Simon Wins Senate Runoff Will Face Watson On March 3

Brad Simon defeated Wade Dunn in a runoff election for State Senate District 26 on Tuesday, Feb. 3, and will face Independent Adam Watson in the special election for the vacant seat next month.

Simon, of Paris, and Dunn, of Greenwood, were vying for the Republican nomination for the seat, which became vacant following the death of Gary Stubblefield in October. District 26 includes portions of Johnson, Franklin, Logan and Sebastian counties.

Simon received 3,629 votes, or 65.07%, while Dunn received 1,948 votes, or 34.93%.

The breakdown of votes by county is as follows:

–Franklin County: Simon, 698 (56.61%); Dunn, 535 (43.39%).

–Johnson County: Simon, 493 (67.81%); Dunn, 234 (32.19%).

–Logan County: Simon, 1,524 (79.96%); Dunn, 382 (20.04%).

–Sebastian County: Simon, 914 (53.42%); Dunn, 797 (46.58%).

The special election will be held on March 3, in conjunction with the preferential primary and nonpartisan general election. Early voting will begin Tuesday, Feb. 17.

Read this story and others in the Feb. 11 issue of The Graphic, available online and at businesses throughout Franklin and Johnson counties. Subscribe or donate here to support more hometown journalism.