A retiree from Marmaduke said Tuesday that he had decided to seek the Democratic nomination to represent Arkansas' 1st Congressional District -- after years spent living around the country and putting off politics.
Robert Butler, who told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a phone interview that he moved to the east Arkansas district several years ago, said he's already filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to enter the race.
Meanwhile, another political newcomer who had planned to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro, said Tuesday that he had changed his mind. Arkansas County farmer Mike Nelson said "a pending legal matter" was preventing him from running. Nelson, who planned to run as a Democrat, declined to elaborate.
Democrats held the congressional seat in the district for decades until Crawford, a former agricultural reporter and businessman, was elected to the U.S. House in 2010. Last year, no candidates from the Democratic Party ran for the 1st District seat.
Butler's bid for the Democratic nomination in 2018 was reported last week by the news website Talk Business & Politics.
The 66-year-old said he's "not running against anyone," including Crawford, and that he is unfamiliar with the congressman's voting record.
But Congress needs an overhaul, Butler said, and for too long he had avoided running for office while he focused on an assortment of jobs, as well as his family.
"I don't have any more excuses," Butler said.
His campaign will focus on a new national health-care system that phases out employer-based plans and uses sales taxes on alcohol, tobacco, salt, sugar and caffeine to buy private insurance for all citizens and legal residents.
Butler said his plan is not similar to Arkansas' private option, which uses federal Medicaid dollars to purchase private insurance for low-income people.
The Democrat said he would push Congress to propose a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on federal officers.
Butler has yet to reach the financial reporting threshold for the Federal Election Commission, and he said he had raised about $200. According to the commission, Crawford had $367,011 cash on hand at the end of June.
Metro on 08/23/2017