LITTLE ROCK – The presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio touted their support in Arkansas on Tuesday as early voting began for the state’s March 1 primary.
Speaking at Shorter College in North Little Rock, Democratic U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond praised Clinton’s proposal to invest more in historically black colleges and universities. The former U.S. Secretary of State who served 12 years as Arkansas’ first lady already has the support of most of the state’s most prominent Democrats and the backing of its five superdelegates.
Richmond said Clinton, who is running against Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders for the nomination, isn’t taking her adopted home state for granted.
“We’re going to win Arkansas, but just winning it doesn’t mean you fulfilled your obligation to the community,” he said before his speech. “You’ve fulfilled it to the campaign, but this campaign is different because it understands it’s not about just a campaign … It’s about making sure you’re ready to change the lives of everybody you’re running to represent.”
Rubio’s campaign, meanwhile, announced that 16 additional state lawmakers were backing the Florida U.S. senator’s bid for the Republican nomination. The supporters include several former supporters of ex-Gov. Mike Huckabee, who dropped out of the race last month.
State Senate President Jonathan Dismang of Beebe is among the Rubio supporters. The endorsements bring the total number of lawmakers backing Rubio to 28.
“He’s a candidate I think I can personally relate to and I think it does go back to his message,” Dismang told reporters. “It’s how he carries himself, even when he’s had some downturns in his performance. He’s bounced back relatively well and I think that’s a good demonstration of his character.”
The state’s top Republicans have been divided primarily between Rubio and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz since Huckabee’s exit. Aside from the lawmakers, Rubio also has the backing of the state’s lieutenant governor and two of its congressmen. Cruz’s campaign is being chaired by state Rep. Bob Ballinger, who sponsored Arkansas’ religious objections law, and his supporters also include Secretary of State Mark Martin.
His office predicted that about 22 percent of Arkansas’ nearly 1.7 million registered voters will cast a vote in the primary, which was moved up from May for this year’s election. Arkansas lawmakers did so as part of an effort to create a regional nominating contest known as the “SEC primary,” in reference to the Southeastern Conference.
The election will also include other federal, legislative and nonpartisan judicial races. U.S. Sen. John Boozman is fending off a challenge in the Republican primary from North Little Rock businessman Curtis Coleman. There are two seats up for the state Supreme Court, including a heated race for chief justice between Justice Courtney Goodson and Circuit Judge Dan Kemp.
(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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