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← 2016 March 5, 2024 (first round) November 5, 2024 (runoff) 2032 → | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 18.29% 15.9pp (first round)38.67% (second round) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Baker: 20%-30% 30%-40% 40%-50% Wood: 20%-30% 30%-40% 40%-50% Webb: 20%-30% 30%-40% 40%-50% Martin: 20%-30%First round  County results Baker: 50%-60% 60%-70% 70%-80% Wood: 50%-60%Runoff | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2024 Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice election was held in theU.S. state ofArkansas on March 5, 2024 to elect the chief justice, also known as position 1, of theArkansas Supreme Court.Karen Baker andRhonda Wood defeatedBarbara Webb andJay Martin in the first round. No candidate received a majority of the vote, so a runoff election took place on November 5, 2024. Baker defeated Wood by a margin of 5.36%.[1][2][3] Baker was the first woman elected to the office.[4]
Incumbent chief justiceJohn Dan Kemp retired due to a state law that strips justices of their retirement benefits if they seek re-election after the age of 70.[5]
Every candidate except Martin was currently serving as an Associate Justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court. Martin is an attorney who formerly served as aDemocratic member of theArkansas House of Representatives.[6]
Arkansas Supreme Court elections are nonpartisan.[1][2][4] Martin is a Democrat[6][7] and both Wood and Webb have connections to theRepublican Party. Wood was appointed to a judgeship by former RepublicangovernorMike Huckabee. Webb identifies as a conservative[8] and is married to a former chairman of the Arkansas GOP. Republican governorSarah Huckabee Sanders did not make an endorsement in the first round, but supported Wood in the runoff. Wood was also endorsed by the Republican Party of Arkansas and RepublicansenatorTom Cotton.[4][7][9]
Abortion was the chief issue in the campaign. Wood wrote themajority opinion inArkansans for Limited Government v. John Thurston, which affirmed the decision ofSecretary of StateJohn Thurston to disqualify a proposed ballot measure that would've enshrined the right to anabortion in the state constitution. Webb joined the majority opinion, while Baker wrote a dissent to the ruling.[10][11][4] Jay Martin unsuccessfully ran for theDemocratic nomination for Governor in 2022, expressing opposition to abortion.[7]
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karen Baker | 86,850 | 27.17% | |
| Rhonda Wood | 84,139 | 26.33% | |
| Barbara Webb | 82,735 | 25.89% | |
| Jay Martin | 65,875 | 20.61% | |
| Total votes | 319,599 | 100.00 | |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karen Baker | 546,713 | 52.68% | |
| Rhonda Wood | 491,148 | 47.32% | |
| Total votes | 1,037,861 | 100.00 | |
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