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Arkansas Secretary of State — 2026 Candidate Filing Search
Position/Office: Governor
Party Affiliation: Libertarian
Candidate Name: Colt Shelby
Filing Date: 2026-03-03
Official and campaign contacts
Only contact details published in official filing records, FEC filings, or a verified candidate-owned source with retained exact evidence appear here.
Publication here means only that the contact detail appeared in the cited filing. It is not an endorsement, and older filings may remain visible until an amended official record is captured.
Experience
Verified records and candidate-provided claims are labeled separately.
A Sixth Generation
Source-published biography
Colt grew up in Cecil, Arkansas, the son of Ronnie and Lisa Shelby. He attended Cecil Methodist Church for nearly 30 years — a faith that remains the cornerstone of his life.
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Colt grew up in Cecil, Arkansas, the son of Ronnie and Lisa Shelby. He attended Cecil Methodist Church for nearly 30 years — a faith that remains the cornerstone of his life.
Positions and priorities
A position shows what the candidate said—not FactVote's endorsement.
Each summary is supported by the candidate's own words from a campaign source, direct candidate response, or official primary record retained with the profile.
GovernmentTransparency
Candidate position
Too many Arkansans feel like their government is hiding things from the hardworking taxpayers who keep this state running. Colt will restore open, honest government.
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Too many Arkansans feel like their government is hiding things from the hardworking taxpayers who keep this state running. Colt will restore open, honest government.
Economy, taxes, spending, and affordability
Candidate position
Colt has managed hundreds of millions in contracts with zero waste. He will bring that same discipline to the state budget — your tax dollars deserve accountability.
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Colt has managed hundreds of millions in contracts with zero waste. He will bring that same discipline to the state budget — your tax dollars deserve accountability.
Public safety and criminal justice
Candidate position
Colt opposes the proposed 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County — a costly, poorly-planned project that will harm rural communities without making Arkansans safer.
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Colt opposes the proposed 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County — a costly, poorly-planned project that will harm rural communities without making Arkansans safer.
Energy, environment, utilities, and natural resources
Candidate position
Proposed industrial data center expansion threatens to drive up utility rates for Arkansas families and farms. Colt will put ratepayers first — not corporate interests.
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Proposed industrial data center expansion threatens to drive up utility rates for Arkansas families and farms. Colt will put ratepayers first — not corporate interests.
Farm Economy
Candidate position
As a working farmer and Franklin County landowner, Colt understands what it takes to keep Arkansas agriculture viable — and he will fight for the people who feed our state.
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As a working farmer and Franklin County landowner, Colt understands what it takes to keep Arkansas agriculture viable — and he will fight for the people who feed our state.
Economy, jobs, taxes, and affordability
Candidate position
As governor, Colt will require genuine local input and transparent, defensible cost accounting before any project of this scale moves forward anywhere in Arkansas — not just Franklin County.
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As governor, Colt will require genuine local input and transparent, defensible cost accounting before any project of this scale moves forward anywhere in Arkansas — not just Franklin County.
Education and workforce development
Candidate position
Colt opposes school voucher schemes that redirect public education dollars to private and often unaccountable alternatives. In rural Arkansas, where a single public school may be the only option for miles, voucher programs don't create more choice — they drain resources from the schools that rural families actually depend on.
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Colt opposes school voucher schemes that redirect public education dollars to private and often unaccountable alternatives. In rural Arkansas, where a single public school may be the only option for miles, voucher programs don't create more choice — they drain resources from the schools that rural families actually depend on.
Elections, transparency, and government accountability
Candidate position
Require public comment periods for significant agency rule changes, especially those affecting utility rates, land use, and natural resources.
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Require public comment periods for significant agency rule changes, especially those affecting utility rates, land use, and natural resources.
Energy, environment, utilities, and natural resources
Candidate position
Supporting career and technical education pathways that connect directly to Arkansas's agriculture, energy, and skilled trades economy — giving students real options whether or not they go to a four-year college.
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Supporting career and technical education pathways that connect directly to Arkansas's agriculture, energy, and skilled trades economy — giving students real options whether or not they go to a four-year college.
Elections, transparency, and government accountability
Candidate position
End the practice of routing major policy decisions through emergency rulemaking or closed-door negotiations when there's no genuine emergency.
