Meet Debra Hobbs

Debra Hobbs grew up in Johnson County, Arkansas. After earning her Bachelor's degree in Education from College of the Ozarks in 1977 and later her Master's in Counseling Education from the University of Arkansas, she built a life of service — teaching school in Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri, working as a school counselor in Decatur, AR, and co-owning Hart Tackle LLC with her husband Ray. She knows what it means to run a payroll, deal with vendors, and keep a small business running.

Debra and Ray recently celebrated 49 years of marriage. They have two children — daughter Amanda and her husband J.J., whose family lives in Fayetteville, and son Jonathan, who has Down Syndrome and continues to live with them. They are also blessed with four grandchildren: Christopher, Matthew, Ben, and Maye. When they retired, they moved back to Clarksville, built a home on land Debra inherited from her father, and got back to work — including building a Family Entertainment Center for the community.

Debra has served as a Justice of the Peace on the Benton County Quorum Court, as an elected Trustee on the Northwest Arkansas Community College board, and for three terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives — until term-limited by the state constitution. Colleagues gave her the nickname "Velvet Hammer" for her ability to ask tough questions and find common ground across the aisle. She is running again in 2026 because she believes District 45 deserves a representative who answers to constituents — not lobbyists, not party bosses, not special interests.