State Senator James Sturch announces re-election campaign

State Sen. James Sturch, a Republican, recently announced his re-election campaign.

Sturch was first elected to the State Senate in 2018 after serving two terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives. After the recent redistricting, Senate District 22 includes all of Independence and Sharp counties and parts of Cleburne, Fulton, Izard, Lawrence, and Stone counties.

“Our part of the state deserves a conservative, common-sense voice of reason,” said Sturch. “I’ve proven to be that as I’ve worked for better educational opportunities, more limited government, and fought to ensure we keep the freedoms to make the personal decisions we each feel are best for our families.”

According to a release announcing his re-election campaign, Sturch’s passion for public service began as a teenager nearly 20 years ago when he volunteered for Mike Huckabee’s gubernatorial re-election campaign. Since then, he has served on local, state, and federal campaigns which led him to first run for State Representative in 2014. That year when faced by Primary and General Election opposition, he won each contest with over 62 percent of the vote. In 2018, he was elected to the Senate with 73 percent of voters’ support.

As a member of the Senate Education Committee, Sturch has been a strong advocate for higher education opportunities for students, parental input in their children’s education, and a supporter of giving more control back to local school districts.

“I’ve always believed the government closest to the people is best,” said Sturch. “As a conservative, I remain opposed to efforts that attempt to transfer local control to bigger government agencies or programs.”

Sturch voted for the largest income tax reduction in Arkansas history and says he looks forward to continuing lowering taxes in the upcoming special session the Governor is expected to call at the end of the year.

During his time in the Senate, Sturch has earned a reputation as being a hard worker. He is well respected by his colleagues and has passed 86 percent of the Senate bills he sponsored.

In addition to the Education Committee, Sturch also serves on the Senate Agriculture, Forestry, and Economic Development Committee and is Chairman of both Senate Rules and Educational Institutions for Legislative Joint Auditing.

Sturch is a graduate of Southside High School and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he earned degrees in political science and secondary education. Sturch is a certified high school social studies teacher and has completed his master’s degree in Public Administration. He currently teaches at Southside Public Schools. He and his wife Macy reside in Batesville and are members of Locust Grove Missionary Baptist Church.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity my constituents have given me to serve as their State Senator. I look forward to meeting new constituents and earning their support in this next campaign.”