Little Rock mental health advocate announces run for Congress | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Mental health advocate James “Rus” Russell III, who previously announced a run for U.S. Senate, will instead make a run for Arkansas 4th Congressional District challenging U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark.

Russell, a Democrat from Little Rock, initially announced a run for Senate in August, but announced last week he had withdrawn from the race after not wanting to run in a contested primary, saying instead he would seek a different post.

On Friday, he announced he would run for Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District, which covers much of the south and southwestern portions of the state, including Texarkana, El Dorado and Hot Springs.

“The 4th District has been represented by Bruce Westerman for over 10 straight years now, and I’ve see precious little done by him to improve life for any of his constituents who weren’t big money corporations,” Russell said in a post on Facebook announcing his candidacy.

On his website, which still states his intent to run for the U.S. Senate, Russell describes himself as “unapologetically Progressive while also being a Fiscal Realist.”

Westerman, of Hot Springs, was first elected to Congress in 2014. He currently serves as the chair of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources.

Russell said he does not live in 4th Congressional District. While parts of south Little Rock are in the 4th district, Russell is registered to vote at a Little Rock address located within the 2nd Congressional District.

To run for U.S. House of Representatives, candidates are not required to live within the district. The only qualifications the U.S. Constitution requires for House candidates is that they are at least 25 years old, have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years by the time they were elected and live within the state where they are running.

“The 4th was my first Arkansas home,” Russell wrote in the post announcing his candidacy. “Living in Lewisville, running the Hwy 82 corridor to Stamps if we needed something that wasn’t sold in town, or up to Hope, or going to Texarkana when we needed a ‘big city’ purchase. It was buying my first home in Magnolia and making my first new friends as an adult. It’s where my daughter and youngest son were born (Texarkana and El Dorado, respectively).”

In 2024, Westerman easily won reelection, defeating Democrat Risie Howard with 73% of the vote.

Russell, owner of a mental health outpatient clinic, previously ran for office in 2022, losing in the Democratic primary for governor to Chris Jones.