State Home, District 22
Brian Hester (R)
Age: 45
Employment: Actual property appraiser
Residency: Fayetteville, three years
Schooling: Attended, College of Arkansas, Fayetteville and North Arkansas School, Harrison
Political Expertise: Unsuccessful bid for state Home, 2020
Don McNaughton (R)
Age: 45
Employment: Realtor
Residency: Fayetteville; lived within the district 22 years
Schooling: Fayetteville Excessive College graduate
Political expertise: None
Two businessmen will face one another within the Republican major for state Home District 22.
The winner will run in opposition to state Rep. David Whitaker, D-Fayetteville, who seeks his sixth time period within the Legislature.
The district contains Farmington together with components of Prairie Grove and Fayetteville.
The Republican contenders within the Could 24 major are Brian Hester, an actual property appraiser, and Don McNaughton, a Realtor.
Whitaker, an lawyer, faces no major opposition. The overall election is Nov. 8.
Hester ran in opposition to Whitaker unsuccessfully in 2020, with Whitaker profitable 55% of the vote. However district boundaries modified in 2021, taking out sections of Fayetteville.
The state redraws legislative district strains after every U.S. census so every member represents an equal variety of individuals. There are 100 Home districts. The federal authorities conducts a census each 10 years.
Home members serve two-year phrases and obtain a base wage of $44,357.
The district was closely Democratic when he ran in 2020, Hester stated, “and I nonetheless caught my neck out as a result of it was well worth the combat.”
“The boundary modifications transfer the district just a little bit to the appropriate. I believe it is clear the state and many of the nation is ravenous for true conservative management,” he stated.
“If elected I will combat abortion tooth and nail,” Hester stated. “I will let nothing creep in to weaken our legal guidelines on abortion.”
He pledged to be a powerful supporter of gun house owners’ rights.
“I will not let vital race idea be taught in Arkansas,” he stated, referring to the research of how race influenced legal guidelines and establishments.
States are the final line of protection from federal authorities overreach, Hester stated. He’ll oppose authorities mandates and push again in opposition to threats to non-public liberties, he stated.
“Once I knocked doorways in 2020, the query individuals requested most frequently was whether or not I used to be for or in opposition to Trump,” Hester stated, referring to then-President Donald Trump. “This 12 months, that query is, are you a RINO?”
That time period refers to “Republican in title solely.”
Hester stated major voters may be assured he’s a real Republican who will absolutely assist conservative rules, not discount them away within the legislative course of.
As a small enterprise proprietor, Hester stated he’ll give attention to making authorities extra environment friendly and responsive and maintain the road on spending and taxes. District 22 residents need to preserve extra of the cash they earn, he stated.
Hester is a brother of state Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, who the Senate picked to be the incoming Senate president.
Working as an appraiser makes him acquainted with the challenges individuals face in shopping for a house within the area, Hester stated. He stated he sees no finish quickly to rising home costs within the space.
“The provision is simply not there,” he stated.
McNaughton additionally sees rising house costs as a problem for individuals transferring to the world and stated the explanations for thus many individuals transferring to this rising space helped spur him to run for the workplace.
“I am in a novel place to speak to individuals about why they arrive to Northwest Arkansas,” McNaughton stated. “They inform me they need a protected place to reside and lift their youngsters. They inform me about efforts by ‘defund the police’ teams within the locations they arrive from and the way they did not really feel protected, so that they pulled up stakes. The additionally talked about what they weren’t allowed to do and the way they need the liberty to go to work and pay their payments.”
“The extra I heard about why individuals transfer to Northwest Arkansas, the extra I needed to ensure these issues they’re speaking about do not occur right here,” he stated.
McNaughton stated he could be a powerful supporter of legislation enforcement and gun house owners’ rights within the Legislature. He would additionally assist veterans and is pro-life, he stated.
“I am not a politician,” he stated. “I am a small businessman and have been since I used to be 16 years outdated.”
McNaughton’s father was a veteran of the Vietnam Battle, he stated.
“I imagine in giving all of the assist we will to the individuals who have served this nation to assist them get again into civilian life,” he stated.
Working households within the district want much less “crimson tape” and decrease taxes, McNaughton stated. Freedom from ever-increasing and unnecessary rules of companies is one more reason individuals transfer to this area, and one other facet of life in Northwest Arkansas he desires to guard.
Even right here, cities “may make it simpler to construct a home,” he stated. However the demand for housing right here far outstrips provide. That drawback has no straightforward, fast answer, he stated.