ROGERS -- Rep. Grant Hodges, R-Rogers, won his third term Tuesday, defeating political newcomer Christie Craig, a Democrat.
The complete but unofficial vote totals were:
• Hodges: 5,349(68%)
• Craig: 2,496(82%)
House District 96 stretches through eastern Benton County from the Missouri border to the Washington County line. A portion of eastern Rogers is its most densely populated area.
Hodges, 28, is self-employed in online marketing. He said in an interview before the election that he represents the conservative values of the district, noting he is among the more conservative members of the House, yet he was elected by a large majority in 2014 and again in 2016. He received more than 59 percent of the vote in 2014 against two opponents, a Democrat and a Libertarian, and received more than 71 percent of the vote in 2016 against a Libertarian candidate.
Craig, 38, challenged Hodges in part because residents of the district need the health care bills Hodges voted against, she has said. Hodges is too concerned with tax cuts, she said. Craig was a Walmart store manager in Springdale. She is pursuing a master's degree in sociology at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. In both work and study, she has encountered all kinds of people with all kinds of problems, she said.
Despite his conservative record, Hodges has a proven ability to work with Democrats, he said. An example he gave was his sponsorship of a bill to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday a separate state holiday. Arkansas was one of the few states to celebrate the holiday jointly with Robert E. Lee's Birthday. Earlier attempts to separate the holiday had failed.
On health care, he said work requirements and other improvements added to state-administered benefits have improved the system to the point he can consider supporting it.
State House members serve two-year terms and have an annual salary of $39,400.
Politics on 11/06/2018