The National Federation of Independent Business -- a national lobbying group that represents small businesses -- endorsed U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton on Tuesday in his Senate campaign against U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor.

Cotton spoke to a crowd gathered at the Arkansan-owned restaurant Sufficient Grounds in downtown Little Rock about the benefits his support will have on the state's more than 500,000 small businesses that provide "so many opportunities for Arkansans." He condemned the current health care system as harmful to the small-business owner and called for a full repeal.

When questioned about his stance on the proposed ballot initiative to raise the state's minimum wage, Cotton was noncommittal, saying that we "don't know what's going to be on the ballot."

"I am more focused on what I can accomplish in D.C. for Arkansans," Cotton said.

The show of support from the National Federation of Independent Business came after more than 4,000 members of the Arkansas chapter were polled on which candidate most represented the mission of the organization, said Sylvester Smith III, the group's state director and lobbyist.

Smith said the results of the poll were private, and he would not divulge the percentage of member responses split between the two candidates.

"The evidence was clear that the majority of our members support Tom Cotton," Smith said.

He added that Cotton was the most "consistent voice on their issues and will be a senator who understands how small business works."

While Smith praised Pryor for being "open and accessible to members," it was Cotton's stance on the fundamental issues of labor regulatory issues, health care and tax system overhaul that garnered Cotton the group's stamp of approval, he said.

Specifically, Cotton understands that both small businesses and large corporations cannot be regulated using "one-size-fits-all" legislation, Smith said.

"Currently, small businesses have to comply with the same regulations as Wal-Mart does," Smith said. "One-size-fits-all regulations are the greatest threat to small-business owners and their families. Tom Cotton will represent small business without being aggressively lobbied."

The federation also endorsed Pryor's opponent in the 2002 Senate race.

In a statement released after the announcement, Arkansas Democratic Party spokesman Patrick Burgwinkle highlighted a recent Washington Post report that identified the National Federation of Independent Business as part of a "coalition of nonprofit groups backed by a donor network organized by the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch."

Millions of dollars have been spent by groups backed by Charles and David Koch to attack Pryor for voting for the president's 2010 health care law.

Metro on 07/02/2014