House Democrats tag Arkansas' 2nd District as potential win

WASHINGTON -- The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says it is targeting Arkansas' 2nd Congressional District, hoping to win it back after four consecutive defeats.

The central Arkansas district, which includes Pulaski County, is represented by Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill, a former Little Rock banker.

It is one of 80 Republican-held districts nationwide that the party is focusing on initially.

Democrats hold 194 U.S. House seats. Republicans have 240 others. One seat in Utah is vacant.

In order to win control of the 435-seat House in 2018, Democrats will need to gain at least 24 more seats.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee describes itself as the campaign arm of House Democrats and "the only political committee in the country whose principal mission is to support Democratic House candidates every step of the way to victory."

The last Democrat to hold the 2nd District seat, Vic Snyder, left office in January 2011 after 14 years in Congress. Republicans have held the seat ever since.

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Last year, Hill defeated his Democratic opponent, former Little Rock School Board member Dianne Curry, by more than 21 percentage points.

He was the only House Republican from Arkansas to face a Democratic challenger in 2016.

Although Hill narrowly lost in Pulaski County, he finished far ahead in the district's other six counties.

His 65,125-vote margin of victory was the largest in the district by a Republican since U.S. Rep. Ed Bethune's 1980 re-election bid.

The independent, nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which analyzes upcoming House races, lists the 2nd District as "solidly Republican."

But the campaign committee says it will make inroads by focusing on Hill's record.

"Congressman Hill has voted with Washington Republicans and not put the best interests of [his] community first," said committee spokesman Cole Leiter.

He particularly criticized Hill for voting to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, saying it would jeopardize health insurance for more than 40,000 people in his district.

Hill declined to discuss the Democratic challenge.

The committee helps recruit and train candidates and raise money to help fuel their campaigns. The organization received contributions of $55.9 million in the first six months of this year, according to its Federal Election Commission reports.

At least two Democrats have said they plan to run for their party's nomination in 2018: Paul Spencer, who teaches at Catholic High School for Boys in Little Rock, and Gwendolynn Combs, an educator at Stephens Elementary School in Little Rock.

Hal Bass, a political science professor at Ouachita Baptist University, said he's not surprised that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee would focus on Hill's seat.

"The 2nd District is probably the Democrats' best shot," he said.

Win or lose, Democratic congressional candidates have outpolled their Republican opponents in Pulaski County for decades.

"You've got a demonstrated capacity to carry Pulaski County. The question is can you find somebody who can [have] appeal in the surrounding counties," Bass said.

Metro on 08/15/2017

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