The Arkansas State Senate will elect new leadership at the end of the 2026 Fiscal Session scheduled to end this week. Announced candidates to lead the Senate as President Pro Tempore include Sen. Ron Caldwelli (R-Wynne) and Sen. Breanne Davisii (R-Russellville). The position is importantiii as the Pro Tem sets the agenda for bills heard on the Senate floor, makes procedural decisions which “push” or “stop” proposed legislation, and is responsible for enforcing personal discipline among the Senators themselves. The Pro Tem is also third in line to the Governor, just behind the Lt. Governor.
Sen. Blake Johnson (R-Corning) had previously announced he would seek Senate Pro Tem, but, in spite of the support of the Governor, Johnson lost his primary re-election bid and will not be returning to Little Rock to start the January 2027 term.
Historically, the majority party will select a preferred senator within their caucus to lead the next Regular Legislative Session. These Regular Sessions take place in January of odd-numbered years. As the Republican Party currently holds a super majority (29 of 35), they will likely meet and vote on their recommended President Pro Tem very soon. It will then take a majority vote of the entire State Senate (usually 18, voting just prior to starting the Regular Legislative Session) to elect the President Pro Tem.
While the caucus nominee is routinely elected by the entire Senate, this was not the case when Sen. Jimmy Hickey (R-Texarkana) was elected Pro Tem over Sen. Bart Hester (R-Cave Springs) in 2021. Hester was the “recommended” choice of the Republican caucus. But Hickey ran “from the floor” instead of directly against Hester in the Republican caucus. Hickey defeated Hester on the full Senate floor vote by garnering support from all Democrats and a mix of Republicans, gaining his simple majority of the 35 member Senate to become Senate Pro Tem.
With two candidates seeking the position of state Senate President Pro Tempore, one must ask, “How will their relationship to the Governor fit into the Senate’s selection?”
Sen. Caldwell and the Governor:
- Sen. Caldwell has been in the state Senate since 2013. His most significant achievement under Gov. Hutchinson was his role as chair of the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee, reviewing and passing the massive Government Transformation Act of 2019 (Act 910.)
- In 2025, Caldwell voted five times against Governor Sanders’ proposed 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County with a cited price tag of $750 million.
- Opposing her Franklin County prison expansion certainly raised the ire of Governor Sanders toward Caldwell, resulting in her finding a candidate to oppose his 2026 Primary re-election.
- However, last month Caldwell handily won his primary bid against the Governor’s candidate, Trey “BoDirt” Bohannan, despite unrestrained spending by the Governor and other special interests in their attempt to defeat Caldwell (reportedly sending out nearly 35 mass mailers to defeat him)iv.
- Last week Sen. Caldwell voiced his support for a Legislative Amendment calling for the removal from the government payroll/budget, the Governor’s senior advisor on Corrections, Joe Profiri, saying, “I think Mr. Profiri should move on down the road.” Sen. Terry Rice (R-Waldron) reported that in review of his salary alone, Profiri has cost Arkansas taxpayers over a million dollars during his four-year tenure, while ignoring numerous meeting requests and questions from the Legislature.
Sen. Davis and the Governor:
- Sen. Davis was first elected in a runoff special election in 2018 where record spending from the Little Rock establishment PACs, special interests, and lobbyists, assisted Davis in her victory.
- Davis has remained loyal to both sitting Governors since 2018 and was the lead sponsor for Governor Sanders’ Arkansas LEARNS Act.
- Since January 2023, Davis has served as Republican Whip.
- 2025 Regular Session, Davis was reported to have objected “wildly” when legislation moved through the legislative process that would give the people the option of not having fluoride in their public water supply.
- Sen. Davis had no 2026 primary opponent but has regularly butted heads with the conservative factions within the Arkansas Republican party across the state.
Sen. Caldwell currently serves as Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, and Economic Development. Since 2013, he has served in many other leadership roles within the Senate including the chairman position mentioned above under Hutchinson. Caldwell has a slow-moving style and an agenda that seems most comfortable with the status quo. He is not known for heckling or fighting with people who speak in favor or against legislation in his committees. Instead, he is cordial and follows the process. He has not been the primary sponsor of controversial legislation with large impact while he has been a state senator.
Sen. Davis is what many would term as a “political animal” determined to get what she goes after, while positioning herself for the future. This could be a valuable asset or a detriment depending on one’s view of the specific legislation being considered. Davis has a mixed record of getting through significant legislation. While proposing good bills to prevent taxpayer lobbying, she was unable to get it through to become law. She was ultimately unsuccessful in getting through a bad electronic voter registration bill that would have increased voter fraud. However, Sen. Davis was successful in pushing through the historic Arkansas LEARNS Act school choice voucher program for Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
To know more about how each candidate may lead the Senate, the reader should review each candidate’s past record pushing legislationv through to completion as well as their own individual voting recordvi as reported by Conduit for Commerce.
