Days before early vote begins, Arkansans rally for change at No Kings and Pride events

Arkansas voters who attended No Kings events and a Pride celebration Saturday cited healthcare and immigration as their biggest concerns, days before the first votes are set to be cast for the November election.

Hundreds marched to the state Capitol during a No Kings rally in central Arkansas where John Landosky of Little Rock said Republican policies have separated him and his family.

“I don’t like bullies. I don’t like people who use hate to further their agenda,” said Landosky, whose son is transgender and whose ex-wife is a pediatrician. “I mean, it doesn’t require me to have a trans child to vote against this, I’ll tell you that much. I would be voting either way.”

Landosky became emotional while saying he understood why his ex-wife and children moved to Oregon, pointing to a 2021 law which made gender-affirming medical care for minors illegal in Arkansas. The separation has been “devastating” for Landosky, who said this is just one reason he’s voting this year.

More than a dozen No Kings events were planned across the state as early voting is set to begin Monday for the Arkansas general election. Democrats, who haven’t won a statewide or congressional election in Arkansas since 2010, are hopeful that Trump’s unpopularity nationally may boost their chances in the predominantly Republican state.

Patsy Stewart, a 77-year-old North Carolina resident who plans to move to Arkansas next year, participated in the march, and said climate change and how the Trump administration has treated immigrants motivates her to vote. 

“We need to be kind if we’re going to follow Jesus as a prophet,” Stewart said. “Most importantly for me is the climate, because that’s the end of the Earth that I grew up in.”

Pat Edmunds of Russellville and Joan Brooke of Clarksville said they both wanted to see Trump and his supporters “out of office.” Brooke said immigrants have been treated “terribly” while Edmunds said tariffs implemented by the Trump administration “are just crazy.” 

“One of the reasons we’re here is for our grandchildren — granddaughters in particular, their rights and their future,” Edmunds said. 

Pride and protest

Saturday’s No Kings rally coincided with Central Arkansas Pride’s festival and parade for a second year. While there were fewer attendees than last year, the message of solidarity against the Trump administration’s policies regarding immigrants and healthcare remained.

“I think everybody sees the potential for a lot of people’s rights regressing… and if that’s not scary, I don’t know what is,” said Tonya Nix from Bismarck.

Hallie Shoffner, the Democrat challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, marched in the Pride parade alongside supporters, including one wearing an inflatable chicken suit and carrying a sign that said “Tom Cotton: Too Chicken to Debate.”

Cotton did not participate in Monday’s televised debate with Shoffner and Libertarian Jeff Wadlin. The two major-party candidates will not debate each other in advance of the election after a conservative outlet announced it would not host a debate Shoffner and Cotton agreed to attend.

Cotton’s absence takes center stage at debate between Arkansas’ US Senate candidates

Newport resident William Mitchener said he’s seen firsthand that farmers have struggled financially and closed granaries in the past year.

An anti-Trump Republican, Mitchener also said the rising cost of gasoline frustrates people of all political affiliations.

“Other people are pro-choice, blah blah blah, but every one of us couldn’t fill up our tank today if we put $20 in,” he said.

Mitchener wore camouflage and carried both an American flag and a Pride flag up and down Capitol Avenue. He said he hoped his presence would dissuade anyone who might want to harass Pride attendees.

A small group of anti-LGBTQ+ counterprotesters held signs at the Pulaski Street intersection and shouted at passing paradegoers to “turn against sin and lust.” 

A larger group of pro-LGBTQ+ Christians marched in the parade, including retired Methodist pastor Don Moore, who said he believes “God loves all people and God creates people the way they are.”

Moore recently moved to Arkansas from central Texas, where he said he became fed up with anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry. Morre said he’s registered to vote in Arkansas, and one of the issues he considers most at stake in the midterms is the future of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which he called “abhorrent.”

Voter education

In downtown Springdale, Indivisible Northwest Arkansas hosted a voter education event where local residents could sign up for rides to the polls, volunteer to provide voter protection and learn how to check their voter registration. 

The event also included protesters holding signs along a busy street and singing performances by the Raging Grannies of Northwest Arkansas. Raging Grannies is “an international disorganization of women over a certain age” who use satirical song and theater as a tool for political education. 

Kate Kowalski, a Fayetteville resident who started the local chapter in March 2025, said her biggest concern as a voter is healthcare. Kowalski said it “really distresses” her that in the world’s wealthiest country, many people don’t have access to care and worry about medical bankruptcy. 

Kowalski said she’s looking for candidates who, “at the very least,” won’t reduce access to healthcare by cutting back on Medicaid subsidies or who’s eligible for the program.

“Beyond that I would like to get us to a point where everyone in this country has healthcare, affordable healthcare and without having to jump through hoops; just as a right rather than as a privilege,” she said. 

The Raging Grannies of Northwest Arkansas sang during a voter education event in Springdale, Arkansas on Oct. 17,2026. Indivisible NWA hosted the event in conjunction with the No Kings nationwide day of action. #arpx

— Antoinette Grajeda (@grajeda.bsky.social) 2026-10-17T17:20:48.251Z

Mary Jennings, another Fayetteville resident who sings with the Raging Grannies, said she’s concerned about gun safety, especially in light of this week’s fatal school shooting in Oregon.

The economy and immigration are concerns for Tammra Fields, an Indivisible NWA volunteer from Elkins. During Saturday’s event, she signed up volunteers to help with the group’s voter protection efforts. Because of the Trump administration’s nationwide immigration crackdown, Fields said there are concerns about immigrants being hassled at the polls “just because of the color of their skin.”

“America’s always been racist, it has,” she said. “It’s always been divided in that sense and it’s long past time to break that habit.”

Stephanie Shufelt is a Springdale Democrat running for a seat on the Washington County Quorum Court in November. As a voter, Shufelt said she’s concerned about everyone in the community feeling safe — including immigrants — and infrastructure. 

“Our roads are crumbling, our roads have not been addressed,” she said. “Our kids ride buses over those bridges.”

Early voting starts Monday in Arkansas and continues until election day on Nov. 3. Arkansans can check their voter registration, view sample ballots and locate polling sites at www.voterview.ar-nova.org.