LITTLE ROCK — For the first time in at least a century, voters in each Arkansas district will have at least three congressional candidates to choose from when they vote in November. Most will have four.
A Green Party candidate and a Libertarian Party candidate are on the ballot for all four of the state’s congressional districts.
There are also Republican candidates in each district and Democratic candidates in the 1st, 2nd and 4th districts.
The general election is Nov. 6. Early voting begins Oct. 22.
Hal Bass, political science professor at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, said none of the four congressional races will be close enough that the presence of a Green or Libertarian party candidate on the ballot will have much of an effect.
“I just don’t think come voting day there is an electoral base for the third parties that is sufficient to alter outcomes,” Bass said. “It’s hard to see how third-party candidacies are going to be significant.”
The Green Party candidates are Jacob Holloway (1st District), Barbara Ward (2nd District), Rebekah Kennedy (3rd District) and Joshua Drake (4th District).
The Libertarian Party candidates are Jessica Paxton(1st District), Chris Hayes (2nd District), David Pangrac (3rd District) and Bobby Tullis (4th District).
The 1st, 2nd and 3rd congressional districts have Republican incumbents on the tickets. The Republican candidate in the 4th District has had a dominating fundraising advantage since last fall.
Bass said the influence of minor parties is most seen in close races.
“But I don’t see us shaping up to have any real nail biters come November,” Bass said.
Still, he said, the success of a third party shouldn’t be judged solely on winning elections.
“They provide incentives for the major party to consider issues that seem resonant or vital to third parties ... to bring them into the tent as it were,” Bass said.
Kennedy said she doesn’t discount her chances but regardless of how she does Nov. 6, her goal is to force candidates for the Democrats and Republicans to discuss topics and issues they may not care to, such as the environment or civil rights.
“If these issues are never addressed and dealt with, the voters may never even realize these problems exist,” she said. “There are issues facing the country that factually exist whether the ... parties want to talk about them or not. Someone needs to bring that up if it’s ever going to be part of civil discourse.”
Bass said the minor parties also serve as release valves for those disenfranchised over the state of politics.
“As the major parties become more rigid and orthodox, I think that does provide the minor parties with an opening, with more visibility,” Bass said. “In terms of electoral support, I think there is an energy out there among third and minor parties in general that is rooted in the frustration people are feeling about government’s inability to solve the problems that we are seeing. That being said, there is no chance they’re going win.”
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Since 1836, Arkansas has had dozens of congressional candidates on the ballot who did not represent the Democratic or Republican parties. From Robert Johnson of the Locofoco Party in 1846 to R.B. Carl Lee who ran for the Agricultural Wheel Party in 1886.
After control of elections was centralized under the state Elections Board through the Arkansas Election Reform Law of 1891, there were only sporadic third-party candidates.
In 1946, Independent M.O. Evans lost his bid for the 6th Congressional District. In 1952, Independent Ed Schultz ran in the 5th District. In 1984, Independent Jim Taylor sought the 2nd District seat; in 1986, Independent Stephen Bitely ran in 4th District; and in 1992, Independent Ralph Forbes sought the 3rd District position. In 1996, Tony Huffman was the Reform Party candidate in the 3rd Congressional District race.
In 2004, Independent Dale Morfey received 2.59 percent of the vote in the 3rd District race.
“We basically had, since the 1850s, two major parties competing with a relative lack of competition from minor parties,” Bass said. “They are there, but they are ephemeral,”he said of minor parties.
In 2008, 2nd Congressional District Green Party candidate Deb McFarland received 23.22 percent of the vote; 3rd District Green Party candidate Abel Noah Tomlinson received 21.74 percent; and Drake got 13.83 percent.
In 2010, 1st District Green Party candidate Ken Adler secured 4.62 percent of the vote; 2nd District Green Party candidate Lewis Kennedy got 1.71 percent; and Independent Lance Levi got 4.1 percent.
Drake ran in the 4th District in 2010 and received 2.32 percent of the vote.
FORMIDABLE BARRIERS
“Ballot access is a little bit easier now than it was 40 years ago,” Bass said. But “the structural barriers for minor parties are so formidable.”
It takes signatures of 10,000 registered Arkansas voters to get a minor-party candidate on the ballot. The signatures must be submitted to the secretary of state within 45 days of the general election.
The challenge is staying on the ballot. In Arkansas, a party must receive at least 3 percent of the votes cast in the preceding race for governor or president to retain its status as a recognized political party.
This is the first time the Libertarian Party of Arkansas has been eligible to have candidates on the Arkansas ballot for any office other than president.
“It takes a lot of effort and a lot of money,” Tullis said.
But, he said, when people have a choice between a new party candidate and a candidate from a long-established party, the new party does well.
He used his 2010 race for state treasurer as a Green Party candidate against incumbent Treasurer Martha Shoffner as an example.
“I got the same percentage vote as the Republican nominee for governor,” Tullis said.
Tullis, who faced no Republican opponent, received 32.46 percent of the vote in the treasurer’s race. GOP nominee for governor Jim Keet received 33.63 percent.
Kennedy said the requirements, which are supposed to keep ballots from being cluttered with candidates who don’t have much support, are too strict.
The Green Party was first recognized as a political party by the state in 2006. The Green Party candidate in 2006 and 2008 failed to get the necessary number of signatures. The party had to collect signatures to get their candidates on the ballot each subsequent election.
“What legitimate interest does the state have in making our voters and candidates go through that every two years?” Kennedy asked. “They are just trying to wear us down. The Democratic Party does not want the Green Party on the ballot because uncontested races are cheaper. They don’t want to have competition, they don’t want to have to spend money.”
FINANCIAL REPORTS
The Federal Election Commission has no financial records from the Green and Libertarian party candidates who are seeking one of Arkansas’ four congressional seats.
According to the commission, once a candidate has raised or spent $5,000 for his campaign, he must file with the commission and begin submitting monthly and quarterly financial reports.
Spokesmen for the two parties said the candidates haven’t met the reporting threshold.
Kennedy, who is also the Green Party chairman and a frequent office-seeker, said she has raised $600 to $700 for her 2012 race, with little of it coming out of her own pocket.
“I try not to do that, it can get to be an expensive hobby,” she said.
Tullis said he has spent about $300 - his own money - on his contest against Republican Tom Cotton of Dardanelle, who has raised more than $1.5 million, and Democratic state Sen. Gene Jeffress of Louann, who said he has raised $61,310.
“Most of us know when we run these races we’re a longshot at best,” Tullis said. “Most of the time it’s to give people a choice.”
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 08/06/2012