), and nominee for Arkansas's 2nd congressional district in 2018 (successfully ran for re-election to the State Senate)

Results
[[File:2022 Arkansas gubernatorial Democratic primary election results map by county.svg|thumb|200px|Results by county: {{legend|#7996e2|Jones}}

{{legend|#dfeeff|20–30%}}

{{legend|#bdd3ff|30–40%}}

{{legend|#a5b0ff|40–50%}}

{{legend|#7996e2|50–60%}}

{{legend|#6674de|60–70%}}

{{legend|#584cde|70–80%}}

{{legend|#3933e5|80–90%}}]]

Nominee

 * Ricky Harrington, Christian missionary, prison chaplain, and nominee for U.S. senator in 2020

Declared

 * William E. Gates, senior pastor at the church of Christian Jewish Freedom in Little Rock

Declared

 * Dan Nelson, activist
 * Elvis Presley, perennial candidate
 * Michael Woodard

Polling

 * Aggregate polls


 * Graphical summary


 * Sarah Huckabee Sanders vs. generic Democrat
 * Generic Republican vs. generic Democrat

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

 * Crittenden (largest city: West Memphis)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

 * Washington (largest city: Fayetteville)

By congressional district
Huckabee Sanders won all 4 congressional districts.