Affordability, healthcare, accountability center of heated race for central Arkansas US House seat

Running for a seventh term, Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill is focusing on what he’s done for his central Arkansas district in the past 12 years.

But his Democratic opponent, Chris Jones, is emphasizing what Hill hasn’t done and what Jones would do for the district if he wins in November.

One thing Jones would do is ensure he is available to the public as much as possible, even from Washington D.C., he told potential constituents at a Conway sandwich shop in September.

“It is not French Hill’s seat — it’s your seat, and every two years you get to choose who you want to be in that seat,” Jones said.

In a September interview, Hill said his decades of business and banking experience make him more than qualified to keep his seat.

“I’ve tried to take all those economic lessons and management lessons and deliver for the people in central Arkansas on concrete, practical things to help make this a better place,” Hill said.

Jones said it’s time for someone new to represent the 2nd Congressional District, comprising all or part of eight counties, including part of Little Rock, where Jones and Hill both live.

If he wins, Jones would be Arkansas’ first Black member of Congress. He has never held elected office, and his first foray into politics was his 2022 run for governor, which he lost to Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Democrats face long odds in a state where Republicans have held every statewide and federal office since 2014, the year Hill first won his seat.

A 2021 redistricting plan approved by the majority-Republican Legislature moved some Pulaski County voters into other districts and made the 2nd District more favorable to the GOP. Hill won his sixth term in 2024 with 59% of the vote.

Even before redistricting, Democrats’ nationally watched efforts to unseat Hill, including by state Sen. Clarke Tucker in 2018 and former state Sen. Joyce Elliott in 2020, were unsuccessful.

But in August, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the 2nd District to its list of GOP seats it aims to flip, and on Monday it added the race to its “Red to Blue” program, a targeted fundraising effort for races deemed competitive.

An August Talk Business & Politics poll indicated Jones had a slim lead over Hill within the margin of error. Political forecaster Larry Sabato earlier this year moved the race from “safe Republican” to “likely Republican,” while the Cook Political Report classifies it as “solid Republican.”

Jones has drawn attention from national Democratic figures: former Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed him, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg headlined a Jones rally in Little Rock. Former U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III of Massachusetts spoke at Jones’ Sept. 17 event, and a political action committee started by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has placed TV ad buys supporting Jones’ bid. 

Hill’s campaign has outraised and outspent Jones, and the GOP lawmaker has also drawn support from top Republicans. Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, is scheduled to headline a rally for Hill in Benton later this month.

Two cryptocurrency-focused super PACs have thrown their support behind Hill. Defend American Jobs spent heavily earlier this year supporting Hill during the GOP primary, which he won with 76% of the vote over challenger Chase McDowell.

The Associated Press reported that Fairshake will direct $1 million each to three incumbent Republicans, including Hill, and three Democrats.

DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said Monday that Republican super PACs spending millions of dollars in safe GOP districts is a sign that voters are moving toward Democratic candidates.