Freshman class of Arkansas lawmakers includes educators and ranchers

The Arkansas House of Representatives on June 17, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)

Northwest Arkansas, where the Hispanic population has been increasing for three decades, will send its first Latino legislators to Little Rock this month. 

Democrat Diana Gonzales Worthen and Republican Randy Torres are members of the Arkansas House’s freshman class who will be sworn in at the start of the legislative session on Jan. 13.

Gonzales Worthen will represent House District 9, the state’s first Hispanic-majority district, after defeating Republican Rep. Deanna Hodges in a rematch of their 2022 race. The Springdale Democrat said she knew she was the state’s first Latina lawmaker, but seeing the impact of that has been “a whole other ball game.”

Just days after November’s election, Gonzales Worthen said she attended an American Heart Association event for Hispanic women where she was surprised by people congratulating her, calling her a role model and asking for photos. 

“If I can inspire others to run for office and to see the beauty of taking care of your community and your state, bringing forth good policy and how you accomplish that, so be it,” she said. “That’s what I want. This should be an opportunity for anyone that really has that service heart.”

Born and raised in Texas, Torres has called Siloam Springs home for more than 20 years. Torres said his varied experiences in the community, which have included raising cattle, working in banking and serving on boards, help him better relate to his District 17 constituents. 

Torres is replacing Republican Rep. Delia Haak who opted not to pursue a third term representing a western portion of Benton County. As he heads to the state Capitol, Torres said he’ll be focused on education, health care and infrastructure.

“I feel like if we can really enhance those three it leads to quite honestly economic development,” he said.

Thirteen non-incumbents were elected to a two-year term in the Arkansas House, including Rep.-elect Tracy Steele, D-North Little Rock, who previously served in the Arkansas Legislature from 1999 to 2013.

Steele is filling the House District 72 seat that had been occupied by Rep. Jamie Scott, D-Little Rock, the Arkansas Senate’s only new member. Scott decided to run for the Senate District 12 seat left vacant by the retiring Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock. 

The Arkansas House’s freshman class includes five Democrats and eight Republicans from across the state who said their various backgrounds will inform their interests in Little Rock. 

Rep.-elect Brad Hall, a cattle rancher in Rudy, said District 24 has the potential to be one of the fastest-growing areas in the country when I-49 is complete and connects Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The west Arkansas district, which includes portions of Crawford and Washington counties, became open when Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren, chose not to seek reelection.

Hall said he decided to run for office because “leadership is important” and he wanted to be part of helping bring the infrastructure necessary to support the growth that could be coming to his region.

“That’s just kind of the way I look at things — we got to do things for the next generation,” he said. 

Agriculture is another focus for Hall whose ranch has been in his family since the 1880s. While in office, Hall said he’d like to explore ways to regulate the proper labeling of meat raised outside the country. He also expressed interest in establishing regulations for renewable energy projects and bringing a trade school to his district to help support the region’s expected growth and construction projects. 

Education is also top of mind for long-time educator Gonzales Worthen, who said it’s important that high-quality teachers are paid appropriately in order to address shortages of educators needed to train students for the workforce. 

Gonzales Worthen said she will also have her eye on bills that increase Pre-K classrooms as well as afterschool and summer enrichment programs she said will support working families. 

As a teacher and football coach in the West Memphis School District, Rep.-elect Jessie McGruder in House District 35 said he will support “anything that advocates for experienced educators” and bills that ensure classroom teachers have a voice.

McGruder succeeds Rep. Milton Nicks, D-Marion, who chose not to seek reelection as the representative of House District 35, which includes portions of Crittenden and Cross County is east Arkansas. 

Balancing act

The newly elected lawmakers received a crash course in all things legislative during a four-day orientation last month in Little Rock. Gonzales Worthen and Torres said learning the basics of conducting business at the Capitol and receiving mentorship from veteran Arkansas lawmakers was a great experience, but Torres noted it was also “very intense.”

“It’s a lot of information coming at you, it’s like drinking through two fire hoses quite honestly,” he said. “But it wasn’t something we endured, it was something we enjoyed.”

Lawmakers convene for the legislative session in odd-numbered years and the fiscal session in even years. Regular sessions last 60-75 days while fiscal sessions are limited to 30 days. Committee meetings are held periodically between sessions.

Because Arkansas’ is a part-time Legislature, many lawmakers maintain their day jobs. Members of the state’s newly elected class of legislators said it will take time as they learn how to balance their new duties with their familial and employment responsibilities. 

McGruder said he’ll look to model other lawmakers who’ve previously maintained their teaching position while serving at the state Capitol. The freshman legislator said mentorship will be “extremely important” in his success, noting that mentorship from former state Sen. Joyce Elliott played a big role when he began contemplating a run for office a few years ago. 

The Delta Democrat said he feels prepared for office thanks to candid conversations with Elliott about what to expect. McGruder also credits her with providing him a checklist of tasks to complete before seeking office, which he said put him ahead of his opponents in the primary and general elections. 

McGruder said more mentorship will be important as he navigates his new role in Little Rock. 

“I’m trying my best to form relationships with people,” McGruder said. “Doesn’t matter to me what party you are, I’m just so enthused about the people who have taken a moment just to sit down and talk to me.”

Bipartisanship hasn’t always been necessary in recent years due to the Republican party’s supermajority in both chambers of the Arkansas Legislature, but Torres said lawmakers have a responsibility to set an example for younger generations. Though you may fundamentally disagree with a colleague, it’s important to treat people with dignity and respect, he said.

“As a state, why can’t we be the example of civil discourse,” Torres said. “Good ideas are only fleshed out by collaboration and building consensus, and that’s something that I feel like I’m gifted with. That’s something I want to be able to bring to Little Rock.”

Newly elected legislators said they’re looking forward to affecting change. Though doesn’t plan to make a lifetime career as a legislator, Hall said he’s excited about the opportunity he’ll have to impact the state over the next few years. 

“I get to put my mark on the future of Arkansas so no matter what, if I’m only here for two years or twelve years, I can always say I was a legislator,” he said. “Not a lot of people can say that, and hopefully I can do a lot of great things for us.”

The 2025 session of the 95th General Assembly begins at noon on Jan. 13.