We’re looking for 100 Libertarians to run for State Representative. Interested?
Please text or call Wes Benedict at (512) 659-8896 between 8 AM and 10 PM, 7 days a week, or send an email to arkrun2022@gmail.com. Wes will discuss the opportunity with you and step you through the process.
DEADLINE is February 18! Please don’t wait till the last minute!
Perhaps you received our “Run With Ricky” letter or an email or call asking you to run for state representative. We’re working to build a team of Libertarian candidates to run for state representative along with our candidate for governor. You might run a very active campaign, or something very limited to simply allow your name to be on the ballot.
Number State Representative Districts in Arkansas: 100
Districts with a potential Libertarian candidate: 51 as of 2/16/2022
Getting started.
Step 1: Review Candidate Handbook. Please review the LP Arkansas 2022 Candidate Handbook which provides an excellent overview of the process.
Qualifications to run for State Representative (per the State Of Arkansas 2022 RUNNING FOR PUBLIC OFFICE: A “Plain English” Handbook for Candidates):
- Must be an Arkansas resident for two (2) years preceding the election (election is 11/08/2022)
- Must be a resident of the district to be represented for one (1) year preceding the general election (11/08/2022)
- Must be a minimum of twenty-one (21) years of age
- Must be lawfully registered to vote
- Must never have been convicted of fraud, embezzlement of public money, bribery, forgery, or other infamous crime
Step 2: Find Your District. Arkansas recently went through redistricting so it’s likely your 2022 district is different than in 2020. To find which state representative district you live in type your address into the search bar towards the upper left of the interactive 2021 Adopted House Map. You can also find individual district maps and senate district maps here.
Step 3: Join the LPAR. To be a candidate you must be a dues-paying member of the Libertarian Party of Arkansas. The minimum dues level is $10. If you’re not already a member click here to join.
Step 4: Candidate Application and Filing Fee. Running for state representative requires paying a $100 filing fee to the LP Arkansas. If finding funds for the filing fee is a problem, please contact Wes Benedict to see if he can make arrangements to help. Click here to complete the application and pay the fee.
Step 5: Optional Candidate Survey. The candidate survey is to help delegates to the state convention know more about your political views so they can decide whether or not they want you representing the Libertarian Party to the public as a candidate. You don’t have to have perfect 100% Libertarian positions, but hopefully your political views mostly align with those of the Libertarian Party. Here’s the form: LPAR CANDIDATE SURVEY 2022 (FORM)
Step 6: Get Nominated At State Convention Feb. 18-20 in Little Rock. Candidates are encouraged, but not required, to attend all or part of the convention. If you are only able to attend part of the convention, it’s best if you can come for a few hours on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning or early afternoon, which is when the convention will consider nominating you as a candidate. You don’t have to prepare anything in advance. But, if you can show up and say “Hi, I’m a Libertarian and I’m willing to run for state representative with the rest of the team if the party will have me,” that will go a long way towards making delegates feel comfortable with nominating you. You don’t have to pay anything to attend the business portion, but you are certainly welcome to register for other parts of the convention. Register here.
The convention is at the DoubleTree Hotel: 424 West Markham St. Little Rock, Arkansas 72201. That hotel may be sold out of rooms. You are welcome to come just for the day only, or find a nearby hotel if the DoubleTree is sold out.
CONVENTION SCHEDULE: The exact schedule is not yet available. However, the plan is for a meet and greet Friday evening at the hotel, then business all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday, along with some training sessions and guest speakers. Candidates for office will be considered for nomination on Saturday afternoon and Sunday.
Step 7: Submit Additional Candidate Paperwork Feb. 22-March 1. If nominated to be a candidate by the State Convention, there’s a little bit more paperwork to be completed which gets submitted to the State Of Arkansas. If you attend the State Convention, you may be able to complete the paperwork there. Otherwise, you’ll need to have it completed by March 1. More details on that coming soon.
If at anytime you have any questions about any of the steps above or about filling out any of the forms, please text or call Wes Benedict at (512) 659-8896 between 8 AM and 10 PM, 7 days a week, or send an email to arkrun2022@gmail.com.
List Of Prospective Candidates
Click below for list.
Other offices: If more than one person expresses interested in running for the same office, we’ll contact both and see if one wants to run for a different office like U.S. Congress, State Senate, or a county office like 4-year terms (County Judge, Sheriff, Clerk, Treasurer) or 2-years terms (Justice of the Peace – Quorum Courts).
Additional Resources
State Of Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners
- Candidate Information page
- 2022 Running for Public Office Handbook Qualifications for state representative listed on pages 11-12 (PDF pages 21-22).
- Mostly obsolete district info at Voter View. Eventually it will be updated. It’s mostly correct for U.S. Congress and Justice of the Peace, but usually wrong for State Rep. and State Senate. You can contact your County Clerk’s office to verify district information.
- Congressional Districts changed a small amount for 2022. Click for 2022 US Congressional District map that was obtained by email. It’s not high-resolution but is somewhat helpful.
List of all the Republicans and Democrats running.
Thank you!
Running for office is usually fun and personally rewarding but takes a little time and effort. We’re here to help you along the way. We appreciate you contributing some of your time and effort to help make Arkansas a better place for everyone!
If you’d like to support this project financially, please contribute using the form below. Thanks!
LP Arkansas Candidate Support Fund
Posted by Wes Benedict
512-659-8896
arkrun2022@gmail.com