Candidates make last-minute push

Candidates for the state's top offices rallied their supporters Monday with Republicans hoping for a historic sweep in today's election and Democrats aiming to make gains.

At stake are a U.S. Senate seat, four U.S. House seats, the governor's office and six other state constitutional offices, 100 state representative seats and 18 state Senate seats.

The marquee race is the U.S. Senate race between Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor of Little Rock and Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton of Dardanelle.

With about 200 people gathered at a pavilion in Burns Park in North Little Rock for a lunchtime rally supporting Republicans at the top of the ballot, Cotton focused on President Barack Obama's statement a few weeks ago that his policies will be on the ballot even if his name is not.

"He finally got something right," Cotton said.

"This election is in your hands. It's in the hands of all Arkansans who want a better life for themselves and their families and their kids and grandkids. It's up to you for the next 36 hours to work not for me ... but for Arkansans and for the future," Cotton said.

Republican U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Rogers added: "It wasn't too long ago, before 2010, I'd be walking in Congress and I was the Republican Congressional caucus from Arkansas.

"The problem was I was the senior Republican, and I was the junior Republican. That's gonna change once this election is over," Boozman said.

Pryor held his election eve rally late Monday afternoon at the restaurant South on Main in Little Rock. Volunteers swigged beer from plastic cups -- some with Pryor logos -- before gathering around the stage.

On the platform, Pryor's family, including his father and former U.S. Sen. David Pryor; his mother, Barbara Pryor; his two brothers; and his two children, held signs and huddled together before introducing Pryor to loud chants of "Mark."

For the most part, Pryor repeated his message that Cotton is running against Obama while he's running for 3 million Arkansans. He highlighted his ability to work with Republicans when it benefits Arkansas.

"Just this past weekend our volunteers knocked on 75,000 doors," he told the crowd, to roars and clapping. "We're finishing this race just like we started it. We're talking about Arkansas. We're talking about things that are important to the people of our state. Things like protecting Medicare and Social Security, things like making sure college is more affordable."

With more than $50 million spent on advertising in the U.S. Senate race, it has sometimes overshadowed the governor's race between Republican gubernatorial nominee Asa Hutchinson of Rogers and his Democratic rival Mike Ross of Little Rock.

A day after former President and Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton held rallies for Democrats at the top of the ticket in Texarkana, West Memphis, Blytheville and Fort Smith, Hutchinson told the crowd gathered in Burns Park that he applauds Clinton "for coming in and supporting his ticket and trying to marshal their resources to get out the vote.

"I noticed he made his argument that this race could come down to 30,000 votes and urging his team to get out the votes. Well, I'm here today to say let's get out our votes and counter that and make sure we win," Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson said he was focused on improving the education system and creating jobs, while Ross was focused on saving the Democratic Party of Arkansas.

Ross said Monday night that he wants to build on the foundation started by Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe that's focused on education and creating jobs.

"The voters have a decision tomorrow. Are we going to turn the clock back [or] are we going to build on the successes Gov. Beebe has provided this state and move this state forward in a bipartisan way bringing people together?" Ross told about 100 people at his campaign headquarters in Little Rock.

"We don't need gridlock in Arkansas. Arkansas is too small a state for that. There is a lot more that unites us than divides us," Ross said. "As Arkansans when we are all pulling in the same direction, there is not anything we can't accomplish."

Republican congressional candidate French Hill of Little Rock said the Obama administration's tax and regulatory policies, policy of intrusion, "and their inability to run anything and to get anything accomplished is a function of a lack of leadership.

"I hope our young people, who are here today, understand that you can get in a ditch, but by God there is a wrecker service here. It's called the Republican Party. We're going to get out there and turn this [economy] around," he told several dozen people at the Saline County Republican Party headquarters in Benton.

Afterward, Hill said he's decided to vote against the proposed initiated act raising the state's minimum wage from $6.25 to $8.50 an hour by Jan. 1, 2017.

"I talked to employers and .. they told me that they would hire fewer young people and raise prices, and I talked to people in all seven counties [in the 2nd Congressional District]," he said.

Hill's Democratic opponent, former North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Henry Hays, signed the petition to put the minimum wage ballot measure on Tuesday's ballot, and has said he'll vote for it.

During a rally before several dozen people at the state Democratic Party's North Little Rock office Monday afternoon, Hays said that "we care about the economy because it's the most important thing that anyone of us can ever focus on."

He said the first thing that he would do in Congress is "to find a Republican member of Congress and make a friend.

"I can't help but believe that we all care about the future of this country, that we all need to find that common ground, that we can work together to make things happen because the future is so dependent on it," Hays said.

Metro on 11/04/2014