U.S. House · Arkansas's 1st District
Steve Parsons
CandidateLIB
- Race
- U.S. House · Arkansas's 1st District
- Result
- Rick Crawford, projected winner
- Opponents
- Rick Crawford (R); Terri Yarbrough Green (D)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did1 statement · 0 votes
Eliminate trade tariffs (the 2018 trade war with China alone costs America $50 billion a year and 166,000 jobs).
Broad tariffs on imported goods
Compare statements with votes ›On the ballotU.S. House · 1
2026-11-03
| Rick Crawford R | incumbent |
| Terri Yarbrough Green D | challenger |
| Steve Parsons LIB | challenger |
Advanced from the Libertarian Party's February 22, 2026 state convention.
Said vs. did
Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.
Eliminate trade tariffs (the 2018 trade war with China alone costs America $50 billion a year and 166,000 jobs).
Campaign website calls for eliminating trade tariffs, citing the cost of the 2018 U.S.-China trade war.[7]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Biography
Steve Parsons (Steven Gene Parsons), a Libertarian from Lakeview, lost the November 3, 2026 election for Arkansas's 1st District to Rick Crawford. A retired consultant with a doctorate in economics, he was also the Libertarian candidate for the seat in 2024. He ran on cutting inflation through deregulation and tariff elimination, immigration reform, and reducing incarceration.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Parsons has a Ph.D. in economics and, according to his campaign website, is a retired consultant who worked with clients around the world and was an adjunct professor for more than 20 years, teaching the economics of technology to graduate engineering students at Washington University in St. Louis.[6][4] He moved to Lakeview, Arkansas, in 2016 with his wife, Dr. Susan Parsons, a retired pathologist; Talk Business & Politics lists him as a Libertarian from Lakeview.[6][2]
Parsons advanced from the Libertarian convention as a candidate for Arkansas House District 3 in 2022. In 2024 he was the Libertarian nominee for the 1st Congressional District and received 3.1% (8,353 votes) in the general election won by Rick Crawford.[1] In a 2024 interview, he described his political philosophy as centered on limited government, a plain reading of the Constitution and individual choice, and said he was running to give voters options beyond the two major parties.[4] He advanced from the Libertarian Party convention on February 22, 2026, to the 2026 general election ballot.[1] He received 3.6% of the vote to Rick Crawford's 65.5%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[3]
In their own words
Priorities
- Cut inflation by eliminating trade tariffs, cutting federal regulations, reducing bureaucracy in visa/green-card processing, and cutting federal spending.[7]
- Reform immigration by cutting green-card and work-visa bureaucracy, eliminating tariffs on Latin American goods, and creating a clearer path to legal permanent residency.[7]
- Incarceration, substance abuse and mental health reform: says treatment is far more cost-effective than incarceration.[7]
Statements, quoted without a stance
- Expand immigration enforcement and deportations
“The U.S. should eliminate the existing 3/10 rule for existing undocumented immigrants.”[8]
On his campaign website
Campaign moneyNo FEC filing summary matched — state candidates file with their state, not the FEC.
Profile: /people/steve-parsons
Compare all 3 candidates side by side ›
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.Steve Parsons · Steven Gene Parsons campaign website (via Ballotpedia) Candidate's own words
- 2.CD1 debate turns feisty · Talk Business & Politics News report
- 3.Arkansas's 1st District results 2026 · NBC News News report
- 4.Two candidates challenge Crawford in 1st Congressional District · Little Rock Public Radio News report
- 5.Platform · Steve Parsons campaign website · 2026-10-19 Candidate's own words
- 6.About · Steve Parsons campaign website · 2026-10-19 Candidate's own words
- 7.Platform · Steve Parsons campaign website · 2026-10-19 Candidate's own words
- 8.Immigration Policy as a Practical Libertarian · Steve Parsons campaign website · 2026-10-19 Candidate's own words