2 first-time candidates seek GOP nod in House District 14

CENTERTON — Benton County’s state House District 14 race hosts a Republican Party primary between an accountant and a Realtor, each hoping to put his skills to use in the fastest-growing region of the state.

Nick Burkes is the accountant, a Northwest Arkansas resident who returned to the region from college with a master’s degree in accounting. Joshua Hagan is the founder of a real estate company, a pastor and member of Centerton’s utilities commission who’s watched the city’s population grow from 5,000 to more than 20,000 while living there.

The winner of the March 5 Republican primary will face Jacob Malloy, a Democrat, in November. Early voting begins Feb. 20.

House District 14 includes most of Centerton along with southwestern Bentonville and some of northern Highfill. Rep. Grant Hodges, R-Centerton, left the seat open when he decided against running for reelection. The district extends from Galyean Stables Road in the north to as far south as Phillips Cemetery Road and from Tillys Hill Road in the west to as far as Featherston Road in the east.

District 14 was one of the two House seats Benton County gained after the redrawing of legislative boundary lines following the 2020 U.S. census. The new boundaries made District 14 the first to consist mainly of Centerton, which was the fastest-growing city in Arkansas, according to census figures. Legislative district lines are redrawn every 10 years, after each census, to equalize their populations. There are 100 state House seats.

“The state Legislature could use an accountant when there’s a state budget of $6 billion,” Burkes said.

There are no certified public accountants in the state House, the Arkansas Society of Certified Professional Accountants has confirmed, though there is one in the state Senate. Burkes said he

is in the process of becoming certified.

Burkes worked on the staff of U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, with an emphasis on the economic study of supply chain issues. He is the son of current state Rep. Rebecca Burkes, R-Lowell, and former state Rep. Aaron Burkes, who is the chief executive of Northwest Arkansas National Airport. He was active since youth in Republican candidates’ campaigns, including those of former Gov. Asa Hutchinson and U.S. Rep. French Hill of central Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District, he said.

“Infrastructure is a huge problem” in District 14, with roads that were not built to accommodate the amount of traffic in a region that’s doubled its population since the 2010 census. Burkes favors cuts to the state income tax, he said, noting the state had a $1.2 billion surplus in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023.

Hagan said Centerton has far outgrown its past as a bedroom community to Bentonville and has unique needs. The town is now attractive to all manner of businesses, bringing about a change from being a largely residential community.

“It needs an advocate who knows the community well and has been actively involved,” he said. Being in real estate taught him how the community is developing and what those needs are, such as what roads need improvement, he added.

Parents in Centerton have concerns about how the LEARNS Act education reform will affect local schools, he said. Residents also share the concerns all parents have

about school safety and support for police and other first responders.

“The last thing we need is another Uvalde happening here,” he said, referring to the May 22, 2022, school shooting in Texas which left 21 dead.

Hagan said he would be someone who keeps touch with constituents and speak up for them both in and out of the Legislature. “I’d like to be able to call the county judge or someone in state government and say ‘Here’s what the people in my district need.’”

House members serve twoyear terms and make $44,357 a year, plus expenses.

Doug Thompson can be reached by email at dthompson@nwaonline.com or on X @NWADoug.