Arkansas › Pulaski County › Pulaski County Judge
2 candidates are tracked for Pulaski County Judge on the November 3, 2026 ballot: Wendell Griffen and Michael Rushin. Candidate information follows official Pulaski County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
Democrat Wendell Griffen finished ahead of incumbent County Judge Barry Hyde in the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary, per Arkansas Times ('Griffen defeats Hyde in Democratic primary for Pulaski County judge'). He faces Republican Michael Rushin, a real estate broker, in the November 3, 2026 general election for chief executive of Arkansas's most populous county, per the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Wendell Griffen is a retired circuit court judge and pastor, age 73, per the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. His campaign site describes a background in law, theology, and activism. He has proposed a 12-month moratorium on new data center approvals and stricter permitting requirements for large data centers, per the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and KATV.
2026 priorities
- A 12-month moratorium on new data center approvals to allow proper county planning, per Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 2026 candidate forum
- Addressing public trust in county government through truthful communication with the Quorum Court, per Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 2026 candidate forum
- Raising county employee compensation, noting workers have gone three years without raises, per Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 2026 candidate forum
Source: candidate campaign site, roster verified 2026-09-09.
Campaign site →
Michael Rushin is a real estate broker, age 53, who owns his own firm offering property management services, per the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Michael Rushin.
2026 priorities
- A 90-day review of county operations, budgetary controls, major contracts, and road priorities, per Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 2026 candidate forum
- Quarterly budget briefings in plain language explaining budget changes and recurring costs, per Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 2026 candidate forum
- Making county contracts and bid awards easily accessible to citizens, per Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 2026 candidate forum
