A senatorial election was held in Arkansas on December 20, 1860, as part of the 1860–61 United States Senate elections. The Democratic former Arkansas representative Charles B. Mitchel defeated Samuel H. Hempstead and the former chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court George C. Watkins.
The incumbent senator Robert W. Johnson did not seek re-election. The Arkansas General Assembly met on December 20, 1860, to elect Johnson's successor. Democrats Charles B. Mitchel, Samuel H. Hempstead, N. B. Burrow, and George C. Watkins were nominated as candidates. Burrow, a secessionist, declined to be considered; the remaining candidates were notably cautious in their responses to Lincoln's election.
Mitchel was elected with 52 votes on the ninth ballot. He subsequently was expelled from Congress on July 11, 1861, following the secession of Arkansas.
General election + 1860 United States Senate election in Arkansas Party Candidate 1stballot 2ndballot 3rdballot 4thballot 5thballot 6thballot 7thballot 8thballot 9thballot Democratic Charles B. Mitchel 27 31 33 35 37 39 41 44 52 Democratic Samuel H. Hempstead 33 34 33 32 31 28 28 28 26 Democratic George C. Watkins 23 22 22 22 21 19 19 16 8 Democratic Robert W. Johnson 2 2 2 1 1 colspan=3 2 C. F. Hemingway colspan=8 1 Democratic John S. Roane 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 S. M. Scott colspan=8 1 Constitutional Union Hugh F. Thomason colspan=8 1 John T. Trigg colspan=8 1 Democratic N. B. Burrow 3 1 1 colspan=6 George W. Lemoyne 2 1 1 1 1 colspan=3 John H. Askew colspan=3 1 colspan=5 Democratic Albert Pike colspan=3 1 1 1 1 1 Total votes 91 92 93 93 93 89 90 90 93 Votes needed to win 48 48 48 48 48 47 49 47 48
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