“Affordability, public education and economic development,” These are the pillars that 23 year old senior Elijah “Eli” Thompson is basing his Arkansas House of Representatives campaign on.

Thompson is a University of Central Arkansas student who is working on a double major in political science and psychology and is part of the Honor’s program on campus.

Thompson has spent a large part of his career at UCA as a member of the Student Activities Board (SAB) and was the President of the SAB the past two years.

Thomson is running for Representative of District 81 in Arkansas, which encompasses Bryant, Alexander, Shannon Hills and a small portion of Benton in Selene County.

Thompson is currently working to “mobilize new blocks of voters” in his district.

Thompson, who is running to represent the Democratic Party, said, “One of the reasons that my district has stayed red for so long is because no Democratic candidate before me has really been able to mobilize different blocks that usually don’t vote.”

Thompson has high hopes for what he will be able to achieve if elected.

He said, “I think that there’s a big need to make things more affordable in Arkansas. Arkansas has a chronic problem with economic underdevelopment and a lack of opportunity. I  think that Arkansas has a lot of potential for agritech, mining and cybersecurity and I would like to continue [to see these industries build in the state] in a responsible way.”

Public education has a personal impact on Thompson, whose mother is an award winning teacher in the state of Arkansas.

Thompson said, “I don’t think that it’s good to take kids out of school. I don’t think that it’s good to defund public schools, especially underperforming public schools, and I don’t think it’s right to deregulate certain child labor protections like how we’ve seen recently … I think people are living their best life when they have some form of social mobility, which historically has come through education, specifically public education.” Thompson also later said, “I think school should be a place where kids are taught how to think, not what to think.” He reflected on the emerging religious and ideological secularism in schools and how that is almost “indoctrinating” students.

On top of Thompson being a full time student at UCA he is also running his own campaign.

In regards to how he balances these work loads Thompson said, “There’s no more added pressure on me to run my campaign and to pursue office than there is any other person right now… most state senators and state representatives have jobs or have families… I have a lot of free time lately… and I think that if you’re not devoting your free time, at least a portion of it to something productive and helpful for other people then you’re probably not spending it in the best way, but that’s just my opinion.”

In regards to the inspiration and reasoning behind his campaign, Thompson said his biggest reason occurred this summer.

Thompson said, “There are a number of personal things that happened in my life near the end of summer that put a lot of things into perspective for me. I think that one of the really beautiful things about grief and shame and regret is that oftentimes those are the biggest sparks for change… it gives you this kind of renewed faith in your place in the world, what you’re meant to do… it’s always been kind of like a little dream but I think after this summer I started to take it more seriously.”

Thompson was born and raised in Bryant, Arkansas.

He said, “A part of loving yourself is being able to learn to love where you’re from … and I’m always going to be an Arkansan no matter where I go.”

As mentioned earlier, Thompson wants to mobilize new types of voters. He wants to “reinvigorate” older people and get new voting blocks to the polls. Thompson specifically wants to combat political cynicism that is ever present in his own generation. Thompson said, “I hope that I can inspire some younger people to realize that they’re not just pawns in a political game and that they are active participants who have a role to play.”

Thompson is also advocating for animal control. Thompson owns two dogs that are considered “a dangerous breed” and said, “To own an animal like that is a responsibility. So I think if we could see the law reflect that a little bit more that would be better.”

Thompson also notes how many residents of Bryant, one of the cities in his district, commute to Little Rock for work. He wants to see the roads between these two areas “match the developing connectivity.”

Thompson encourages his peers to become involved in the political system, he calls for people to register to vote and make your voice heard.

Thompson said, “My mentality was always like, if you’re running for office … I imagine you walk around with the same kind of feeling that you have when you owe somebody money, like ‘I owe people answers and if I don’t have answers to every single thing then I’m not doing my job right.’”

Thompson’s family has been “super supportive” of his candidacy, while a majority of his friends fall on the politically cynical side of things. Thompson said, “[My friends] are supportive but skeptical of what could be done if the position is attained.” Thompson noted that his professors are “intrigued” at his candidacy.

Thompson’s primary will be in March of next year and, if he wins that, he will move to general elections next November. More information about Thompson’s campaign is available on instagram @thompsonforarkansas26.