District 14 leads NWA campaign spending
The most expensive legislative primary in Northwest Arkansas so far is Benton County’s House District 14 Republican race between Nick Burkes and Joshua Hagan, campaign finance reports show.
District 14 includes Centerton and parts of southwestern Bentonville.
The last campaign finance reports before Tuesday’s partisan primaries and nonpartisan judicial election were due one week before the final vote. These latest reports cover all campaign contributions and spending up to and including Feb. 24.
Burkes’ campaign spent $51,280, its Feb. 27 finance report shows. Only one other candidate for the state House — Rhonda “Tink” Albright of Mountain Home — outspent Burkes so far in the March 5 party primaries, the secretary of state’s records show. Albright’s report shows $81,018 in spending.
Hagan’s campaign spent $17,495, finance reports show. So the District 14 race has cost $68,775 total for the two Republicans. The winner will face Democrat Jacob Malloy in November.
Burkes’ report shows loans to his campaign of $33,120 and $27,730 in contributions. All loans to his campaign are from him, Burkes said and finance records show. Hagan’s report shows more in contributions than spending, with $19,795 in contributions. Hagan’s records also show $11,300 in loans.
“I’ve been making investments since high school, and I’ve been really fortunate in some of my investments,” Burkes said of the money for his loans Thursday. “Now I’ve decided to invest in my campaign.”
It is important to him that the district carry on the conservative values of Rep. Grant Hodges, R-Centerton, who did not run for reelection, Burkes said.
“I think you can take from those figures who the fiscal conservative is,” Hagan said Thursday. Hagan said he makes himself available to voters in the district instead of relying on spending. Hagan attended every voter forum and meeting he has been invited to but one, he said.
“I haven’t seen Nick at a one of them,” Hagan said. “He must be the busiest 23-yearold ever.”
Although Burkes has spent the most, District 17 House candidate Randy Torres of Siloam Springs raised the most money of any legislative candidate in Northwest Arkansas, campaign finance records show. Torres also comes closest to Burkes in spending. His race against Siloam Springs Fire Chief Jeremey Criner is the second-most expensive legislative race in the region, secretary of state records show.
Torres’ campaign spent $49,306, according to its Feb. 27 report. The campaign took in $53,775 in contributions and also received $10,000 in loans. Criner spent $10,643 out of $12,115 contributed and $3,000 in loans.
The District 17 race will also fill an open House seat. Rep. Delia Haak, R-Gentry, decided not to run again. The winner of the Republican Torres-Criner primary has no opposition in November.
The only legislative incumbent with a primary challenger in the region represents southern Fort Smith. Rep. Cindy Crawford, R-Fort Smith, reported $36,630 in contributions and $23,462 in spending in her race against political newcomer and businessman Jeff Burks. The two are running in the Republican primary to represent House District 51. Burks spent $7,839 in his challenge with most of the money coming from loans, records show. Burks’ campaign took in $2,270 in contributions and $6,000 in loans, records show.
The winner of the Crawford-Burks race will face Democrat Jane-Ellen Udouj-Kutchka in November. Crawford seeks her fourth term.
The District 24 race in Crawford County and southwestern Washington County lacks an incumbent. Republicans Brad Hall of Rudy and Ty Bates of Evansville compete for their party’s nomination. The winner will face Ryan Intchauspe, a Democrat, in November.
Hall, a rancher who owns a storage business, loaned his campaign a total of $39,000, records show. His report shows contributions of $1,800 and total expenditures of $14,584. Bates’ report shows total loans of $7,290 and contributions of $12,500. His campaign has spent $16,400.
The only Democratic legislative primary in Northwest Arkansas is the District 15 race to challenge incumbent Rep. John Carr, R-Rogers. Carr has no Republican opponent. Stephanie Funk faces fellow Democrat Erin Underhill in their primary. Funk reports $16,462 in contributions, $1,343 in loans and $7,838 in spending. No report from Underhill was available at the secretary of state’s website.
Underhill confirmed Friday afternoon he had not made the report yet, but would file it before Tuesday’s election.