Lonoke County Justice of the Peace R.D. Hopper will challenge state Sen. Eddie Joe Williams of Cabot in the March 1 Republican primary, Hopper said Wednesday.
Hopper, 48, is owner of Sonnie's Auto Salvage in Jacksonville and is serving his first term on the Lonoke County Quorum Court.
Williams, 61, has served in the state Senate since 2011 and chairs the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. He is a former Cabot mayor and retired Union Pacific Railroad employee.
Hopper said he would work to "shrink government" and that he opposes the state's private option, which uses federal Medicaid dollars to purchase private health insurance for low-income Arkansans.
"I am running for the people of Senate District 29 and as a Republican who is committed to the state Republican platform," Hopper said in a written statement. "That platform reflects the principles and wishes of the people of our district. We are anxious to make sure those views are represented in Little Rock and across our state."
Senate District 29 includes parts of Faulkner, Lonoke, Pulaski and White counties.
Williams said Hopper's challenge is "surprising somewhat," but "I never take elections for granted."
He said he has a reputation as "a constituent senator" who helps meet the needs of the people in his district and that he wants to continue serving.
Williams said he helped enact legislation to encourage Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson to study merging numerous state agencies and that his goal is to find $500 million in savings. "I don't think anyone can argue there is 10 percent waste in state government," which has a general revenue budget surpassing $5 billion per year. He said studies are needed to identify where money could be saved.
He said he's voted to authorize funding for the private option because "it is a matter of economics to me," and he's confident that a legislative task force will recommend major changes to the private option and the state's Medicaid program by the end of this year.
Authorized under the federal 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and approved by the Legislature in 2013, the expansion of the state's Medicaid program extended eligibility to adults with incomes of up to 138 percent of the poverty level: $16,105 for an individual, for instance, or $32,913 for a family of four. More than 200,000 Arkansans have enrolled in health insurance coverage through the program.
The state will have to pick up 5 percent of the private option's cost starting in 2017, and its share of the bill will gradually increase until it reaches 10 percent in 2020.
Hopper said in his written statement that he "informally announced" his intention to run for the Senate District 29 seat to the Lonoke County Republican Committee this week.
He said his priorities as a state senator would be to "represent everyday people and their policies" and work to "shrink government, uphold the constitution and to protect the rights of all Arkansans.
"I will use my experience from my years as a successful business owner and not a career politician, along with the common sense held by everyday Arkansans, to reduce state dependence on [the] federal government, which will increase local control," Hopper said.
Williams, meanwhile, is backed by the Republican governor. Hutchinson is to attend a fundraiser for Williams on Aug. 15.
Hopper's backers include Fayetteville attorney Brenda Vassaur Taylor, a founder of Conduit for Action, a group that opposes the private option. "We need more people in our state capital with a small business owner's perspective and experience and less political big government experience," she said.
Lonoke County Justice of the Peace Ralph Brown said Hopper is supporting a proposal to raise the county's sales tax by 1.25 percent, while simultaneously eliminating a millage tax. If voters approved the proposal, it would increase sales taxes by about $7 million and lead to the axing of $2.4 million in millage taxes, Brown said.
Hopper could not be reached by telephone or email for comment Wednesday afternoon about the proposed sales tax increase and millage cut.
Williams said he opposes the proposal to raise Lonoke County's sales tax, noting the state has worked hard to slash its sales tax on groceries. He said he voted to enact Hutchinson's $100 million-a-year income tax cut earlier this year and reduced the tax burden as Cabot's mayor.
He's the second Republican senator to get a primary challenge thus far.
Last week, Washington County Justice of the Peace Sharon Lloyd said she's challenging state Sen. Jon Woods of Springdale; Vassaur Taylor is also backing Lloyd. The Senate has 24 Republicans and 11 Democrats. In the 2016 election, 11 Senate seats held by Republicans and six held by Democrats are up for grabs.
Last Saturday, Senate Republican leader Jim Hendren of Sulphur Springs told the Conservative Arkansas group in Rogers that "slicing and dicing of fellow Republicans" in Arkansas is a serious problem and criticized Conduit for Action in particular.
Conduit for Action founders Joe Maynard of Fayetteville and Vassaur Taylor replied that "It is our belief that the current leadership tactics have little chance of reducing the size of government or dependency on government but assists those who wish to increase government controls and effects on all our citizens."
Metro on 07/30/2015