National chairman for GOP heads up LR rally for Cotton

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus visited the organization's Arkansas field office Tuesday to rally volunteers around the state's GOP challenger in the U.S. Senate race, calling the state ground zero for the party's takeover of the Senate.

Priebus is leading a group of high-profile Republicans touring the state. Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California are making the rounds today, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is to arrive later this month to campaign for fellow Republicans. The Republican National Committee chairman said he has changed the Republican Party's focus during his tenure, eliminating its debt, bolstering fundraising and recruiting a record number of volunteers.

"The difference you're seeing in this midterm is a national party, working with state parties and county parties with candidates on a year-round basis to make a difference," he told volunteers Tuesday at the Victory 365 campaign Little Rock headquarters.

We're going to "turn the national party into a full-time national operation that doesn't just show up once every four years, five months before an election. Because quite frankly that's what's happened at the national level. We've become a U-haul trailer of cash for a presidential nominee that shows up once in a while."

Fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, who is challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, also spoke briefly at the event along with the GOP's attorney general candidate Leslie Rutledge and state Rep. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs, who is running for the 4th Congressional District seat that Cotton is vacating.

Rutledge, who worked as general counsel for the Republican National Committee under Priebus, praised the chairman for his leadership. Westerman highlighted Priebus' success in previous party roles, saying, "Wherever he's been, people win."

Cotton and Priebus stressed the importance of the race for Republicans and the Democratic senator's ties to President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"If you want to stop Harry Reid, you have to fire Mark Pryor. If you want to stop this dysfunction in Washington, you have to fire Harry Reid. If you want better health care, if you want better schools, you have to fire Harry Reid and you also have to retire Mark Pryor," Priebus said.

Late Tuesday, a spokesman for Pryor's campaign said he wasn't surprised by Priebus' comments.

"If Mr. Priebus flew to Arkansas to peddle the same falsehoods that Tom Cotton's billionaire backers have for nearly a year failed to convince Arkansans of, then he wasted a trip," said Erik Dorey, Pryor's deputy campaign manager.

"Arkansans know Mark as an independent voice for families in our state who never shies away from telling this president or anyone that they're wrong when the issue matters to Arkansans. If Congressman Cotton's strategy for advancing his political ambitions is to flatly mislead Arkansans, it speaks to his character."

Metro on 08/20/2014

Upcoming Events