Democrats trying to win traditionally Republican state House seats have raised more money than their better established Republican rivals in Benton and Washington counties, state campaign finance reports show.
Irvin Camacho, a community activist of Springdale, has raised $41,436, in the District 89 state representative race as of Oct. 29, according to reports filed with the Secretary of State's office. Most of his contributions are from individuals and none of his most recent contributions exceed $500.
His Republican opponent, Jeff Williams, has raised $26,315. Of that, $2,700 was an in-kind contribution of a mailer from the Republican Party of Arkansas. Williams is a former Washington County assessor and Springdale City Council member.
Democrats are hoping to pick up the seat after incumbent Republican Micah Neal decided not to run for re-election. Williams and Camacho have said they expect to draw support from both sides of the partisan divide, and from English and Spanish-speaking voters.
In Rogers, District 94 state Rep. Rebecca Petty, the Republican incumbent, is running for re-election against her Democratic rival from the 2014 race. Grimsley Graham raised $62,449 for his campaign, although that includes some carryover from the 2014 race. For comparison, Graham's 2014 campaign had raised $69,019 by this time before the election. Money raised this year comes mainly from individual contributions. Petty has raised $53,795, according to her most recent report.
In House District 85, incumbent David Whitaker, D-Fayetteville, has raised $25,169 in his bid for a third term. This compares to $21,928 raised by his Republican challenger, Dwight Gonzales. The Republican Legislative Caucus recruited Gonzales, a local pastor who lives in Fayetteville, in an attempt to expand the Republican House majority.
In races with no major party opposition, Rep. Grant Hodges, R-Rogers, has raised $23,625 in his race against Libertarian Michael Kalagias of Garfield in District 96. Kalagias has self-funded his campaign at an expense of $3,297, according to finance reports.
Republican Austin McCollum has raised $36,890 in his race against Libertarian Grant Brand for District 95. Brand is running an unconventional campaign and not taking campaign contributions.
Hodges won his first term in his political debut, defeating both Kalagias and a Democrat in 2014. Kalagias has said the narrowing of the field should help his chances. The 2014 race was the heavily Republican district's first general election contest since 2002.
NW News on 11/04/2016