Democrats flip GOP seat in deep-red Arkansas after suing Huckabee Sanders to force vote

The DownBallot Substack by longtime elections reporter David Nir noted another red-to-blue pickup after Tuesday's elections.

In Arkansas, Democrat Alex Holladay won a seat that he nearly captured in 2024 when he ran against state Rep. Carlton Wing.

Wing has given up the post, however, to accept a position running the local PBS station.

The 70th District, just outside Little Rock, is a district that President Donald Trump carried in 2020 by a four-point margin, data showed. But Nir's calculations found that in 2024, Harris narrowly won the same district.

Nir noted that Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders didn't want to hold the election and instead scheduled it for June. It would have left the seat empty for eight months. So, Democrats sued and won, forcing the election to March.

Democrats have enjoyed huge successes in special elections throughout Trump's first year in office. However, the off-year elections in Virginia and New Jersey proved to be an outright bloodbath for Republicans.

The Independent reported last month that Republicans privately fear another bloodbath in November.