On a night with good news in short supply, here’s some: Denise Garner has soundly defeated Republican Rep. Charlie Collins, the NRA’s main man, by a margin of 4,562 to 2,999. She had just over 60 percent of the vote.

So far that’s the only Democratic pickup and State Party Chair Rep. Michael John Gray is trailing badly in holding onto his House seat from Augusta.

Slow returns in Pulaski County make it impossible to guess the outcome of several strong Democratic challenges of Republican incumbents in Pulaski.

In Senate races, Democratic Rep. Greg Leding handily defeated Republican Dawn Clemence to take the Senate seat in the Fayetteville area vacated by Uvalde Lindsey.