Robin Lundstrum is a six-term Republican state representative from House District 18 in Northwest Arkansas—and the architect of some of the most extreme anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the country.
She authored Arkansas’s first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for minors, pushed laws to ban trans youth from bathrooms, forced teachers to out trans students, and backed legislation to jail librarians for providing inclusive books. She overrode a veto from her own Republican governor to pass her agenda, all while repeating Christian nationalist rhetoric and aligning herself with national hate groups.
But her district is changing. Suburban Northwest Arkansas is growing younger, more diverse, and more moderate. In 2024, Lundstrum saw her support drop sharply—despite facing only a minimally funded opponent. Now, for the first time, she’s facing national scrutiny and a growing coalition committed to defeating her.
Her re-election campaign begins in 2025. We’ll be there waiting.
Legislative History
HB 1570 (2021 - SAFE Act): Lundstrum authored the nation’s first ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth, criminalizing doctors who provide puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgeries. The law passed both chambers, was vetoed by Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson, and Lundstrum led the charge to override that veto. The law was blocked in federal court for violating constitutional rights.
Act 317 (2023): She co-sponsored legislation requiring public school students to use bathrooms corresponding to sex assigned at birth, barring trans students from accessing facilities aligned with their gender identity.
HB 1615 (2025): Lundstrum sponsored this bill, which allows government employees and foster care providers to deny services to LGBTQ+ people if they claim a religious exemption—effectively legalizing anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.
Forced Outing Policies: She supported bills that require teachers and counselors to notify parents if a student requests a pronoun or name change—policies widely condemned by pediatricians and psychologists for endangering LGBTQ+ youth.
Book and Curriculum Censorship: She backed efforts to criminalize drag performances, ban “obscene” books (often targeting LGBTQ+ and racial justice content), and punish librarians and teachers with fines and jail time.
