LITTLE ROCK – The president of the Little Rock School Board announced Tuesday she was dropping her 2014 bid for lieutenant governor and is considering a run for a central Arkansas congressional seat.
Dianne Curry, who launched her run for the state’s No. 2 constitutional office in June, announced her plans Tuesday morning after telling the Pulaski County Democratic Committee about her decision the night before.
“What we are fighting for is bigger than just this race for Lt. Governor. We are in a fight to protect our most sacred constitutional right: access to the ballot box,” Curry said in a statement released by her campaign. “To that end, I am ending my race for Lt. Governor.”
Curry’s exit leaves state Highway Commissioner John Burkhalter as the sole Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor and comes a day after former Lt. Gov. Bill Halter dropped his bid for the party’s gubernatorial nomination. Former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross is the only Democrat running for governor after Halter’s decision.
Former U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson, Little Rock businessman Curtis Coleman and state Rep. Debra Hobbs are seeking the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe cannot seek the office again under Arkansas’ term-limit law.
Curry announced she was running the same day Burkhalter said he’d pass on an expected gubernatorial run to instead seek the lieutenant governor’s office. Days later, Ross and Burkhalter announced they were backing each other’s bids for the state’s top constitutional offices and planned to run as a ticket.
Arkansas’ governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately and it’s rare for candidates to run on a ticket in contested primaries. The lieutenant governor presides over the state Senate and fills in when the governor is out of state.
Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Darr has not said whether he’ll seek re-election next year and is considering running for a south Arkansas congressional district. Several Republicans have said they may run for Darr’s seat if he doesn’t seek a second term next year.
Curry, 59, has never been elected to statewide office before. She was first elected to the school board in 2006 and has been re-elected twice since then.
Curry said she’s now considering challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, who represents the 2nd Congressional District in central Arkansas. No Democrat has announced a bid against Griffin, who is seeking a third term. Halter has also been mentioned as a potential challenger to Griffin, but he has not said whether he’s considering running for the seat.
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