In 4th U.S. District race, jobs, debt among issues

WASHINGTON -- Two years ago, when a big red wave swept across Arkansas, 4th District U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman didn't even have Democratic opposition.

This year, the Republican from Hot Springs is facing a determined but low-budget challenge from Hayden Shamel, chairman of the Garland County Democratic Party and a teacher at Lakeside High School.

Libertarian Tom Canada of Scranton is also on the ballot. In 2016, with no Democrat on the ballot, the Libertarian candidate claimed 25 percent of the vote.

Westerman, 50, who voted for sweeping tax cuts last year, emphasizes the state of the U.S. economy. Unemployment was 3.7 percent in September, he notes, the lowest it's been in nearly a half-century. The two-term incumbent highlights the gross domestic product -- the sum of all goods and services produced within the U.S. -- which climbed 4.2 percent during the second quarter of 2018, the strongest quarter since 2014.

Shamel, 37, and Canada, 27, point to the national debt, which has soared past $21 trillion. Shamel also highlights income inequality, noting that one in four Arkansas children live in poverty.

In a district where Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump received 64 percent of the vote, Westerman praises the president's leadership.

"He's been doing a great job on policy, and he's been great to work with," Westerman said in an interview. "He's pulling for legislation to get on his desk, and we're pushing, trying to get it through," Westerman added.

Shamel, who quotes President John F. Kennedy, civil rights leader Martin Luther King and former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, doesn't talk a lot about Trump.

"He just isn't central to my campaign, which is focused on the Arkansas issues of health care, education and jobs," Shamel explained.

Westerman, the only congressman with a graduate degree in forestry, says his first two terms have been successful.

His Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017 passed in the House in November, only to stall in the U.S. Senate. House Republicans are working to include some of the provisions, addressing federal forest management, in the next farm bill.

Lawmakers added the language of his Geospatial Data Act to the recently passed Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, a move aimed at streamlining and improving government data purchases.

In September, his Walnut Grove Land Exchange Act passed in the House, 379-3. It would enable a rural Garland County congregation to trade land abutting the Ouachita National Forest for the government-owned site where its sanctuary and community cemetery are located.

While Westerman stresses his experience and his support for Republican principles, Shamel has emphasized three issues: raising the minimum wage, lowering the cost of prescription drugs and supporting public education.

Shamel supports a ballot measure that would raise Arkansas' minimum wage from $8.50 per hour to $11 per hour by 2021.

"I believe that our people shouldn't have to be working two and three jobs just to make ends meet. I don't believe there should be a category called 'working poor.' I think that what we need to be pushing for is livable and decent wages for our people," she said.

Westerman opposes increasing the state or federal minimum wage.

"I'm for letting the market forces dictate that," he said during a recent Arkansas Educational Television Network debate, arguing that job seekers "are in the driver's seat right now" because of the strong economy.

In an interview, Westerman said he is "working for solutions." Capitol Hill Democrats, he said, are largely obstructionists.

While Westerman blames the Democrats for the problems in Washington, Shamel says both parties have missed the mark. She portrays herself as someone committed to healing the divisions in Washington.

"I think they're much more about resistance than they are about results. I think where we're trying to solve problems, they're trying to create chaos," Westerman said.

If Democrats regain a majority and elect Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House, the atmosphere in Washington will worsen, Westerman said.

"It would be very difficult to get anything done if Democrats take back the House and Nancy Pelosi's in charge," he said. "I hope the voters realize the differences between what Republicans are working for and the chaos that the Democrats are trying to create."

Shamel, who said she would oppose Pelosi's election as speaker, sees plenty of dysfunction on both sides of the aisle.

"People right now are just tired of the extreme partisanship. And I don't think it's just one side. I think it's on both sides," she said.

"We've got ... a divide in this nation like we have never seen before," she said. "Friends are turning against friends, neighbors are turning against one another. Within families people can't talk about politics anymore. It is not the nation I was raised to believe in. I was raised to believe in a hopeful nation, a kind nation, an inclusive nation, a nation where we could look at one another's differing perspectives but still respect one another."

Canada, the Libertarian nominee, says partisanship is largely to blame for the problems in Washington.

[2018 ELECTIONS: Full coverage of all Arkansas races]

"Right now in politics, it's so divided. It's all about toeing the party line, doing what's best for your party, not what's best for your country," he said.

As a Libertarian, Canada believes in limited government and "the non-aggression principle," he said.

"You don't hurt people. You don't take their stuff. That's the 5-year-old version. That's what I tell my kids," the father of three said.

Canada missed the debate because he marked the wrong date on his calendar, he said.

"I would've loved to have been there," he said.

When he's not working or campaigning, you can sometimes find him at the ball field, where he is helping to coach his 8-year-old daughter's softball team.

He worries, he said, about the fiscal challenges future generations will face.

"The debt is the greatest threat to our national sovereignty, more than anything," he said. "Honestly, governments that operate the way we are, they don't last very long."

For most of the past 150 years, the 4th Congressional District leaned Democratic. As late as 2000, Democrat Al Gore topped Republican George W. Bush in the presidential race there. U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, a Democrat from Prescott, was elected there as recently as 2010.

Since then, however, Democrats have struggled in a district that stretches from Texarkana to Madison County, east of Rogers.

"The shifts in party identity in the 4th District were pretty dramatic," said Hal Bass, professor emeritus of political science at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia.

Trump carried 32 of the district's 33 counties in 2016, failing to capture only Jefferson County, which includes Pine Bluff.

Given the district's demographics, it's tough for a Democrat to win, but Shamel is trying, Bass said.

"She's had a solid message. She's conveyed energy. She's conveyed enthusiasm. She's certainly worked hard," he said.

But Westerman is an incumbent who has made a positive impression, Bass said.

"I think he's highly regarded. He's favorably regarded," Bass said.

Westerman's campaign war chest, as of June 30, was just over $1 million. At that point, Shamel's cash-on-hand totaled $18,563, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Canada hasn't raised enough money to trigger Federal Election Commission reporting requirements. "Most of my stuff has been self-funded," he said.

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Candidates for 4th Congressional District biography boxes

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A map showing the location of the 4th Congressional District

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