James Russell

James Russell is the Democratic nominee for Arkansas's 4th Congressional District. He is a business owner who has worked in statewide mental healthcare since 2014, ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2022, and describes deep family ties to Arkansas farming going back to the 1860s.[1]

Russell has lived in Little Rock, according to Ballotpedia. He graduated from Captain Shreve High School and earned bachelor's degrees from the University of Central Arkansas in 2012 (a B.S. in philosophy) and 2021; he says he studied a joint pre-med/pre-law curriculum there.[1] He served in the U.S. Army National Guard in 1996.[1] His career experience includes owning CYA Music, LLC, co-owning New Dawn Counseling, and working as a musician, and he says he has provided statewide mental healthcare services since 2014.[1]

In his Ballotpedia survey, Russell describes his family as having farmed in Lafayette County, Arkansas, since the 1860s, and says he worked with youth groups in Columbia County in the 1990s.[1] He ran in the May 24, 2022 Democratic primary for Arkansas governor, which Chris Jones won.[1] Russell describes himself as a husband, father, uncle and great-uncle.[1]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.