LITTLE ROCK — The men who secured nominations in Tuesday’s Democratic congressional runoffs said Wednesday that they expect voters to look closely at the character of candidates up for election in November, rather than whether the candidates are Republicans or Democrats.
A GOP surge in 2010 increased the state’s number of Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House to three, the most the state has had since the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. Only the state’s 4th Congressional District is now held by a Democrat, and the Democratic Party is working to retain that seat and pick up the 1st Congressional District seat in November. But the Republican Party says the tide in Arkansas has turned toward the GOP.
In Tuesday’s election only about 3.41 percent of the state’s 1.5 million registered voters cast ballots.
In the 1st District race, Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington of Jonesboro edged out state Rep. Clark Hall of Marvell by 265 votes.
Ellington received 10,061 votes, and Hall got 9,796 in complete but unofficial results from the secretary of state.
Ellington will challenge U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, a Republican from Jonesboro, in the November general election. Libertarian Party candidate Jessica Paxton of Marion and Green Party candidate Jacob Holloway of Jonesboro also will be on the ballot.
The district runs the length of the eastern edge of the state and extends into northcentral Arkansas. It includes 28 full counties and portions of Jefferson and Searcy counties.
Crawford won the seat in 2010 and became the first Republican to represent that district since 1873.
National Democratic Party officials have cited the district as one they think can go to a Democratic candidate in November.
During the May 22 primary, Ellington described himself as an outsider. But, he said, state party leaders U.S. Rep. Mike Ross and Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, who initially came out in support of Hall, had already contacted him Wednesday morning. Also, House Speaker Robert S. Moore Jr. of Arkansas City said Wednesday that he would endorse Ellington in November’s race.
Though Ellington said he expects his opponent to try to link him to “hot-button” issues like health care and to House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, he hopes to keep presidential politics separate from his own race.
“I’m not running with the national race, I’m not running against the national race. I’m running my own race,” he said.
Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb said that if Ellington is elected, it would add to the possibility of Pelosi becoming House speaker again.
As for health care, Ellington said, there are elements of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that he likes, but he is not completely sold on it working nationwide.
“If you’re focused just on people in the 1st Congressional District, I don’t know that it’s a bad thing,” he said. “I think we should wait and see what the Supreme Court does on it.”
But Crawford said his position on the law is relevant no matter how the Supreme Court rules because the key question in the race is whether “voters want someone who is tireless in the fight against that and for permanent spending controls so we can end this era of trillion-dollar deficits.”
Ellington said he believes voters will have a more nuanced view of candidates this year than they did in 2010 when Crawford was elected.
“I think that this coming year folks will actually make a decision on an individual basis as opposed to just marking whoever had R by their name,” he said.
The state Democratic Party took a swipe at Crawford’s record within hours of Ellington’s win in the runoff. The party said Crawford “voted for over $30 billion in cuts to essential agriculture programs for Arkansas farmers, which has threatened the prospect of this year’s essential farm bill,” while Ellington “has pledged to make the farm bill a top priority in Congress.”
Party spokesman Candace Martin said, “The 1st Congressional District is ripe for new leadership with changes to the district and a flailing congressman who has not stood up for the interests of farmers and seniors in his district. The inaction and bickering of the Republican Congress combined with the unpopularity of the Paul Ryan budget, which would have devastating effects on Arkansas families, makes each congressional district more competitive this year.”
Crawford sits on the House Agriculture Committee, but Ellington said he could not think of anything the congressman has accomplished on it.
Crawford countered that he had helped halt the implementation of an Environmental Protection Agency rule relating to fuel containment on farms that could have cost farmers billions of dollars and that he was working to protect Southern interests in the next farm bill.
A spokesman added that Crawford co-founded a chicken caucus and founded a rice caucus to advocate for farmers who cultivate those products.
“The idea that I’m not advocating for farmers and I’m not doing a good job for farmers is patently false and purely a distraction from the fact that he’s supporting policy that’s bad for Arkansas and bad for America. And that is Obamacare,” Crawford said.
Ellington said Crawford is backed by business leaders, “big money” and the religious right, and that he has voted in lock step with his party instead of looking out for the district’s interests.
He pointed to Crawford’s vote in a committee earlier this year to reduce spending on the federal food-stamp program by $33 billion over 10 years as an example where their views diverge.
“Don’t take the food out of their mouths until you can help them get to work,” Ellington said, calling the vote “not very Christian.”
Crawford said the proposed cuts would simply have closed provisions in the food-stamp program that have been exploited — a 4 percent cut in the program’s budget that would not have affected Arkansans.
“What we’ve done is not only a reasonable approach, it’s the responsible approach to trying to manage limiting resources,” he said. “We did it without taking a single calorie off anyone’s plate.”
4TH DISTRICT
In the 4th Congressional District, state Sen. Gene Jeffress secured the nomination with 15,254 votes over Hot Springs attorney Q. Byrum Hurst, who received 9,878 of the 25,132 votes cast, according to unofficial results from the secretary of state.
The district ranges from Ashley County across the southern half of the state and extends up to Madison County in Northwest Arkansas. With 33 counties, it is the largest of the state’s four congressional districts.
Jeffress will compete against Tom Cotton, a former Army captain and attorney from Dardanelle, who has held a dominating fundraising advantage since last fall. Much of those funds have come from out of state. Green Party candidate Joshua Drake of Hot Springs and Libertarian candidate Robert “Bobby” Tullis of Mineral Springs also will be on the ballot.
Cotton won the Republican nomination in the May 22 primary. He has raised more than $1 million, according to his most recent report filed with the Federal Election Commission.
“I look forward to a vigorous and civil campaign focused on solving America’s debt crisis, repealing Obamacare and saving Medicare, and promoting economic growth and job creation through tax and regulatory reform,” Cotton said in welcoming Jeffress to the race.
Jeffress said he too considers lowering the national debt, shoring up Medicare and creating jobs to be major issues in the race, but he and Cotton differ on how those problems should be addressed.
He said a key issue for him is keeping Medicare and Social Security viable.
“We’ve made some promises to some folks that are out there drawing just little meager checks,” Jeffress said. “We’ve got to keep our promise.”
He added to the list education, family values and gun rights.
Jeffress said he doesn’t expect the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to be an issue until the Supreme Court makes a decision on whether the federal government can require people to purchase health insurance. Cotton has said repeatedly that he wants to repeal that act.
“Right now that’s not in his or my hands,” Jeffress said. “That’s just a hot-topic button for both parties, but it’s a Supreme Court issue right now.”
Jeffress said he isn’t afraid of being tied to President Barack Obama or Obama’s policies.
“Hey, he’s my president, and I respect him. We don’t always agree, but he is my president. I’m not going to run away from him,” Jeffress said. “This election, to me, is not about President Obama or Mitt Romney or even Gene Jeffress or Tom Cotton. It’s about the 4th District.”
Jeffress acknowledged his financial disadvantage against Cotton, who raised more than $1 million for the primary, but Jeffress said people will want a congressman who isn’t beholden to donors and corporations from outside the state.
“It’s so glaring there, the difference between us, and I think it’s going to be one of the biggest issues out there,” he said. “We’re going to represent the 4th District and not the East Coast money folks.”
Webb said he sees the chances of Democrats winning any congressional seat in Arkansas as “little to none.”
“It looks to me the Democrats are in chaos, and there is a break between their state support and national support,” he said.
Hall and Hurst received support from their national party, while Ellington and Jeffress largely ran independent campaigns.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 06/14/2012