Arkansas chief justice election won't change conservative tilt of court, but will make history

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The winner of Arkansas' race for state Supreme Court chief justice won't change its conservative majority and it hasn't drawn the heavy spending of Republican groups that have targeted past campaigns. But the outcome still will make history.

Justices Karen Baker and Rhonda Wood are running to replace outgoing Chief Justice Dan Kemp in this year's nonpartisan runoff. Baker and Wood were the top two finishers in a four-person race for the court in March, but neither garnered the majority necessary to win the race outright.

Arkansas' court is technically nonpartisan, but Republican-backed justices hold a 4-3 majority on the court. That majority is set to expand to 5-2, no matter who wins the race, with GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders slated to fill two vacancies on the court next year.

Baker or Wood will become the first woman elected chief justice in the state. Betty Dickey was appointed to serve as the court's chief justice in 2003.

Wood, who was first elected to the court in 2014 and then reelected in 2022, has the backing of Republicans including Sanders and U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton. The Republican Party of Arkansas' state committee also has endorsed her candidacy.

Wood, however, said she believes her experience on the court shows she is an independent voice and not ruling in line with either party.

“I think I have made decisions consistently with the law, but not necessarily maybe one party or another would agree with," Wood told The Associated Press.

Baker, who has served on the court since 2011, did not respond to multiple messages from the AP requesting an interview. Baker won reelection in 2022, defeating a former Republican lawmaker who touted himself as a constitutional conservative.

In interviews, Baker has said she has proven herself to be nonpartisan.

“I think my opponent has demonstrated she is not,” she told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, when asked about Sanders' political action committee supporting Wood's campaign.

Arkansas' court races have been targeted in past years by conservative groups that have spent heavily on efforts to push the court further to the right. Those groups, however, haven't identified Arkansas as a target this year but are instead focusing on higher profile races in battleground states like Ohio and Michigan.

The two candidates split most recently on a lawsuit over an abortion rights measure that would have scaled back a state ban that took effect when Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Wood wrote the court’s 4-3 majority opinion that upheld the state’s decision to reject petitions submitted in favor of the proposal. The court ruled sponsors of the measure did not comply with paperwork requirements for paid signature gatherers.

In a blistering dissent, Baker asked, “Why are the respondent and the majority determined to keep this particular vote from the people?”

When asked what the opinions clarified about the difference between the justices, Wood said, “I think it's clear which comes across as more judicially restrained versus an opinion that's sort of trying to sway public emotion."

Baker has touted her experience on the bench and previously cited improving attorney licensure as an area she would like to focus on if elected.

Wood has said she would like to push for changes to the court system to make it more accessible, including text notifications of hearings and alternative options for court attendance including nights courts and virtual courts.

“There's a lot of finite kind of pinpoint things I want to do specifically but the theme is making it way more transparent and citizen-friendly,” Wood said.

Whoever loses the race will still remain on the court, but the election will give Sanders a second appointment to make next year. Justice Courtney Hudson was elected in March to a position on her court that is different from her own, creating a vacancy. Hudson will replace Cody Hiland, who Sanders appointed to the court last year.