Justice Nick Bronni leads Arkansas Supreme Court race against attorney John Adams

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Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Nick Bronni was leading the race for the Position 3 seat on the state's high court just before 10 p.m. Tuesday night, with an estimated 87% of the votes counted. Bronni, a conservative appointee of Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was ahead of Little Rock attorney John Adams, a former assistant attorney general who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for state and federal offices in the past.

Why it matters

The Arkansas Supreme Court serves as the final arbiter of state law, and its current conservative-leaning makeup could be cemented for the foreseeable future if Bronni wins a full term. The race highlights the partisan divide in the state's judicial elections.

The details

With an estimated 87% of the votes around 11 p.m., the unofficial returns showed Bronni with 196,096 votes and Adams with 185,021 votes. Bronni, a self-described conservative and originalist, was appointed to the Position 6 seat on the high court by Governor Sanders in late 2024. Adams, who has legal experience in private practice and business, ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for a statehouse seat in 2014 and a congressional seat in 2010.

• The Associated Press had not yet declared a victor in the race as of just before 10 p.m. Tuesday night.
• With an estimated 87% of the votes around 11 p.m., the AP reported the unofficial returns.

What they’re saying

What’s next

The winner of the race will assume office at the start of 2027.