Wal-Mart's corporate headquarters are located in this district in Bentonville. The University of Arkansas is located in Fayetteville. Springdale is the home of Tyson Foods.
It is the most Republican district in the state. The seat has been in Republican hands continuously since the election of John Paul Hammerschmidt in 1966. George W. Bush received 62% of the vote in this district in 2004. John McCain swept the district in 2008 with 64.16% of the vote while Barack Obama received 33.45% of the vote. It was McCain's best and Obama's worst performance in Arkansas.
As of April 2015[update], there are three former members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 3rd congressional district that are currently living. The most recent representative to die was John Paul Hammerschmidt (1967-1993) on April 1, 2015.
All three former members listed went on to become either the Governor or a U.S. Senator.