Election Night results
Norris, Achor, Gronwald, Higgins, Robinson, Insalaco and Potter win their races
Sixth update (Midnight)
We’re going to bed. Wait, no we’re not. Just as we thought it was time to give up, the summary report from the Pulaski County Election Commission went final, right at 12:01 a.m.
We’ll have a more detailed analysis later this week but things went slow this year as reports of people still in line 90 minutes after polls closed were circulating and the results followed as they trickled in for hours.
Long lines are not a sign of voter enthusiasm regardless of what you might read or see elsewhere. Long lines are bad and generally speaking, a sign of voter suppression.
Results aren’t certified and some late-arriving ballots could come in the mail in but Maumelle Mayor Caleb Norris got another term. Christine Gronwald got her seat on the Maumelle City Council. Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins got another term.
Linda Robinson returns to the North Little Rock City Council but not Jane Ginn, who lost to Vince Insalaco III, by three votes, 2,856 to 2,853.
The final race of the night we were tracking was Zone 5 in the Pulaski County Special School District.
There, School Board President Lindsey Gustafson lost to Wendy Potter,
Around the state, it was a Republican landslide as every GOP candidate won.
Results are broken down by candidate, total votes and percentage, winner in bold
State Representative District 71
LIB Aaron Robert Raatz … 256 … 2.60%
REP Brandon Achor … 5,566 … 56.58
DEM John J. Pack … 3,790 … 38.52%
Pulaski County Sheriff
REP Paul "Blue" Keller … 48,493 ... 38.99%
DEM Sheriff Eric Higgins … 73,185 ... 58.84%
Maumelle Mayor
Jodie Mahony … 2,608 … 33.98%
Mayor Caleb Norris … 4,596 … 59.87%
Maumelle Council Member Ward 1 Position 2
Christine Gronwald 1,223 … 59.28%
David Cole ... 512 24.82%
North Little Rock Council Member Ward 2, Position 2
Council Member Linda Robinson 1,914 … 53.08%
Nicole Hart 1,382 … 38.32%
North Little Rock Council Member Ward 4, Position 2
Jane Ginn, City Council Member.. 2,853 ... 46.63%
Vince Insalaco III.. 2,856 ... 46.68%
Pulaski County Special School Board Zone 5
Lindsey Gustafson … 1,634 … 34.02%
Wendy Potter … 2,012 … 41.89%
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Fifth Update (11 p.m.)
Results are starting to come in and time to make some election calls.
With 109,178 ballots county-wide in or 45.56 percent, there’s enough to say that some races are decided, even though some ballots are being counted.
In Maumelle, Mayor Caleb Norris has won a second term as he has defeated Jodie Mahony.
Norris has 4,594 votes to Mahony’s 2,605, or roughly 60 percent to 34 percent.
Note, not all races will total 100 percent as ballots are still being counted.
Christime Gronwald has won her race to serve on the Maumelle City Council.
Gronwald also has about 60 percent of the vote so far.
Brandon Achor has won his state representative race and has not quite 57 percent of the vote.
In the Pulaski County Sheriff’s race, Sheriff Eric Higgins has won a second term and has 61 percent of the vote to Paul “Blue” Keller’s 36 percent.
In North Little Rock, Linda Robinson has won her race for City Council.
In races too close to call, for the Zone 5 School Board seat in Pulaski County, Wendy Potter leads School Board president Lindsey Gustafson, 42 percent to 34 percent but the area that serves rural north Pulaski County typically has the last results to come in.
That’s also Gustafson’s hometurf as she’s a graduate of Oak Grove High School and has deep family roots in the area.
Then in North Little Rock, Council Member Jane Ginn, is up by 33 votes, over challenger Vincent Insalaco III. Ginn has 2,697 votes to her challenger’s 2,664.
Around the county, the Sherwood mayor’s race is headed to a runoff between Mayor Virginia Hillman Young and Council Member Mary Jo Heye-Townsell, who has the lead but not over 50 percent.
in Little Rock, embattled Mayor Frank Scott Jr. is also looking at a runoff but is currently sitting at 49.92 percent, and .08 percent, plus one is enough for the win.
In races too close to call, for the Zone 5 School Board seat in Pulaski County, Wendy Potter leads School Board president Lindsey Gustafson, 42 percent to 34 percent but the area that serves rural north Pulaski County typically has the last results to come in.
