Two candidates announce bids to chair Democratic Party of Arkansas

From the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on August 1, 2025 by NEAL EARLEY

Cotton (L) and Jones (R)

The race to lead the Democratic Party of Arkansas began Thursday with two contenders — interim party Chair Jannie Cotton and former congressional candidate Marcus Jones announcing their bids.

Cotton — the first candidate to announce — has served as the party’s interim chair since the resignation of Grant Tennille on July 15. Cotton, 71, was elected vice chair of the Democratic Party of Arkansas in January 2023.

In an interview, Cotton said she is the person best positioned to lead Arkansas Democrats going forward and saying if elected she would expand the party’s outreach in heavily Republican Arkansas. “I want the people who donate $5 to know they are as important as a vote and as a part of this party as somebody who is able to give $5,000 or $10,000,” she said. Cotton is a member of the Democratic National Committee and is vice president of the Southern district of the Association of State Democratic Committees.

Jannie Cotton

A native of Little Rock, Cotton is a licensed professional therapist and served as the CEO of Professional Counseling Associates before retiring in 2018. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff and a master’s degree from the University of Central Arkansas. Prior to becoming vice chair under Tennille, Cotton had run twice for the state House of Representatives, losing to state Rep. Karilyn Brown, R-Sherwood, in 2020 and 2022.

In an interview, Cotton touted her ability to fundraise, saying she helped turn the party’s Fisher Shackelford Dinner into a major source of donations. “So I’m a fundraiser and that’s what this job takes, the first priority is raising funds,” she said.

Marcus Jones

Jones, of Little Rock, served in the U.S. Army for 29 years, retiring in 2023 with the rank of colonel. Jones’ military service included multiple deployments to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also served in South Korea from 2015-2017 as part of Eighth Army and in Norway from 2017-2020 as NATO’s Joint Warfare Center.

In 2024, Jones, 52, ran as the Democratic nominee for Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District, losing to incumbent U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark. Jones has an undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and master’s degrees from the U.S. Army War College and Webster University. Jones returned to Arkansas to serve as the senior army advisor to the Arkansas National Guard, a post he served from 2020-2023.

In an interview, Jones said state committee members should look to his military experience when considering his candidacy, saying, “I have a proven track record of leadership.” Jones said if he is elected party chair, he wants Democrats to improve the party’s messaging and “really look at what our strategic plan is” for how Democrats can win elections.

“We have to look at how we communicate to Arkansans,” Jones said. “We have, in my opinion … the right ideas. We have the right policies. We’ve got to move forward and communicate that to bring people to the polls and get Democrats elected.”

Both Cotton and Jones have praised Tennille’s leadership of the party saying the former chair had left the party on better financial ground since taking over in October of 2021.

While Democrats used to dominate politics in the Natural State, the party is far from the peak of its influence and power, only holding 19 out of 100 seats in the Arkansas House and six out of 35 seats in the state senate. All seven of Arkansas’ public officials elected to statewide office are Republicans, along with the entirety of the state’s four U.S. Representatives and both U.S. Senators.

The new chair will be chosen during the state committee meeting on Aug. 16. Candidates running for chair have until noon Monday to file their notice of candidacy and until 7 p.m. on Aug. 8 to submit their petitions.

State party rules require that a new chair is elected within 60 days of a resignation. In July, the executive committee approved rules to require candidates to have at least 10 signatures from state committee members before they can run. No nominations from the floor will be accepted. Rules state the election for party chair will be conducted electronically or through paper ballots. If a candidate fails to receive a majority vote on the first ballot of state committee members, voting will continue until a new chair is elected. If there is no winner by the third ballot, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated from contention.