Runoff election April 2 for District 5 seat

VAN BUREN — Incumbent Brad Martin will face off against former constable Jonathon Baker in a runoff election April 2 for the District 5 justice of the peace Republican nomination in Crawford County.

In the March 5 primary election, Martin garnered 44% of the vote and Baker received 29%. They both moved on to the runoff election as neither candidate earned the 50% or higher required to get the nomination. The third contender in the primary, John Carl Hendricks, claimed 27% of the votes and was eliminated from the race.

The winner of the April 2 runoff will go on to face Democratic candidate Aneisha LeMonier in November.

Early voting begins Tuesday and goes through April 1, weekdays only. The Emergency Operations Center in Van Buren will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for early voting and is the only polling center. On election day, April 2, City Heights Methodist Church will join the center as another voting option. Both locations will be open 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. April 2.

Mike Moxley with the Crawford County Election Commission said only residents of District 5 who did not vote in the primary election or voted as Republican or nonpartisan are eligible to vote in the runoff. Anyone outside District 5 or anyone registered as a Democrat for the primary election may not vote in the runoff.

District 5 is a geographically small and urban part of the county primarily located between Fayetteville Road and North 29th St. It is close to the southwest border of Crawford County and separated from the Arkansas River banks by District 6. Justices of the peace make $550 per month, roughly $6,600 per year, according to county Clerk Stacey Shelly.

Martin, 43, was first elected to the position in 2022.

Baker, 48, has served as the District 5 constable since 2023. He previously ran unsuccessfully for a Van Buren City Council position in 2020 and the District 5 justice of the peace seat in 2018.