That’s also Gustafson’s hometurf as she’s a graduate of Oak Grove High School and has deep family roots in the area.
Fourth update (9:30 p.m.)
The pizza’s cold and has been put away.
State-wide, so is the Democratic Party as Sarah Sanders will be the next governor. French Hill’s back to Congress. John Boozman will again be a U.S. Senator.
Looking like the four issues on the ballot are all going to lose, even though the recreational marijuana issue might end up being very close.
Locally, Pulaski County results are still in limbo.
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In the meantime, expect another update in 30 minutes or later, depending on results.
Third Update (9 p.m.)
Election Day numbers have to roll in and partly because people are still waiting in line to vote.
So, updates, and the beatings, will continue until morale improves. At least there’s pizza.
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In the meantime.
The Pulaski County Election Commission says they’re 239,621 Registered voters in the county for this election and despite gaining population in the last Census, that number is down significantly from 2020 when the county had 260,635 registered voters.
And fewer than the registered voters in 2018 when the county had 247,566 people able to cast ballots.
In 2020, that election saw significant changes due to the ongoing pandemic as 111,193 voted early out of 170,870 ballots cast with 23,577 voting absentee.
Election Day voting was a huge dropoff as just 34,864 went out that Tuesday in 2020.
Turnout that year was 65.56 percent and very good, as one would expect in a presidential voting year.
In 2018, turnout was 54.75 percent, with 135,549 voting and that number was almost evenly split between Election Day’s 67,084 and Early Vote’s 65,946.
Second Update (8:30 p.m.)
The Pulaski County Election Commission has yet to release any new vote totals as Provisionals, Absentee and Election Day votes are still in limbo.
In the meantime.
There were quite a few unopposed candidates for North of the River and all but Maumelle City Attorney-elect Andrew Thornton were incumbents. By virtue of them not having an opponent, they’re all coming back for another term
They are:
Maumelle City Attorney: Andrew Thornton
Maumelle City Clerk: Tina Timmons
Maumelle Council Member Ward 2 Pos. 2: Council Member Chad Gardner
Maumelle Council Member Ward 3 Pos. 2: Michael Tierney
Maumelle Council Member Ward 4 Pos. 2: Jessie B. Holt
North Little Rock City Attorney: City Attorney Amy Fields
North Little Rock Council Member Ward 1, Pos. 2: Debi Ross
North Little Rock Council Member Ward 3, Pos. 2: Council Member Steve Baxter
First Update (8 p.m.)
There's been a total of 69,077 people in Pulaski County who voted early as the Election Commission has released those totals after polls closed at 7:30 p.m.
That number exceeds both Election Day and early voting in 2018, with the former being In 67,084, sand the latter was 65,946 that year.
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In races of note, Maumelle Mayor Caleb Norris is up big, 59.4 percent to 34.48 percent, over Jodie Mahony, with Christine Gronwald ahead for City Council.
Brandon Achor also has a big lead in State Representative District 71, while Sheriff Eric Higgins is also ahead as he runs for a second term against Paul “Blue” Keller.
In Pulaski County Special School Board Zone 5, School Board member Lindsey Gustafson is losing by a little more than 100 votes to Wendy Potter.
Statewide, the campaign for legal marijuana is down, while the other ballot issues are all behind, and in leads that won’t last, all the Democratic nominees for state-wide office are ahead in Pulaski County.
State Representative District 71
LIB Aaron Robert Raatz 142 … 2.25%
REP Brandon Achor 3,534 … 56.02%
DEM John J. Pack 2,496 … 39.56%
Pulaski County Sheriff
REP Paul "Blue" Keller 24,909 … 36.06%
DEM Sheriff Eric Higgins 42,723 … 61.85%
Maumelle Mayor
Jodie Mahony 1,877 … 34.48%
Mayor Caleb Norris 3,234 … 59.40
Maumelle Council Member Ward 1 Position 2
Christine Gronwald 886 … 60.19%
David Cole 353 … 23.98%
North Little Rock Council Member Ward 2, Position 2
Council Member Linda Robinson 965 … 53.85%
Nicole Hart 666 … 37.17%
North Little Rock Council Member Ward 4, Position 2
Jane Ginn, City Council Member 1,378 … 46.03%
Vince Insalaco III 1,426 … 47.63%
Pulaski County Special School Board Zone 5
Lindsey Gustafson 950 … 34.79%
Wendy Potter 1,078 … 39.47%