By Andrew DeMillo | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning, Advocate readers! The southwest Arkansas town of Hope has been a popular campaign stop for decades during its annual watermelon festival. Today, we take a look at what candidates and voters were talking about at this year’s event. You can find more Arkansas government and politics news on the Advocate site here.
And be sure to check out Editor-in-Chief Andrew DeMillo’s appearance on 5News over the weekend talking about the uncertainty surrounding the state’s hybrid Medicaid expansion.
The annual Hope Watermelon Festival was held on Saturday, August 8, 2026 in Hope, Arkansas. (Photo by Katie Adkins/Arkansas Advocate)
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
By Ainsley Platt
The southwest Arkansas town of Hope is known for growing two things: governors and watermelons.
(Getty Images)
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
By Tess Vrbin
About 78,000 Arkansas girls and women between the ages of 15 and 44 lived in a county with nowhere to give birth and no obstetric physicians in 2024, according to a Tuesday report from the women’s and children’s advocacy group March of Dimes.
The Arkansas Justice Building on the state Capitol grounds in Little Rock on Jan. 14, 2025. The building houses the state Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and the Administrative Office of the Courts. (Photo by Sonny Albarado/Arkansas Advocate)
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
By Antoinette Grajeda
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will appoint a temporary special justice to fill in for Barbara Webb, who has been recovering from a fall at her home, the governor’s office said Monday.
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