Republican Frank Glidewell was elected to the Arkansas State Senate District 8 seat in a special election Tuesday. He defeated Libertarian candidate William Hyman at the polls. Glidewell ran on a platform of stopping “the expansion of ObamaCare in Arkansas,” for lower taxes, against legal abortion and in favor of the 2nd Amendment. He is a former member of the Arkansas National Guard, according to a campaign biography. He previously served as Sebastian County Judge and on the Arkansas State House of Representatives. Glidewell will only fill the seat until December 31, 2018. In November, Republican Mat Pitsch will face Libertarian William Hyman in the race to serve the seat’s full term, starting in 2019. The seat became open for the special election after former State Senator Jake Files resigned. Files pleaded guilty in January to charges of bank fraud, money laundering and wire fraud and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Files had served in that position since 2011. He now lives at a federal prison near Oklahoma City. District 8 covers part of Sebastian County, including parts of Fort Smith and Greenwood.