LITTLE ROCK — Lt. Gov. Bill Halter will challenge incumbent Blanche Lincoln for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, according to information posted on his campaign Web site.
Halter, who was elected lieutenant governor in 2006 and had said he was running for reelection, posted a letter and a video on the site announcing his Senate candidacy.
"I'm running for the United States Senate because Washington is no longer working for this neighborhood or for families all across Arkansas," Halter says in part of the video shot in front of his childhood home in North Little Rock. "Washington is broken."
Halter speaks in the video on his success in pushing for the creation of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery and also criticizes Washington for "bailing out Wall Street with no strings attached," "protecting insurance company profits instead of patients" and for partisan bickering.
"Enough is enough," he says. "It's past time to put Arkansas values in Washington."
Halter, who was long rumored to be considering the Senate race, marks the first Democratic candidate to announce a challenge to Lincoln. Ten other candidates, including eight Republicans, have said they will run.
One of those Republican hopefuls, 3rd District U.S. Rep. John Boozman, said at a news conference this morning that Halter's entry won't alter his campaign's message but that it "is certainly going to have an impact as we go forward."
Speaking while waiting in a long line of candidates filing paperwork for the election at the state Capitol, Lincoln said Halter's entrance into the race won't change her campaign.
"He's got a right to run if he wants to run," Lincoln said. "I will stay focused though on what I think is right."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.