Republicans in Johnson County are making a run at turning the Democrat-blue county government to Republican red.
The candidates are challenging Democrats, most of them incumbents, in 14 elected county positions that will appear on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.
"I believe that the people of Johnson County are ready to see a change and that is why [Republicans] decided to run," Johnson County Republican Committee Chairman Katie Howard said.
Democrats hold most of the county elected positions in Johnson County, but residents vote solidly Republican in state and federal elections, according to election records.
County Democratic Party Chairman Ron Taylor said it was a testament to the qualifications and capabilities of the county officials that the local positions remained controlled by Democrats.
Of the 19 county elected positions in Johnson County, 13 are held by Democrats and only one, county surveyor, is held by a Republican. Currently, five county positions -- sheriff and the four justice of the peace positions -- have no incumbent running in this year's election, but all have a Republican and a Democrat running to fill them.
Nine incumbent Democrats are being challenged by Republicans. Two of those races also have independent candidates running.
Four Democrat incumbents -- the county judge and three justices of the peace -- are unchallenged this year. The Republican surveyor also is unchallenged.
County Judge Herman Houston of Johnson County said it was not so important that a candidate was a Republican or a Democrat, but that people were interested in running for office and willing to help residents of the county.
"That's the American way, I think," he said.
Just six years ago, there were no Republicans running for county positions in Johnson County, according to election records in the Arkansas secretary of state's office. Republican Party of Arkansas Executive Director Sarah Jo Reynolds said in a news release that finding Republicans at that time to run in the Democrat-dominated county was a "serious challenge."
Since then, Republicans have increased their presence in county races. In the 2014 general election, voting results showed, three justice of the peace positions were contested by Republicans. Republicans won one of those seats.
Two years ago, Republicans vied for eight county positions -- sheriff, assessor, coroner and the five justices of the peace. Taylor pointed out the Republicans were defeated soundly by their Democratic opponents in 2016.
"The quality and confidence of our candidates has always led Johnson County voters to vote for them," he said.
Taylor said he couldn't remember a time when Johnson County had a Republican sheriff or a Republican county judge.
Howard said she believes the state representative District 69 race in 2016 was a turning point for the county's Republicans. She said for many years the mindset was if a person wanted to win, he had to be a Democrat.
But Republican Aaron Pilkington defeated Democrat George Overbey Jr. in the general election that year, taking a seat that had been held by either Overbey or his wife, Betty, since 2005.
"The people in Johnson County saw that you could run as a Republican and win," Howard said. "Now they are ready to step up in the county level."
While Republican candidates filed for eight county races in 2016, several more, including Howard and committee first vice president Chad Rodgers, have filed to run for county offices this year.
The Republican Party also has worked over the past couple of years to raise its visibility in the county. The party has become more active in community events, Howard said. It has a float that it shows off in parades and has started a dunk tank attraction to raise money for local charities.
The increase in activities has grown the party committee, she said.
The state Republican Party also has taken notice of the growth of the county Republican committee in the past few years, Reynolds said in the news release.
"I am so proud to see how far the Johnson County Republicans have come," she said. "Being able to field a full bench of candidates in a historically-challenging area is a testament to their commitment and hard work."
Metro on 10/08/2018