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Establishment-backed GOP candidate wins Arkansas Secretary of State primary runoff

by Caroline Vakil - 04/01/26 7:35 AM ET

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Arkansas Sen. Kim Hammer (R), who received support from a handful of top Republican officials in the state, is projected to win the GOP primary runoff for Arkansas secretary of state, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Hammer defeated Republican Bryan Norris — a retired Army first sergeant and businessman who enjoyed the backing of backing of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former President Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn — in the race to become the state’s top elections official.

Norris and Hammer, who had support from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), after neither candidate won more than half of the vote in the March 3 primary. Norris edged out Hammer, with the Army veteran receiving 34 percent while the GOP state senator received 33 percent earlier this month.

Hammer, on Tuesday, is projected to beat Norris by just over one percentage point with more than 95 percent of the vote reported, per DDHQ.

On the trail, the two candidates found themselves on the opposite side of the issue of hand-counted paper ballots.

Norris has been a key advocate for hand counting, while Hammer introduced since-passed legislation that requires paper ballots to be “compatible with the electronic vote tabulation devices.” The law also requires counties that use paper ballots to be responsible for the costs associated with producing and using said ballots.

Norris has also come under fire over some of his social media posts, including ones that used expletives against Cotton, according to Camden News. Norris reportedly made that comment because of his past history with the GOP senator, whom the Army veteran expressed frustrations with when he moved from Germany to Arkansas after he retired from service.

“I’m a soldier. I’m a military guy. We use some salty language from time to time,” Norris told KATV in an interview this month. “I’m a work in progress. I’m a human being that makes mistakes from time to time. You’re never going to hear me talk or speak that way again.”

Hammer will face Democrat Kelly Grappe in the red state’s November general election, which he is likely to clinch.

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