Arkansas Republicans Bryan Norris and Kim Hammer will face each other in a March 31, 2026 runoff election for secretary of state after neither candidate secured a majority in the March 3 primary. Norris and Hammer each received about 34% of the vote, with Cathy Hardin Harrison finishing third with about 32%.

The secretary of state position oversees state business filings, maintains the state capitol building and its grounds, and administers federal, state and district elections in Arkansas. More than 266,000 voters participated in the Republican primary on March 3.

The two runoff candidates have taken different positions on ballot counting methods. Norris supports hand-counting ballots in elections without the use of automated tabulation equipment. Hammer authored a 2023 law that requires hand-counted ballots to be compatible with state tabulation equipment and requires counties to bear any associated costs for hand-counting ballots.

Hammer has received endorsements from Tom Cotton, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Leslie Rutledge, Tim Griffin and Cole Jester for the Republican nomination. Norris has been endorsed by Michael Flynn and Mike Lindell, prominent 2020 election deniers and allies of President Donald Trump.

Jester called on Norris to drop out of the race over social media posts that contained confrontational language and expletives. "You're never going to hear me talk or speak that way again," said Norris, a U.S. Army veteran.

Norris performed slightly better than Hammer and Harrison in counties that Donald Trump carried with at least 70% of the vote in the 2024 presidential election, while Hammer performed slightly better than Norris and Harrison in the rest of the state. Just over half of the votes in the March 3 primary were cast in counties that Trump carried with at least 70% of the vote.

Kelly Grappe ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state. No Democrat has won statewide office in Arkansas since 2010, and it has been 20 years since Arkansas last elected a Democrat as secretary of state.

Voters do not need to have voted in the March 3 primary to participate in the March 31 runoff election. Primary voters may only vote in the runoff of the same party they voted for in the March 3 primary. Arkansas Republicans bar registered Democrats from voting in Republican primary runoff elections.

Nearly 28,000 statewide Republican primary runoff ballots had been cast as of March 30, 2026. Polls for the primary runoff close at 7:30 p.m. Central Time, which is 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.