There were four state Senate races contested in Tuesday's Republican primary election.
In three of those races, the winner was to be decided because there will be no opposition in the Nov. 4 general election.
Arkansas' "private-option" Medicaid expansion was an issue in all four races.
In District 9 -- which includes Scott County and parts of Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties -- state Rep. Terry Rice of Waldron took an early lead in his attempt to unseat state Sen. Bruce Holland of Greenwood.
With all 84 precincts reporting, the unofficial results were:
Rice 3,457
Holland 2,710
Rice said voters in his home county of Scott favored him 1,044-176.
"I am happy," he said. "I appreciate my hometown people. We're going to work for the whole district, but it sure does make you feel good when you've spent your life working for the people and they reward you with that kind of confidence."
Rice, who has served in the House of Representatives since 2009, is term-limited and can't run for re-election in that chamber. Rice owns Rice Furniture and Appliance Inc. in Waldron and Heavener, Okla.
Holland, a cattleman and rancher, has held the Senate seat since 2011.
Holland voted for the private option in the Senate, while Rice voted against it in the House.
The private option is a Medicaid expansion program that uses federal funds to purchase private health insurance for low-income Arkansans.
The federal government will pay the full cost of covering the newly eligible enrollees until 2017, when states will begin paying 5 percent of the cost. Arkansas' share will then increase each year until it reaches 10 percent in 2020.
Rice said he will do careful research before voting when the private option comes up in 2015 for refunding.
"We've got to look and see what the cost to the state in real figures would be," he said.
In District 17 -- which includes parts of Baxter, Boone and Marion counties -- the decision by Sen. Johnny Key, R-Mountain Home, not to seek re-election led to a three-man race for his Senate seat.
The contest pitted Rep. John Burris, R-Harrison, who is one of the three legislative architects of the private-option, against assisted-living home owner Scott Flippo of Mountain Home and Mountain Home Mayor David Osmon.
With 69 of 70 precincts reporting, the unofficial results were:
Flippo 3,785
Burris 3,710
Osmon 1,382
"Things are going well," Flippo said. "We like where we are right now."
Flippo said there will likely be a runoff election June 10 between himself and Burris.
Burris has been in the state House of Representatives since 2009. He is on leave as political director for U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton's Senate campaign.
Flippo was making his first bid for elected office. He said unhappiness with Key's vote for the private option led him to enter the race. Flippo has said he would vote to defund the private option if given the opportunity.
"Scott wants to repeal the private option," Burris said. "I'm more of the mindset of let's assess the program and see how it's working. ... I don't want to make up my mind until we have all of the information in front of us."
Burris said there had been a "shoot the general" attitude on behalf of some groups that funded Flippo in an attempt to keep Burris out of the Senate. Funding of the private 0ption passed by narrow votes -- it required 75 percent approval in both legislative chambers -- in the Senate in 2013 and this year.
Flippo has owned Flippo's Carefree Living in Bull Shoals since 2003, when he purchased the assisted-living center from his mother.
Osmon has been mayor of Mountain Home since 2007.
In District 18, Sen. Missy Irvin of Mountain View was challenged by Phil Grace, director of technology for the Heber Springs School District.
Senate District 18 includes all of Cleburne, Searcy and Stone counties and parts of Baxter, Faulkner, Fulton, Marion, Van Buren and White counties.
With 137 of 138 precincts reporting, the unofficial results were:
Irvin 6,447
Grace 3,604
Irvin voted for the Medicaid expansion in 2013 and then voted against it this year. Grace opposes the expansion.
Irvin said she decided to oppose funding for the private option this year for a handful of reasons, none of them related to the primary election.
She said one reason is that access to health-care providers in rural areas has been hurt because Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield's reimbursements for physician specialists is below what primary-care doctors get for services provided to Medicaid patients and others who enroll in coverage through the state.
Another reason is President Barack Obama's administration's change in requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, she said.
Grace was a member of the Cleburne County Quorum Court from 2011-13.
Irvin has served in the Senate since 2011 and is the marketing director for her husband's medical clinic.
In District 14, which includes parts of Garland and Saline counties, Sen. Bill Sample was challenged by Jerry Neal. Both men live in Hot Springs.
With all precincts reporting, the unofficial results were
Sample 5,712
Neal 4,650
Sample said he'd had the lead since early voting ballots were counted Tuesday night.
Sample has served in the state Legislature for almost a decade. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2004 and to the Senate in 2010.
Neal, a retired certified public accountant and former financial auditor, said he decided to run against Sample because he viewed the senator as too liberal.
Neal said he opposed the private option, which Sample supported.
"Everybody applauded [former Gov. Mike] Huckabee for the ARKids First," Sample said. "That was to ensure our kids had good health care. ... We got permission to subsidize that program with Medicaid dollars. The private option is the same thing for adults, if you want to rationalize it."
The winner of Tuesday's District 14 primary election will face George Pritchett of Hot Springs, an independent candidate, in the Nov. 4 general election.
In Districts 9, 17 and 18, the winner of Tuesday's Republican primary election will be the district's senator beginning in 2015.
Metro on 05/21/2014