Grant Tennille, the Democratic Party of Arkansas’ chair, will resign effective July 15, after serving at the helm of the party since October 2021, the party announced Monday.
Vice Chair Jannie Cotton of Sherwood will become the party’s interim chair, after Tennille’s resignation becomes effective and the party’s State Committee will elect a party chair within 60 days of the resignation becoming effective, in accordance with the party’s rules, according to the party’s news release and party spokesperson Micah Wallace.
Tennille of Little Rock, 56, said in the party’s news release that “I am weary, and I’ve missed way too much time with my family.
“Next year promises to be the most demanding yet, and it is better to step aside today, to allow the new chair to plan for ’26, preside over candidate filing and hit the ground next year with a few months’ experience under their belt,” he said.
“I am excited by the group of Democratic candidates who are stepping forward to run next year because I believe their strength indicates that this party’s best days lie ahead,” Tennille said in the party’s news release. “I’m proud of the small role I have played in this progress.”
The party filing period in Arkansas will be from Nov. 3-11, and the primary election will be March 3 for the 2026 election, according to the secretary of state’s office. The general election will be Nov. 3, 2026.
Tennille — who worked in the administrations of both former Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe and served stints as deputy chief of staff and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission executive director under Beebe — was elected as the party’s chair by the Democratic Party of Arkansas’ State Committee in October 2021, after Beebe recommended him for the post.
Among other things, he previously worked as a sports reporter and capital beat reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, public policy adviser for The Thompson Group in Little Rock, and as a senior public policy adviser for Qwest Communications in Denver.
In December 2022, Tennille initially announced that he wasn’t seeking reelection as party chair. At that time, he said, “I’m exhausted” after he simultaneously served as the party’s unpaid chairman and executive director. The party had become solvent after its finances were in a fairly precarious position when he started as party chair.
But less than two months later, in late January 2023, he was reelected to a four-year term as the party’s chair by acclamation by the State Committee. At that time, he said former state Sens. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, and Keith Ingram, D-West Memphis, persuaded him to run for another term and they told him that he could do the job with a better work-life balance.
Tennille has often remarked that his duties as party chair extended from toilet cleaner and plumbing repairman to chief representative to the Democratic National Committee, according to the Democratic Party of Arkansas’ news release on Monday.
Tennille said Monday that it’s been an honor to serve Arkansas Democrats for nearly four years as chair of the party.
“Together, we have returned our party to strength and competitiveness, and I must extend a special thanks to the ‘true believers,’ among us who made it happen through hard work and generosity,” he said in the party’s news release.
Tennille said that when he became party chair in 2021, he promised the State Committee that he would work full-time because that’s what everyone, including himself, felt the job demanded.
“I have been diligent; in the office most weeks for between 50 and 60 hours and spending many nights and weekends traveling the state,” he said in the release. “That work has helped the Party to begin to rebuild trust and grow again, but it has come at a personal cost.”
Tennille, 56, could not be reached for comment by telephone Monday afternoon.
Senate Democratic leader Greg Leding of Fayetteville said Monday that he hates to see Tennille leave as party chair.
He added that Tennille has done incredible work heading the party after his predecessor left it in tough shape.
House Democratic leader Andrew Collins of Little Rock said “Grant did a great job earning trust, navigating numerous constituencies, and growing the party.
“Under his leadership, Democrats gained in the House for the first time in nearly two decades, and we’re in a strong position for the future,” he said. “I’m grateful for his service, accomplishments, and friendship.”
In the 2024 general election, Arkansas Democrats netted one seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives in what was a bleak election for Democrats nationally.
Arkansas’ Republicans currently hold each of Arkansas’ six seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate; all seven of the state’s constitutional officers; and supermajorities in both the Arkansas House of Representatives and Arkansas Senate.
In the Arkansas House of Representatives, Republicans hold 81 seats and Democrats hold the other 19 seats. In the Arkansas Senate, Republicans hold 29 seats and Democrats hold the other six seats.
Asked for a comment about Tennille’s resignation as chair of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, Maya Harvey, a spokesperson for the Republican Party of Arkansas, said Monday in a written statement that “The next Democrat Party Chair is going to face the exact same challenge the outgoing Chair did: an overwhelming majority of Arkansans who have repeatedly rejected the Democrats’ radical agenda at the ballot box. Best of luck!”
Joseph Wood, a former secretary of the state Department of Transformation and Shared Services and Washington County judge, has served as chair of the Republican Party of Arkansas since August 2023. In 2022, he lost a bid for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.
Wood was initially elected as party chair by the GOP’s State committee in August 2023, after former party chairman Cody Hiland resigned from the post and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Hiland to the Arkansas Supreme Court to serve in place of Justice Robin Wynne, who died in June 2023. Wood was re-elected by the GOP’s State Committee as party chair in December 2024.
Following a meeting Thursday of the Democratic Party of Arkansas’ Executive Committee, the Democratic Party of Arkansas said it will release additional information on Friday about the upcoming elections for party leadership.
Collins, Leding and Ingram on Monday each steered clear of publicly suggesting any particular candidate to be Tennille’s successor as party chair.
“The party has a deep bench of excellent potential candidates, and I look forward to seeing who emerges,” Collins said.
Ingram said there are a number of excellent potential candidates for party chair that should be given plenty of time to consider running , and it’s important for the party not to rush holding an election for state party chair.
