Former state Sen. Bryan King of Green Forest will be the Republican nominee for the District 28 seat in the Arkansas Senate in the November general election.
King defeated state Sen. Bob Ballinger of Oark in the June 21 Republican primary runoff, receiving 3,604 votes (53.8 percent) compared with 3,091 votes (46.2 percent) for Ballinger.
King received 1,629 votes (68.1 percent) in Carroll County, compared with 763 votes (31.9 percent) for Ballinger.
King will face Democrat Jim Wallace of Eureka Springs in the general election, which will be held Nov. 8.
The runoff was a rematch of sorts for the two candidates. Ballinger defeated King in the 2018 Republican primary for the District 5 seat in the state Senate, then beat Wallace in that year’s general election.
Legislative districts were redrawn after the 2020 federal census, however, and the new District 28 seemed more favorable to King. In 2018, District 5 included only a portion of Carroll County, which King carried handily with a margin of more than 20 percent. Ballinger won that race with strong support in the western half of the district, with a final total margin of less than 400 votes. This year, District 28 included all of Carroll County and King carried the county by more than 36 percent — an 866-vote margin. In the other five counties combined, Ballinger received 2,331 votes compared to 1,975 for King, who carried Madison and Newton counties.
“Tuesday night was such a special victory,” said King, who served three terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives before being elected to the state Senate in 2012. “To overcome the big special-interest money from Little Rock showed Arkansas they can be beaten. This victory was about the supporters and believers and not me. I have already spoken to Jim Wallace, who I respect, and look forward to a civil discussion on the issues. Thank you Carroll County!”
“God is good,” said Ballinger, who also served three terms in the state House. “We worked hard and presented our vision through our campaign. I have always said, ‘this isn’t my district; it belongs to the people,’ and they decided they wanted something different.”
King and Ballinger advanced to the runoff by finishing first and second, respectively, among five candidates in the May 24 preferential primary. The other candidates, in order of finish, were state Rep. Keith Slape of Compton, Bob Largent of Harrison and Ted Walker of Huntsville.
