Politicians Find Forum At Benton County Fair

BENTONVILLE -- The home cooking comes spiced with a dash of politics at the Benton County Fair.

State and local candidates, along with representatives of both major political parties, set up in the Exhibition Hall, not too far from a tempting display of baked goods. Party officials said they'd been busy at the fair. Each party had its share of candidates on hand to man booths and greet fair-goers this week.

Mary Lee Hay, working the Democratic Party booth on Friday, said the party has three promising candidates for the state House of Representatives: Leah Williams in the race for District 93 against Republican Jim Dotson; Grimsley Graham, who faces Republican candidate Rebecca Petty in the District 94 contest; and Tom McClure running for the seat in District 96 against Republican nominee Grant Hodges.

"This is the first time in 23 years we've had three candidates for state office from Benton County," Hay said. "We've had a lot of interest. Each of them has been here one day or night. They've each put in an appearance."

The Democratic Party is working on voter registration efforts in the county as well, Hay said. The party had voter registration events planned at Samaritan House and at the Walmart Home Office, she said.

"These are not political," she said. "We're just encouraging people to register and to get out to vote."

Duane Neal, who manned the Republican Party booth Friday, said fair traffic has varied according to the time of day and the day of the week.

"Yesterday was great," he said of Thursday. "It was Seniors Day and people really came out. Other days, it's been lighter during the day. It picks up in the afternoon and evenings."

The Republican Party also had a number of candidates at its booth. Asa Hutchinson, the party's gubernatorial candidate, was at the fair Thursday, Neal said.

One local candidate who took advantage of the fair was Centerton Mayor Bill Edwards, who had a booth set up to boost his campaign for re-election. Edwards will face TJ Teed in November.

Edwards said he had a booth at the fair when he first ran for office and he wanted to continue that tradition.

"When I first ran four years ago I kicked off my campaign at the fair," he said. "A lot of folks from Centerton come through here. I like to make myself accessible to the public. It's fun. I enjoy it. I'm always trying to stay informed and keep up with what people are saying."

The fair runs through today.