Jun 25, 2025 - Politics

Democratic lawmaker to run for Arkansas governor

Worth Sparkman

A portrait of Arkansas State Sen. Fredrick Love (D-Mablevale). — State Sen. Fredrick Love. Photo: Courtesy of the Arkansas Legislature

State Sen. Fredrick Love (D-Mabelvale) announced his bid for governor Monday. The gubernatorial election is November 3, 2026.

The big picture: Love outlined broad points for his platform in a news release, which includes creating regional economic development hubs, providing support for small businesses, aligning education with job creation, and continued investment in broadband, water and utility infrastructure.

State of play: Love was elected to the state Senate in 2022 and represents District 15, which includes southeastern parts of Little Rock.

He serves on five committees including the Arkansas Legislature Council and the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee.
Love was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2010. He served there until 2022.

What he's saying: "We can either stay on the path that sidelines our kids, weakens our schools, and silences our towns — or we can choose a future that values every student, every community, and every small business owner," Love said in the news release.

Love's campaign did not respond to requests for an interview.

Worth's thought bubble: It will be interesting to compare Love's plan for the intersection of education and workforce development with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' work there.

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Democratic lawmaker to run for Arkansas governor

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