Cotton Wins Third Senate Term in Arkansas
On November 3, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton won a third six-year term representing Arkansas, defeating Democrat Hallie Shoffner. After 82 percent of ballots were tallied, Cotton stood at 54.3 percent, Shoffner 42.6 percent and Libertarian Jeff Wadlin 3.1 percent. The Associated Press called the race at 9:40 p.m., and Cotton led by nearly 10 points when the result was called. Arkansas voted for Donald Trump by more than 30 percentage points in 2024.
Immigration was a prominent issue in the campaign. Shoffner, a rice and soybean farmer whose farming operation closed in 2025, said in June she would support defunding ICE in its current form. She later said she wanted to reform the agency, not eliminate its funding. In September, she praised undocumented workers and said farmers depended on their labor. Her campaign manager said Shoffner was voicing a fellow grower’s worries about worker shortages and charged Cotton with distorting her remarks.
During October, an ex-senior staff member at the farm run by Shoffner’s family alleged that she knowingly employed three undocumented workers and that tax forms for them used their children’s names. Shoffner had said she hired immigrant workers through the H-2A program, and her campaign called for credible evidence of the allegations. Cotton’s campaign accused her of knowingly employing undocumented workers and using false tax documents. Cotton was endorsed by Trump, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Arkansas’ congressional delegation.
Cotton’s Arkansas Win Keeps Immigration Enforcement in the Senate
On November 3, Arkansas reelected Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, who defeated Hallie Shoffner by 54.3 percent to 42.6 percent with most votes counted. The result gives Cotton another six-year term, while a state that strongly backed Donald Trump in 2024 again chose a Republican Senate candidate.
The campaign put immigration policy at the center of the contest. Shoffner said she wanted to reform ICE, while earlier saying she would defund the agency as it then existed. She described undocumented workers as important to the country and spoke of farmers’ need for their labor. Her campaign manager said Cotton had taken her remarks about trading five Americans for one undocumented worker out of context, saying Shoffner was voicing another farmer’s concern about labor shortages.
Cotton’s campaign also made allegations about Shoffner’s family farm a campaign issue. A former senior employee alleged that the business knowingly employed three undocumented workers and used their children’s names on tax forms. Shoffner’s campaign demanded credible evidence, and she had said she hired immigrant workers through the H-2A program. The accusations were not established as fact in the campaign account, but they became a major line of attack against a candidate who had argued for a more humane approach to immigration.
Arkansas Voters Reject Democrat’s Immigration Record and Elect Cotton
Tom Cotton won reelection in Arkansas on November 3, defeating Democrat Hallie Shoffner by 54.3 percent to 42.6 percent with 82 percent of votes counted. The result extends the Republican senator’s tenure for another six years in a state Donald Trump carried by more than 30 points in 2024.
Shoffner’s own campaign statements made immigration a defining issue. She said she would defund ICE as it existed, then later said she wanted reform rather than defunding. In September, she praised undocumented workers and said farmers depended on their labor. Cotton’s campaign argued that those views made her unfit for the Senate, while her campaign manager said Cotton had stripped her comments about labor shortages of context.
The contest also featured allegations about Shoffner’s farming business. A former senior employee claimed it knowingly employed three undocumented workers and that tax forms used the names of their children. Shoffner had maintained that immigrant workers were hired through the H-2A program, and her campaign demanded credible evidence. Cotton’s campaign accused her of knowingly employing undocumented workers and using false tax documents. Voters chose Cotton despite Shoffner’s appeal as a farmer, rejecting a candidate whose position on immigration drew scrutiny throughout the race.
Reported by Washington Free Beacon, Breitbart.
