Photo: Bob Largent
The president and CEO of the Harrison Regional Chamber of Commerce has announced his candidacy for the Arkansas State Senate. Bob Largent will be the second challenger to incumbent Senator Bob Ballinger of Ozark in the Republican primary for District 28. According to the Carroll County News, State Representative Keith Slape of Compton had already announced his candidacy.
Largent was born and raised in Springdale. He graduated from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and later joined the Air Force in 1968. Largent served for more than 24 years before retiring as a colonel in December 1992. During his service, he earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Oklahoma and graduated from the Air War College.
Largent has been president and CEO of the Harrison Regional Chamber of Commerce since 2019. In his news release, he says he has recreated the chamber to focus on economic development, grown investments by 20 percent and orchestrated a region-wide economic recovery task force in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Largent describes himself as pro-life and a constitutional conservative who supports the Second Amendment and limited federal government. He and his wife, Becky, have three children, nine grandchildren and a great grandson.
District 28 will include western Boone County, the majority of Newton County, all of Carroll and Madison counties and portions of Johnson and Franklin counties. The primary election will be held May 24.
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