We have election results for two of the contests we’re tracking today. The first is the mayoral election in Oklahoma City. Incumbent mayor David Holt is facing three challengers today. Though the race is technically a nonpartisan contest, Mayor Holt, a Republican, is facing two candidates from his own party. Carol Hefner was the co-chair of former President Trump’s Oklahoma campaign, while Frank Urbanic is a local attorney who sued both Mayor Holt and Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt over their COVID measures. Both are challenging Holt from the right. Jimmy Lawson is the lone Democrat in the race. This is his first time running for office. If no candidate achieves a 50%+1 majority, the top two finishers will move onto an April 5 runoff election. We will have the election results below once polls close at 7 p.m. (CST)
The other race we’re watching today takes us back to Arkansas’ 7th State Senate District. The district covers northeastern Washington County including most of Springdale and the outskirts of Fayetteville. The seat is vacant after Republican Lance Eads resigned to take a position with Capitol Consulting Firm, a Little-Rock based lobbying group. Running to replace him is Democrat Lisa Parks and Republican Colby Fulfer. Parks, a public defender from Tontitown, won a decisive victory in the Democratic primary back in December to advance to today’s special general election. Fulfer is a former Springdale City Councilor and the current chief of staff for the Springdale mayor’s office. He came in first in the Republican primary, but failed to gain a 50%+1 majority, and had to face Steven Unger in a closely contested January runoff. This is the first time Democrats have had a candidate on the ballot for the 7th District’s seat since 2012. We will have the election results below once polls close at 7:30 p.m. (CST)