Carroll County voters cast their ballots Tuesday, leaning heavily toward Republican candidates.
County Judge Sam Barr has served five two-year terms, and earned a four-year term by beating Charlie Reece with 52 percent of the vote, 4,663 to 4,269. “I love the people of Carroll County and I love working for them,”
Barr said. “I’m already making plans for a lot more work.”
In the race for Carroll County Sheriff, Jim Ross took 60 percent of the vote, 5,410 to 3,539. “The voters of Carroll County have paid me a high honor and granted me a favor I never expected,” Ross said. “Along with the rest of the men and women of the sheriff’s office, we will build for them a sheriff’s office that they’ll be able to speak well of.”
Incumbent County Clerk Jamie Correia lost to challenger Connie Doss, 4,815 to 4,113. For County Treasurer, Makita Williams won in a landslide, with almost 65 percent, 5,742 to 3,164 over Kathryn Merry.
In the Justice of the Peace elections, Laurie “Harrie” Farrow took two-thirds of the vote, 733 to 369 over Ferguson Stewart in District 3. District 4 incumbent Marty Johnson took more than 70 percent of the vote to beat Doug Hausler by 657 to 267. In District 7 Kellie Stevens Matt outpolled Colin Stimson by more than three to one, 611 to 184.
Carroll County voters gave Bob Ballinger a comfortable margin of 57 percent in the race for State Senate District 5, as he defeated Jim Wallace. Harlan Breaux took 54 percent to defeat Gary Morris for State Representative District 97.
The race for mayor of Eureka Springs had three candidates, but incumbent Mayor Butch Berry took 52 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff. Berry had 514 votes to 284 for Theodore Cunningham and 174 for Mike Seals.
The Eureka Springs City Council races went to Susan Harman, Melissa Greene, Terry McClung, and Harry Meyer. Harman took Ward 1 Position 2 with 547 votes to 371 for Caitlin Branaman. Greene defeated James DeVito 590 to 362 in Ward 2 Position 1, and McClung took Ward 3 Position 1 over Joyce Knowles, 505 to 453. In Ward 3 Position 2, Meyer beat Eric Knowles 498 to 436.
In Green Forest, Jerry Carlton defeated Nestor Rivera for mayor, 310 to 132. In Ward 1 Position 2, Joyce Varner-Kolb beat Jorge Diaz by 286 to 148, and Carroll Smith beat Renee Gonzalez by 318 to 119 in Ward 2 Position 1. Pamela Norton beat Marvin Emmons 302 to 136 in Ward 2 Position 2.
Carroll County voters overwhelmingly voted for issue two on the ballot, with 78 percent in favor. A narrow margin opposed issue number four, and issue number five drew a 73 percent approval. Ballot items one and three were not counted, after court rulings withdrew them.
For U.S. Congress, Steve Womack easily carried the county, with 5,650 votes to Josh Mahony’s 3,090. Governor Asa Hutchinson took 64 percent to beat Jared Henderson. Tim Griffin had a similar margin in the race for Lieutenant Governor, as did Leslie Rutledge for Arkansas Attorney General.
Statewide, the minimum wage will increase to $11 an hour by 2021, casino gaming licenses passed handily, and voters will hereinafter be required to present a valid photo ID to cast an in-person or absentee ballot.
The results from the six Carroll County polling sites were all counted by 9:30 p.m. The results are unofficial, and the Carroll County Election Commission will meet on Tuesday, Nov. 13, and the results will become official on the following Friday.
Congratulations to Harrie Farrow.