Democrat Alex Holladay flips key state House seat in Arkansas

On Tuesday, Democratic candidate Alex Holladay won a special election for the Arkansas House of Representatives, continuing a trend of Democratic victories since the beginning of 2025.

BREAKING

Democrat Alex Holladay has defeated Republican Bryan Renshaw in the Arkansas State House District 70 Special Election.

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— The Political HQ (@ThePoliticalHQ) March 4, 2026

Holladay defeated Republican candidate Bo Renshaw to win the state’s 70th District with 57.4% of the vote. The new lawmaker will replace former state Rep. Carlton Wing (R-North Little Rock), who vacated the seat last September to become an executive for Arkansas PBS. Holladay will fill the rest of Renshaw’s term, meaning he would have to run again in November for a full two-year term.

“I ran in 2024 and lost by just a couple hundred votes. That loss hurt, but it also taught us so much. Mainly, it taught us that North Little Rock and Sherwood are primed for change,” Holladay said in a Facebook post after his victory. “Thousands of people told us that year that they were sick and tired of single-party GOP rule in Arkansas – and the corruption and lack of transparency that has come with it.”

The Arkansas GOP still owns a significant 80-20 majority in the state’s House of Representatives. However, Holladay’s flip chips away at the Republican supermajority and gives the Democratic party another flip heading into the 2026 midterm elections.