Arkansas voters will see Libertarian candidates alongside Republican and Democratic nominees in several statewide and congressional races when polls open for the Nov. 3 general election. The Libertarian candidates include Colt Shelby for governor and Jeff Wadlin for U.S. Senate.
Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Democratic state Sen. Fred Love and Shelby are competing for governor. In the Senate race, Republican incumbent Tom Cotton, Democrat Hallie Shoffner and Wadlin are on the ballot.
Libertarian candidates in statewide races
Other Libertarian candidates listed for Tuesday’s election are Michael Kalagias for lieutenant governor, Christopher Olson for commissioner of state lands and Michael Pakko for secretary of state. The party also has candidates in some congressional contests.
- Steve Parsons is running for the U.S. House in Arkansas’ 1st Congressional District.
- Wadlin is the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate.
- Shelby is challenging the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor.
Shelby, a Cecil native from Franklin County, said his entry into state politics followed local opposition to a proposed prison in the county. He said the proposal involved a $750 million appropriation and led him to travel to Little Rock, where he met legislators and became more familiar with state government.
“I kind of got started in this campaign through a prison that they wanted to put in our community,” Shelby said.
Shelby said the prison project did not move forward and credited State Sen. Ronald Caldwell of Wynne with helping oppose it. Shelby, who has worked in the oil and gas industry for about two decades, was chosen as the Libertarian nominee for governor at the party’s convention in February.
He described the party’s guiding principle as opposition to harm and theft and said laws should not regulate conduct that does not hurt another person. Wadlin characterized the Libertarian Party as combining fiscal conservatism with social tolerance.
“We’re more fiscally conservative but socially tolerant,” Wadlin said.
The candidates join a ballot that includes races for governor, the U.S. Senate, all four of Arkansas’ U.S. House districts and multiple constitutional offices. Voters also will decide statewide ballot measures, including Issue 1, which would amend the Arkansas Constitution to prohibit noncitizens from voting in state and local elections.
