LITTLE ROCK – With the 2016 election cycle officially kicking off this week, Arkansas Republicans are eager to build upon their gains that have transformed in just a few years what was once a Democratic stronghold into a solidly red state. Democrats are just as eager to show they can rebound and move the conversation away from an unpopular president who won’t be on the ballot next year.
Much of the attention as the filing period begins Monday will focus on the presidential race and Arkansas’ decision to move up its primary from May to March, part of an effort to create a regional nominating contest among Southern states. That move has already prompted several GOP hopefuls to stump for votes on former Gov. Mike Huckabee’s home turf.
But dozens of legislative races around the state could offer answers on how both parties are adjusting to their newfound roles roughly a year after the GOP completed its sweep of statewide offices.
Holding 64 seats in the 100-member House and 24 in the 35-member Senate, Republicans hold a sizable majority in both chambers that they’re confident will hold next year. State GOP Chairman Doyle Webb said Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s success this past legislative session, including his call for an income tax cut, will help the party expand on its victories.
But the bigger challenge for the party may be managing potentially bruising primaries. Webb said he sees the primaries as the sign of a growing GOP and not a sign of division within its ranks.
“I think that’s part of the role of the state party and part of my role, is to keep everybody focused on the big picture and not on minuscule arguments between candidates and personalities,” Webb said.
At Hutchinson’s behest, the Legislature kept the “private option” insurance program for the poor alive another year while a task force looks at its future. Hutchinson has said he supports keeping the program if the federal government approves his proposed changes and rename it “Arkansas Works.”
In a hint at the resistance he’ll face, Americans for Prosperity – which has been playing a heavy role in GOP primaries – said it was disappointed with Hutchinson’s decision to seek a waiver for the new program.
“It is disappointing to see this massive expansion of state government under a Republican Governor, House, and Senate, many of whom were elected on a promise to oppose bringing Obamacare to Arkansas,” David Ray, the conservative group’s state director, said in an email.
The challenge for Democrats will be showing they’re rebuilding after last November’s losses. State Democratic Party Chairman Vince Insalaco has urged patience in that rebuilding, noting that the party’s losses occurred over three elections.
The party has already been touting candidates it’s recruited for top legislative races. They’ve also hinted at how they hope to move forward after elections where Republicans tried to tag Democrats to President Barack Obama, who remains deeply unpopular in the state as he nears his final year in office.
The party has been renewing its call for Republican state Rep. Justin Harris to resign for giving away his adopted daughters to a man who later admitted to sexually assaulting one of them. Harris has already said he won’t seek re-election next year.
Insalaco also hinted Democrats will also focus on questions about Republican lawmakers’ ties to lobbyists. He cited The Associated Press’ report last month that former Senate President Michael Lamoureux, currently Hutchinson’s chief of staff, received $120,000 from a nonprofit mostly funded by lobbyists and their clients. He also mentioned a $30,000 loan that Republican Sen. Jake Files admitted receiving from a lobbyist, first reported by the Arkansas Times’ blog. Lamoureux and Files have defended their actions, saying they were legal and didn’t pose a conflict of interest.
“(Republicans) ran on the fact they were going to bring a newfound respect and they have disrespected the public’s trust in ways I could not have even imagined,” Insalaco said.
By the end of the filing period, Arkansas voters could have a preview of just how heated the legislative races will get next year.
Andrew DeMillo has covered Arkansas government and politics for The Associated Press since 2005. Follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/ademillo.
(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Sign up for Daily E-news
