2 expect tighter Senate contest

Boozman, Lincoln swing across state

— U.S. Rep. John Boozman said Tuesday that he believes his race with U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln will tighten but he remains confident of his chances on Election Day.

“We’re on the verge of getting this thing done,” Boozman told supporters. “We’re almost there. We’ve got another week. With your help, I think we’ll be very, very happy come [Election Day] Nov. 2.”

Boozman, a Republican from Rogers, spoke to about 20 people at a restaurant off the courthouse square in Pocahontas, the county seat of Randolph County. It was his fourth stop on a swing through northeastern Arkansas that included Blytheville, Paragould, Corning, Walnut Ridge and Highland.

Lincoln, a Democrat from Little Rock, spent the day in Batesville, MountainView, Marshall and Heber Springs.

“That’s been my objective - to tighten this race up every day of the week,” Lincoln said in a telephone interview later. “I’m trying to remind [voters] that they’ve got choices. When you tell people his stance on Social Security ... and on taxes, people get it. There are big differences.”

Boozman noted in speaking to his supporters that they haven’t had a chance to vote for him previously. He represents the 3rd District of Northwest Arkansas. Pocahontas is in the 1st District, which Lincoln previously represented in the U.S. House.

He recalled how when he was elected to Congress in 2001 he received advice from a previous congressman for the district, John Paul Hammerschmidt of Harrison.

“He said, ‘You’re the congressman now. There aren’t any more Republicans. There aren’t any more Democrats. There are just the people of Arkansas, and you’ve got to take care of them,’” Boozman said. “We’ve worked really hard to do that in the 3rd District. That’s our commitment [for the Senate].”

Lincoln said Boozman hasn’t done that.

“If that’s the case, why did he ask for zero in the House transportation bill?” she said.“The 3rd District got nothing because he took a stand with his party as opposed to the people of Arkansas.”

She said the “fair tax” that Boozman co-sponsored, which involves eliminating the federal income tax and replacing it with a federal sales tax of 23 percent, and Boozman’s support for allowing people to invest some Social Security dollars privately, will hurt Arkansans.

Boozman said in an interview he felt good about his support in eastern Arkansas, long a stronghold of the Democratic Party.

“We’re encouraged,” he said. “What it really boils down to is the people of Arkansas, regardless of what district you are in, they are rejecting the message that’s coming out of the [national] administration.”

He said that includes the health-care legislation that Lincoln voted for. Boozman has said he wants to help repeal it. He also says the federal stimulus program has been wasteful. Lincoln voted for it.

Lincoln, a native of Helena, said she knows eastern Arkansas well and is in a position to help farmers in her role as chairman of the Agriculture Committee.

Boozman has said he’ll get on the Agriculture Committee if elected.

For months, most polls have shown Boozman with double-digit leads over Lincoln, but some Democrats have said they believe Lincoln is gaining ground.

“I would think that it would tighten,” Boozman said. “I’ve expected it to tighten. But the reception we’re getting is great. Things seem to be going very, very well.”

Lincoln recently released a television ad in which she says she’s voted her conscience in doing what she believes is best for Arkansas. She said it would have been easier for her to vote in a politically safe way.

“Sen. Lincoln is a good friend, and I think she’s done what she feels like is best for the people of Arkansas,” Boozman said. “We just have a real difference as to what our views are concerning these major issues: health care, the stimulus, things like that. We just don’t agree. I wouldn’t question her motives at all.”

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 10/27/2010

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