Senator backing Eldridge in state

N.D. Democrat on campaign trail

Democratic Senate hopeful Conner Eldridge, left, and Republican Sen. John Boozman.
Credit: Eldridge - Danny Johnston/AP; Boozman - Democrat-Gazette file photo
Democratic Senate hopeful Conner Eldridge, left, and Republican Sen. John Boozman. Credit: Eldridge - Danny Johnston/AP; Boozman - Democrat-Gazette file photo

With a U.S. senator from North Dakota campaigning for him in Arkansas, Democratic Senate challenger Conner Eldridge on Wednesday charged that the Republican incumbent, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, isn't a leader on economic issues in the state.

Boozman's campaign manager, Chris Caldwell, countered that Eldridge is lying and must have missed Boozman's work with Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson on economic development as well as Boozman's support from two business groups.

U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., a self-described centrist, campaigned with Eldridge on Tuesday in Springdale and Jonesboro and on Wednesday in North Little Rock. She is the first Democratic U.S. senator to campaign in the state for Eldridge. She said she campaigned for him because she wants to broaden the ideological spectrum in the Senate Democratic caucus. She also said she urged Eldridge to run for the U.S. Senate and she promised to help him.

When asked about Boozman, Heitkamp said, "I love John Boozman. He's a great guy." She and Boozman serve together on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

After Eldridge and Heitkamp discussed various issues with several people at Mug's Cafe in North Little Rock, Eldridge said he and Heitkamp both "reject this notion that big government and more regulation is better.

"I would look to work with her and Democrats and Republicans who share that view ... for all businesses, including small businesses," he told reporters.

"I do think there is a role for U.S. senators to play that Sen. Boozman does not play of being a leader of economic issues in your state," Eldridge said.

Historically, good U.S. senators have worked with the governor on economic development issues, he said.

Boozman "is absent on that issue as well as he is with a whole host of issues," Eldridge said.

In addition to working on legislation, a U.S. senator can serve as an ambassador for the state to help recruit jobs and assist employers, and he would do that if he ousts Boozman in the Nov. 8 election, he said.

"I think that we need a strong U.S. senator who is willing to make some calls, who is willing to engage, who is willing to work on economic issues in this state," Eldridge said.

"When I worked with Congressman [Marion] Berry, he was on the phone with the CEOs of the companies that had plants in Arkansas all the time. That's not being done right now," he said. "It's a better, stronger team when you've got a U.S. senator willing to stand right there with the governor and work on those issues."

But Caldwell said Eldridge "has been so busy coming up with new lies ... that he must have missed in August when Governor Hutchinson and Senator Boozman were both on hand to celebrate the opening of the Magellan Pipeline, a project that both offices worked on extensively to provide a way for refined petroleum to be delivered into Central Arkansas more efficiently."

The pipeline, which runs from Oklahoma to Little Rock, "brings in product from mid content refineries that we didn't have access to, and the big deal is that it brings in jet fuel for the air base," Caldwell said in an email, referring to Little Rock Air Force Base. "Right now, LRAFB trucks in jet fuel from Monroe, La., but this brings it to [Little Rock] so that is a huge save for the LRAFB."

Caldwell said that Eldridge "must have also missed that there are no two bigger champions for opening trade to Cuba than Senator Boozman and Governor Hutchinson, which will benefit Arkansas greatly.

"I guess he would disagree with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's endorsement of Senator's Boozman's re-election bid; or the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) who not only endorsed the Senator's re-election but also presented him with the Guardian of Small Business Award," Caldwell said in his written statement.

Eldridge, of Fayetteville, is the former U.S. attorney for the the Western District of Arkansas. He was appointed to the post by Democratic President Barack Obama and served from 2010-2015.

Boozman, of Rogers, has served in the Senate since 2011 and was in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001-2011.

The third candidate in the race is Frank Gilbert of Tull, a Libertarian.

Metro on 10/06/2016

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