LITTLE ROCK, AR – Chris Jones called Rep. French Hill to congratulate him and concede the race to represent Arkansas’s 2nd Congressional District.

 

“I’m proud of what we built together,” Jones said. “We talked about what Arkansans are paying for diesel and groceries, whether their hospital will stay open, and whether their congressman answers to them. We went to places that had been overlooked for a long time, and thousands of Arkansans got involved, many of them for the first time. More than 123,000 of you voted for us, we got the closest anybody has ever come to beating Congressman Hill, and we put a crack in that Arkansas glass ceiling. 

 

“Now, this isn’t the outcome we worked for, but being your candidate has been one of the great honors of my life. I’ll carry the stories you shared with me at your kitchen tables for a long time. Thank you.”

 

Jones continued, “I congratulate Congressman Hill, and I hope he’ll take seriously his responsibility to serve every family in this district, including the families who voted for me. If he wants to work together on lowering costs or keeping our hospitals open, he can call me.”

 

Jones is also calling on the newly elected majority in Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act.

 

“I ran for Congress because I wanted to cast a vote to restore the Voting Rights Act. I won’t get to cast it in January, so I’m asking the people who have that opportunity to get it done,” 

 

Jones said. “In 2021, the legislature split Pulaski County into three congressional districts. This spring, the Supreme Court gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and within weeks, states started breaking up majority-Black districts. It is likely that if this district were not gerrymandered in 2021, today we would have a different result.

 

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act has been sitting in committee. To the new Congress: bring it back, update it for what the Court did in April, and pass it in your first hundred days. Then put every member on the record, Congressman Hill included.

 

“To my fellow Arkansans, I’ll never stop fighting for you because Arkansas will always be my home. I still believe in affordability and accountability for all, and I’ll keep working for it with each of you.”

 

Jones asked supporters to stay involved. He urged them to:

• make sure their provisional ballots are cleared by Monday;

• contact the congressman’s office about his votes, including on the John Lewis bill;

• check on neighbors who need support;

• consider running for local office.