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End the practice of routing major policy decisions through emergency rulemaking or closed-door negotiations when there's no genuine emergency.
Agriculture, rural communities, and food policy
Candidate position
Protecting farmland and water resources from being crowded out by large industrial development — including data centers — that can drive up utility costs and strain shared water resources in farm country.
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Protecting farmland and water resources from being crowded out by large industrial development — including data centers — that can drive up utility costs and strain shared water resources in farm country.
Energy, environment, utilities, and natural resources
Candidate position
Arkansas should do the same: require large data center and crypto-mining operations to pay their fair share of grid upgrades, guarantee water use doesn't come at the expense of local agriculture and communities, and give the Public Service Commission real authority to review these deals before they're signed — not after.
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Arkansas should do the same: require large data center and crypto-mining operations to pay their fair share of grid upgrades, guarantee water use doesn't come at the expense of local agriculture and communities, and give the Public Service Commission real authority to review these deals before they're signed — not after.
Government and public policy
Candidate position
Supporting policies that keep family farms economically viable across generations, not just large agribusiness operations.
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Supporting policies that keep family farms economically viable across generations, not just large agribusiness operations.
Energy, environment, utilities, and natural resources
Candidate position
Colt supports smart economic development. What he opposes is a system where taxpayers and ratepayers absorb the risk while out-of-state companies get the benefit. As governor, he will push for an Arkansas Ratepayer and Water Protection framework that puts Arkansas families and farms first.
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Colt supports smart economic development. What he opposes is a system where taxpayers and ratepayers absorb the risk while out-of-state companies get the benefit. As governor, he will push for an Arkansas Ratepayer and Water Protection framework that puts Arkansas families and farms first.
Government and public policy
Candidate position
Bringing a working farmer's perspective to state agricultural policy, rather than leaving those decisions entirely to lobbyists and agency staff with no boots-on-the-ground experience.
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Bringing a working farmer's perspective to state agricultural policy, rather than leaving those decisions entirely to lobbyists and agency staff with no boots-on-the-ground experience.
Government and public policy
Candidate position
Push for real-time public disclosure of major state contracts, incentive packages, and economic development agreements before they're finalized — not after.
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Push for real-time public disclosure of major state contracts, incentive packages, and economic development agreements before they're finalized — not after.
Government and public policy
Candidate position
Hold regular, unscripted town halls in every region of the state — not just the population centers.
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Hold regular, unscripted town halls in every region of the state — not just the population centers.
Government and public policy
Candidate position
Colt's message is simple: if a project can't survive an honest look at the numbers, it doesn't deserve Arkansas taxpayer money.
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Colt's message is simple: if a project can't survive an honest look at the numbers, it doesn't deserve Arkansas taxpayer money.
Government and public policy
Candidate position
Colt believes strengthening public schools — not defunding them — is how Arkansas builds a stronger future.
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Colt believes strengthening public schools — not defunding them — is how Arkansas builds a stronger future.
Energy, environment, utilities, and natural resources
Candidate position
Ensuring rural infrastructure — roads, broadband, and grid reliability — gets the same attention as infrastructure in urban centers.
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Ensuring rural infrastructure — roads, broadband, and grid reliability — gets the same attention as infrastructure in urban centers.
Public record
Executive public-record methodology
Executive public-record methodology
An executive record will attach only from official orders, directives, vetoes, signed actions, legal filings, or direct official statements that explicitly attribute the action to this person. Agency outcomes and events during an administration are not inferred as personal actions.
Campaign finance
Official filings may be amended after publication.
Current campaign-finance summary unavailable
No Arkansas campaign-finance amount attaches until one exact committee identity, compatible office and cycle, and stable official report are captured. Missing values are not zero.
Names and candidate-stated prior service alone never attach another person's records. This does not establish that the candidate has never held public office.
An earlier filing record alone does not verify a party nomination or final general-election placement. Final November 3 ballot certification, withdrawals, substitutions, and additional candidates still require reconciliation. The filing search returned no candidate rows during the September 14 review.
Sources
Every profile claim points back to retained source evidence.
Election record
2026 Arkansas candidate filing record retained August 19 — Colt Shelby
