Two Republican candidates with different approaches to implementing former President Trump’s election reform priorities will compete Tuesday for Arkansas’ Secretary of State nomination in a primary runoff.
Army veteran Bryan Norris and state Senator Kim Hammer emerged as the leading vote recipients in the March 3 Republican primary, though neither secured enough support to avoid Tuesday’s runoff contest.
The victorious candidate will challenge Democrat Kelly Grappe, who secured her party’s nomination without opposition.
Arkansas’ Secretary of State manages state business registrations and maintains the capitol building and grounds, though the position is most recognized for supervising federal, state and local elections throughout Arkansas.
While both candidates have promoted their alignment with Trump’s election reform goals, Norris and Hammer hold contrasting positions on election management practices. Norris advocates for complete manual ballot counting without automated tabulation systems. Meanwhile, Hammer crafted 2023 legislation mandating that hand-counted ballots work with state tabulation machinery and requiring counties choosing manual counting to cover related expenses.
Complete manual ballot counting has gained popularity among Trump supporters following the former president’s unsuccessful efforts to challenge the 2020 election results. However, subsequent attempts at comprehensive hand-counting have demonstrated the method’s time-intensive nature, high costs, and susceptibility to human mistakes.
Hammer has secured backing from Arkansas’ Republican leadership, including Senator Tom Cotton, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Lieutenant Governor Leslie Rutledge, Attorney General Tim Griffin, and departing Secretary of State Cole Jester. Norris has gained support from former national security adviser Michael Flynn and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, both prominent figures who disputed the 2020 election and remain Trump allies.
When endorsing Hammer, Jester urged Norris to withdraw from the contest due to the candidate’s history of confrontational and profanity-filled social media content. Speaking with KATV, Norris admitted to using “some salty language from time to time” but promised, “you’re never going to hear me talk or speak that way again.”
Norris narrowly led Hammer in the three-candidate primary, with both receiving approximately 34% of votes. Miller County Judge Cathy Hardin Harrison captured roughly 32% of the vote.
Counties where Trump won with 70% or more support in 2024 contributed slightly over half of all primary votes. Norris showed marginally stronger performance than Harrison and Hammer in these stronghold areas, while Hammer performed somewhat better in other regions.
The state’s largest population centers – Pulaski, Benton and Washington counties – generated the highest vote totals in the March 3 primary. Little Rock sits in Pulaski County, where former Vice President Kamala Harris achieved her strongest Arkansas showing in the 2024 presidential race. Despite Pulaski’s status as the most populous county, Benton County typically wields greater influence in Republican primaries, as demonstrated on March 3.
The eventual Republican nominee will enter the general election with significant advantages. Arkansas hasn’t elected a Democratic secretary of state in two decades, and no Democrat has won any statewide position since 2010.
Several Arkansas districts will also select nominees for state Senate and House positions on Tuesday. Republicans maintain commanding majorities in both legislative chambers.
Voting concludes at 7:30 p.m. local time, which translates to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Participation in Tuesday’s runoff doesn’t require having voted in the March 3 primary. However, voters who participated in the earlier primary must stay within their chosen party’s runoff. Republican primary participants cannot vote in Democratic runoffs and vice versa. Non-partisan primary voters may choose either party’s runoff.
For those who skipped the party primaries, Arkansas Democrats permit any registered voter to participate in Democratic contests, while Republicans prevent registered Democrats from voting in Republican races.
Arkansas had approximately 1.8 million registered voters during the March 3 primary.
The Republican secretary of state primary drew more than 266,000 participants. State Senate District 15’s Democratic primary recorded about 9,300 total votes, while five of six state House districts heading to runoffs each tallied between 4,400 and 5,200 votes. The Democratic primary for state House District 35 was the exception with roughly 1,700 total votes.
During 2022’s statewide office primaries, approximately 52% of Democratic voters and 42% of Republican voters submitted ballots before Election Day.
More than 13,000 statewide Republican runoff ballots were already cast by Thursday.
In March 3’s GOP Senate primary, initial results appeared at 8:32 p.m. Eastern Time, just two minutes after polls closed. The final vote update occurred at 2:04 a.m. Eastern Time with over 99% of votes tallied.
County election administrators across Arkansas typically release complete or nearly complete early and absentee voting results in their first evening update, before reporting any Election Day in-person results.
Following Tuesday’s results, 217 days will remain until the 2026 midterm elections.
