Voters casting ballots in the March 3 elections will decide state political party nominees, nonpartisan judicial contests, and three NWACC Board of Trustees posts.
There are three Board of Trustees seats up for election, with one seat being uncontested. For Zone 1, current Trustee Ashley Pointer faces challenger Angela Calix. In Zone 5, incumbent Trustee Ron Branscum is seeking re-election and faces opponent Peter Bailey. Zone 8, Trustee Amber Latimer is running uncontested.
Pointer is looking to retain her seat for Zone 1, which is the area due north of Highway 102 and West of Bella Vista. Branscum is seeking re-election to the seat for Zone 5, which is in the central section of Bentonville—west of I-49 and east of SW I St. Latimer running uncontested will retain Zone 8 located in the southern portion of the county East of Bellview Road, bumping against Zone 9 directly to its east.
Pointer is a Texas native who relocated to Northwest Arkansas in 2013. She has degrees from Baylor University and Texas A&M University. Pointer is active in the community with her small business, Card My Yard NWA, and engages in local school organizations. Moreover, Pointer spent multiple years in the education system as an English teacher. She describes herself as “a lifelong learner.” She was appointed to her current position by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in June 2025 to fill a vacant position.
In Zone 5, incumbent Ron Branscum is seeking another six-year term. Branscum is a business owner of a company known as Strategic Business Consulting. He also has multiple years of experience in the financial field, including working for the Arkansas State Bank Department. He also served as President of Regional Therapy Services located in Rogers. Branscum is not only a trustee for NWACC, but serves on the board for Family Council and Blackwood Industries Inc. He graduated from the University of Colorado School of Banking and the University of Central Arkansas.
Trustee Amber Latimer of Zone 8 is running unchallenged for the seat. She works for Gibson Real Estate as an executive real estate broker. Latimer has spent many years in the education field. She holds a bachelor’s degree in early childhood and special education from the University of Central Arkansas. She later obtained a master’s degree in education theories from Arkansas State University. Before moving into the real estate industry, she worked for 12 years in the public school system — in Little Rock and Rogers. She said she supports, “high quality education for all people.”
All candidates for the NWACC Board of Trustees were contacted through email, and no return emails responding to questions were received. All information was taken from the NWACC Board of Trustees webpage via https://www.nwacc.edu/aboutus/collegeleadership/botmembers/index.html
The elections will be held on March 3 at 35 locations across Benton County. All polling locations will be open from 7:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. that day.
Election Day Polling Locations
For NWACC students who live in Benton County, there is a voting center on campus located in the Walmart Auditorium of the Shewmaker Center for Workforce Technologies at 1000 S.E. Eagle Way, Bentonville.
Voters are asked to ensure they adhere to voting locations’ dress policy. If you have questions regarding dress code refer to https://bentoncountyar.gov/vote/guides/ . Voters also should be prepared to complete some steps at the polling site. According to the Arkansas Secretary of State’s website, an election official will ask you to state your name, address, and date of birth. The election official will request that you provide an approved form of ID.
A notable change to this voting cycle, voter registration and balloting is party affiliation. The Benton County Monthly Newsletter explains, “The Arkansas Republican Party voted to host a semi-open primary. Those wishing to vote in the Republican primary must register their party affiliation as Republican or Optional. If you are not registered as one of these parties, you can vote in the Democratic Primary or a Nonpartisan-only ballot.” To verify your voter status, check VoterView on the Arkansas Secretary of State website https://www.voterview.ar-nova.org/voterview .
Matt Evans, professor of political science at NWACC, suggests, “You should spend a minute researching the candidates and other issues on the ballot before an election.” He also gave a list of a few resources to use that could help your decision on what candidates you are voting for. “Ballotpedia, League of Women Voters, Vote 411,” are a few of the resources he suggests.
The following is a list of Benton County offices up for election provided by https://bentoncountyar.gov/vote/candidates/
- County Assessor: Republican and current position holder Roderick Grieve of Bentonville is running with no opposition.
- Circuit Clerk: Brenda DeShields, a Republican of Springdale, will retain her position due to no challengers.
- County Clerk: Republican from Rogers Betsy Harrell has no contenders for the position, so she will retain the position.
- County Collector: A one-man race for the position is Republican and current position holder, Joel Edwards of Centerton.
- County Judge: Republican Austin McCollum of Bentonville will face off against Carrie Perrien Smith—a Republican of Rogers.
- County Sheriff: Sheriff Shawn Holloway is a Republican from Bentonville and has no contenders for his position.
The following is a list of Washington County offices up for elections provided by https://www.washingtoncountyar.gov/government/departments-a-e/election-commission/march-3-2026-primary-information
- County Judge: Current Republican County Judge Patrick Deakins has three opponents—Democrat Dana Deree, Republican Tim Shepard, and Republican Mark Scalise.
- County Sheriff: The current Sheriff Jay Cantrell a Republican is running against Republican Mike Stewart.
- County Assessor: Republican Assessor Russell Hill and current seat holder is running against Democrat Nathan Miller
- Circuit Clerk: Republican Kyle Slyvester is running uncontested
- County Clerk: Republican Becky Lewallen is running uncontested
- County Collector: the current Republican County Collector Angela Wood is running against Democrat Rachel Eubanks and Republican Myra Collins
All other candidates running for certain local positions can be found at https://bentoncountyar.gov/vote/candidates/ or https://www.washingtoncountyar.gov/government/departments-a-e/election-commission/march-3-2026-primary-information
