Joyce Elliott was a high school teacher for thirty years. She went on to serve as a State Representative for 6 years, and was then elected to the Arkansas State Senate in 2008. In her first term in the State Senate, she was named one of the Top Ten Legislators. If elected, Elliot would be the first Black woman elected to Congress from Arkansas.

As a young girl, Joyce was one the first students to integrate her local high school. She went on to get her bachelor's degree, and a masters in English. She continues to fight for racial equity, traveling around her district to take part in Black Lives Matter protests. Should she win her seat, her legislative priorities are to support covid-19 recovery efforts; giving aid to hospitals, reinvesting in the economy, funding infrastructure and expanding health care. And, as a former teacher, she is also committed to reforming the inequalities within the Arkansas school system.