Tom Cotton is Arkansas's junior U.S. senator and has served in the Senate since 2015, after representing the state's 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House. He is a former Army infantry officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and is chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
Cotton’s campaign says he supports lower taxes, opposes tax increases, and favors rolling back regulations it associates with the Green New Deal. It also says he supports domestic energy production and legislation intended to limit data-center-related costs for Arkansans.
Cotton’s campaign says he supports protecting rural hospitals, expanding access to care, lowering prescription-drug costs, and strengthening care for veterans and seniors. It also says he opposes a government takeover of health care and supported repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual-mandate penalty.
Cotton opposes the Green New Deal and other climate mandates, arguing they raise costs and can undermine reliable electricity. In February 2026, he and Sen. Tim Sheehy introduced the Ratepayer Affordability and Transparency in Energy (RATE) Act, which Cotton’s office said would preempt state renewable-energy mandates that inflate electricity costs or interfere with infrastructure planning.
Cotton has described himself as pro-life and has called for legal protections for unborn children. In a 2021 speech, he opposed taxpayer funding of abortion and argued that unborn children deserve legal protection.
Cotton’s campaign says he supports Second Amendment protections for law-abiding gun owners, opposes gun-control measures it views as burdens on those owners, and favors stronger enforcement against violent criminals and gangs.
Cotton supports stricter border and interior immigration enforcement. His campaign says he supported ending catch-and-release, completing the border wall, deporting noncitizens convicted of crimes, and changing legal immigration through the RAISE Act.
Tom Cotton continues to advocate a strength-oriented foreign policy focused on countering strategic competitors and defending U.S. national security interests. In late July 2026, he urged export controls on advanced computing and semiconductor equipment, restrictions on Chinese AI models and government-contractor use, and scrutiny of Chinese financial ties to U.S. universities; after the Senate passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 on August 7, he said the United States should defend freedom around the world and ensure allies trust its commitments.
Cotton supports local control of education, parental rights, school choice, higher teacher pay, and reduced federal involvement in Arkansas schools, according to his campaign. The campaign also says he favors a curriculum focused on reading, writing, math, history, and civics.
Cotton supports requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and voter identification requirements. He cosponsored the Dismantle DEI Act of 2025 (S. 382), which would prohibit specified federal diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, programs, training, and funding, and he voted against the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022.
Cotton argues that the United States should maintain AI leadership over China for national-security and economic reasons. In July 2026, he urged the commerce secretary to pursue tighter controls on advanced computing and semiconductor equipment, restrict federal contractors’ use of Chinese AI models, and support a U.S. open-AI ecosystem; he has also advocated safeguards for advanced AI chips and cybersecurity investment for critical infrastructure.
Tom Cotton supports stricter federal election-identification requirements. In March 2026, he urged the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship for federal voter registration and promote voter-ID requirements. On August 8, 2026, he voted for cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 5271, a bill requiring photo identification to vote in federal elections; the motion failed to receive the required votes.
Cotton’s campaign highlights defense investment and employment in Arkansas, including at the Pine Bluff Arsenal and Ebbing Air National Guard Base near Fort Smith. It also emphasizes lower taxes, energy production, rural health care, local control of schools, and legislation intended to limit costs associated with data centers.
Cotton’s campaign says he supports lower taxes, opposes tax increases, and favors rolling back regulations it associates with the Green New Deal. It also says he supports domestic energy production and legislation intended to limit data-center-related costs for Arkansans.
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Background
Career History
U.S. Senator2015 – Present
United States Senate
U.S. Representative2013 – 2015
U.S. House of Representatives
Infantry Officer2005 – 2009
United States Army
Served nearly five years on active duty, including deployments to Iraq with the 101st Airborne and to Afghanistan with a Provincial Reconstruction Team.
Education
Harvard Law SchoolJuris Doctor (2002)
Harvard UniversityBachelor of Arts in Government (1998)
Top Donors
For the 2025–26 two-year period, Cotton for Senate reported $6,233,116.56 in total receipts through June 30, 2026. Separately, the FEC candidate financial summary covering January 1, 2021, through June 30, 2026, reports $9,931,884.93 in ending cash on hand, $8,068,456.86 in individual contributions, $1,433,000 in other-committee contributions, and $3,046,680.44 in transfers from authorized committees.
Cotton is an incumbent Republican senator who has represented Arkansas in the Senate since 2015. GovTrack identifies his sponsored-bill issue areas as including international affairs, crime and law enforcement, armed forces and national security, and immigration; Congress.gov identifies his sponsorship of the GATE Act of 2025, which would restrict certain foreign-national access to national laboratories. Vote Smart provides his recorded key votes.