Statement on the McCollum Nomination

The Republican Party of Benton County has carefully reviewed the legal framework governing candidate removal in response to ongoing questions surrounding Austin McCollum's nomination.

Arkansas law establishes narrow and specific conditions under which a candidate may be removed from the ballot or a nomination declared vacant. Those conditions are limited to: the death of the candidate, a serious illness rendering the candidate unable to continue, the candidate filing for a different office, or the candidate relocating outside the jurisdiction. None of these conditions have occurred.

County party leadership sought formal legal interpretation from the Republican Party of Arkansas and from state election officials. The unanimous conclusion of all relevant authorities is that the statutory threshold conditions have not been met and, therefore, no mechanism currently exists to remove Mr. McCollum from the ballot. A vacancy can only be declared by the Governor once those specific conditions are satisfied.

Some have suggested that removing Mr. McCollum from the Benton County Republican Committee would itself create a ballot vacancy. This is incorrect. After consulting with state party leadership and election officials, the county committee has determined that no such legal pathway exists under current Arkansas law.

The Republican Party of Benton County will continue to monitor developments and will issue further statements as circumstances warrant.