US Midterms 2026
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French Hill, a Republican businessman who has represented Arkansas's 2nd congressional district since 2015, faces Democrat Chris Jones, a nuclear engineer and the party's 2022 nominee for governor, in the 2026 election.
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Recent media coverage for French Hill.
CONWAY, Ark. – Candidates for Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District, incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill and Democratic nominee Chris Jones, faced off in an Arkansas TV debate in Conway on Thursday.
Political forecasters and polls have projected a tight race between Chris Jones and U.S. Rep. French Hill
Jones, a physicist and ordained minister, is challenging Republican Rep. French Hill, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, for Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District seat in the November midterm elections.
16 hours, 22 minutes ago by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | Updated October 15, 2026 at 5:54 p.m.
The candidates for Arkansas' U.S. House District 2 are taking part in a debate on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Follow this link to watch or use the YouTube video player below.
No story this week names this candidate.
French Hill, whose full name is James French Hill, was born on December 5, 1956, in Little Rock, Arkansas. His father, Jay F. Hill, ran a Little Rock financial firm that he had inherited from his own father, and Hill worked in the family firm during the summer months as a teenager.
He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and later attended the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, where he earned a certified corporate director designation.
French Hill worked from 1982 to 1984 as an aide to Republican senator John Tower and as a staffer on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
He served as deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for corporate finance from 1989 to 1991 and as executive secretary to President George H. W. Bush's Economic Policy Council from 1991 to 1993.
Hill founded Delta Trust and Banking Corporation in Little Rock and served as its chief executive and chairman until Simmons Bank acquired it in 2014.
Hill ran for the 2nd district in 2014 after fellow Republican Tim Griffin chose to run for lieutenant governor, and he defeated Democrat Pat Hays, the mayor of North Little Rock, 52% to 44%.
He has been reelected at each election since, most recently in 2024 with 58.9% of the vote against Democrat Marcus Jones.
In the 118th Congress he served on the Committee on Financial Services, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, as well as on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
In 2020 he was appointed to the COVID-19 Congressional Oversight Commission.
Arkansas's 2nd congressional district is located in central Arkansas and includes most of Little Rock, and French Hill is the Republican incumbent seeking reelection after winning 58.9% of the vote in 2024.
He secured the Republican nomination in a primary against Chase McDowell, a consultant who was a nominee for Arkansas State Representative District 5 in 2020.
His Democratic opponent is Chris Jones, a nuclear engineer and the 2022 Democratic nominee for governor, who won his primary with 92.6% of the vote against educator Zack Huffman. Hill and Jones meet in the general election on November 3, 2026.
