Little Rock, Arkansas – Hallie Shoffner, a sixth-generation Arkansas rice farmer and CEO of Delta Harvest, officially announced on Tuesday that she is running to challenge incumbent Senator Tom Cotton for his U.S. Senate seat in the 2026 election. While Shoffner initially revealed her intention to enter the race earlier this year, her latest announcement makes her candidacy official as the Democratic challenger begins to sharpen her message against Cotton.
Shoffner, a native of Newport and a graduate of Newport High School, Vanderbilt University, and the Clinton School of Public Service, has pointed to her background in agriculture and business as key reasons why she feels ready to take on the longtime Republican senator. In her official campaign video posted on YouTube this week, Shoffner leaned into her personal history as a farmer who understands firsthand the struggles rural Arkansans face, especially those working in agriculture.
“Like hundreds of other Arkansas farmers, no matter how hard we worked or how many crops we planted, it wasn’t enough. While [farmers] were working to keep our farms afloat, Tom Cotton was fighting against us,” Shoffner said in her campaign video.
Shoffner has not shied away from criticizing Cotton’s record when it comes to supporting Arkansas agriculture. In her remarks, she directly called out the senator for voting against the farm bill twice, a move she argues hurt not just farmers like herself but also working families across the state. She claimed Cotton’s actions show a pattern of neglect toward the needs of everyday Arkansans, from farmers to auto mechanics to the single mothers working double shifts to provide for their children.
“Not because I didn’t work hard. Not because I didn’t know what I was doing. But because we are operating under bad policy and total indifference from Washington,” Shoffner said, recalling how she was forced to shut down her family’s farm after nine years of operation.
In addition to her farming background, Shoffner leads Delta Harvest, a company focused on supporting small and mid-sized farmers in the Mississippi Delta by connecting them to buyers and advocating for rural communities. Her work in this area reflects her broader campaign platform, which centers on bolstering rural economies, advocating for fair agricultural policies, and ensuring small businesses and working families have a voice in Washington.
Her criticism of Arkansas’ current political leadership has not been limited to Cotton. In a recent post on her Substack account, Shoffner expressed frustration with Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders for her stance on food assistance programs. Shoffner highlighted reports that Gov. Sanders had asked for federal food stamp benefits to exclude items like sodas and candy. She tied this move to broader cuts in funding for programs that supported healthy food access, especially those connecting schools with local farmers.
“After cutting funding for public schools to buy fresh, healthy food from local farmers, this move is like sitting in the Amen Corner on Sundays while stabbing your neighbors in the back every other day of the week,” Shoffner wrote.
Shoffner’s comments come amid growing concerns about cuts to food and agriculture programs at the federal level. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture ended two initiatives that had provided over $1 billion to schools and food banks to purchase from local farmers. One of those programs, the Local Foods for Schools program, directed about $660 million to schools and childcare centers. The end of these programs was explained as part of a broader shift in the agency’s priorities and was tied to budget cuts introduced through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal agency aimed at slashing costs.
Meanwhile, Senator Tom Cotton, who has held his seat since defeating former Democratic Senator Mark Pryor in 2014, has continued to align himself with conservative causes. Most recently, he introduced legislation aimed at repealing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within STEM-related workplaces, signaling his ongoing focus on fighting what he calls “woke policies” in government and business.
Shoffner, however, is positioning herself as a candidate focused less on ideological battles and more on the practical needs of Arkansans. Her messaging frames Cotton as out of touch with the struggles faced by working-class residents of the state, particularly in rural areas where agriculture remains a key part of the economy.
Shoffner’s campaign is still in its early stages, but she is already working to present herself as a candidate who understands the realities of farm life, small business challenges, and the importance of public service. Her emphasis on rebuilding connections between government policy and everyday people could set the tone for what is expected to be a heated Senate race in a state that has leaned increasingly Republican in recent years.
With more than two years until election day, Shoffner faces an uphill battle against a well-established incumbent. However, her campaign’s focus on agriculture, economic fairness, and rural advocacy signals that she is prepared to speak directly to the voters who feel they’ve been left behind by Washington — and by politicians like Tom Cotton.
