The 2024 Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice election was held in the U.S. state of Arkansas on March 5, 2024 to elect the chief justice, also known as position 1, of the Arkansas Supreme Court. Karen Baker and Rhonda Wood defeated Barbara Webb and Jay 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 justice John 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 a Democratic member of the Arkansas House of Representatives.[6]
Although Arkansas Supreme Court elections are nonpartisan,[1][2][4] Martin is a Democrat[6][7] and both Wood and Webb have connections to the Republican Party. Wood was appointed to a judgeship by former Republican governorMike Huckabee. Webb identifies as a conservative[8] and is married to a former chairman of the Arkansas GOP. Republican governor Sarah 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 Republican senatorTom Cotton.[4][7][9]
Abortion was the chief issue in the campaign. Wood wrote the majority opinion in Arkansans for Limited Government v. John Thurston, which affirmed the decision of Secretary of StateJohn Thurston to disqualify a proposed ballot measure that would've enshrined the right to an abortion 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 the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2022, expressing opposition to abortion.[7]
