Exclusive: Arkansas Governor Candidate Chris Jones Talks Fragile Democracy and Beating An Inaccessible Adversary

When Chris Jones, the Democratic candidate for Arkansas governor, was 8 years old, his father, a preacher, took him on an unforgettable trip.

“Early on, my dad took me from my hometown to Little Rock and I met then-Gov. Bill Clinton,” Jones tells BLACK ENTERPRISE.

“I was fascinated by the interaction and talking with him and I asked my dad ‘what does he do?’ and my dad said, ‘Well he’s the governor.’ I asked what’s a governor and he said, ‘Go look it up.’ So I went home and got the encyclopedia and found out that the governor solves problems and makes a difference in people’s lives.”

Solving problems and changing lives is exactly why the Morehouse College and M.I.T. graduate is running for Arkansas governor. According to Jones, Arkansas is at the crossroads of challenge or opportunity and he wants to steer it in the right direction. Additionally, he was motivated by his Republican challenger Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

“It turns out not too long after I made my decision to start putting things in place, I found out my opponent was jumping into the race and it made it all the more important and relevant for me to be running at this time.”

Jones, a scientist, engineer, and minister, spent three years as the executive director of the Arkansas Innovation Hub. During his campaign, Jones visited all 75 counties in the state and one thing he knows is Arkansas residents want PB&J—preschool, broadband, and jobs—across The Land of Opportunity.

“The first part is really about spreading PB&J across the state and for us it’s preschool, broadband, and jobs,” Jones tells BLACK ENTERPRISE.

“What folks are telling us is that they need real quality education and we have to start with the foundation, which is preschool. Folks have also told us what they need is broadband and high-speed internet to be connected to the broader world, have access to telehealth, and have a whole new avenue of opportunities for economic development. The “J” is about jobs; regardless of anything else, we need jobs. We need jobs where you can work 40 hours a week and still keep a roof over your head and still take a vacation and save a little money.”

Huckabee Sanders has largely avoided the media during her campaign, although she did participate in the governor’s debate. According to Jones, avoidance is part of her plan.

“That’s 100% her strategy, avoidance, it’s to hold the ball and run out the clock and she’s done that from the outset,” Jones tells BLACK ENTERPRISE.

“I don’t think she’s publicly yet to say my name as the person she’s running against, she’s acting like the race doesn’t exist and I don’t care, I don’t need her to acknowledge me, but when I think about what that means for Arkansans, what she saying is, your vote doesn’t matter. What she saying is, I don’t care about you and the issues that you want to change. And what she’s saying is, that if you don’t support me, you don’t matter. And that’s what gets my blood boiling is that she would do that to Arkansans who are struggling, who were fighting and dealing with their own challenges and issues on a day-to-day basis.”

In, addition to infrastructure, education, and healthcare, Jones wants to improve protections for renters in the state, who can face criminal charges for a failure to vacate. Arkansas is ranked dead last in states ranked by legislation for renters.

Jones is also a supporter of voting rights for all and fair elections. The HBCU graduate has committed to the institution of Democracy by signing the Safe and Fair Voting Pledge.

“Democracy is at risk, Democracy is fragile and part of the strength in Democracy is having safe and fair elections and that has been challenged,” saysJones. “The twice-impeached former president had a direct result on democracy by inciting an Insurrection, by not actually embracing a peaceful transfer of power, and by talking about election fraud. My opponent Sarah Huckabee Sanders is mirroring those things, she’s been silent on the insurrection that was an attack on democracy and law enforcement. She’s been silent on fair elections.”

One of the things that Jones is keenly aware of is how many Black people are involved in this election, whether its HBCU students organizing and registering people to vote, the number of Black candidates running, or the voters who are telling Jones he has their support.

The quality of Black candidates running for elected office this November is inspiring, he says.

“You have Stacey Abrams who is a force, she graduated Spelman the year I got to Morehouse,” Jones says. “You’ve got Wes Moore who is dominating, he’s also a good friend and to see him with a national 30-point lead in Maryland, so yes it feels amazing, it feels almost like we’ve got Avengers coming out of nowhere who are saying it’s time to come together because even though we’re in different states were fighting for the same thing.”