Who will represent the District 83 House seat in western Arkansas? As of Tuesday, the candidates were still not fully determined.
Tom Fite (R) and Leslee Milam Post (D) are after the Arkansas House seat opened with the term-limited Rep. Beverly Pyle, R-Cedarville, unable to seek re-election.
However, Fite faces a legal challenge to his ballot status. Michael Grulkey has filed a lawsuit in Pulaski County Circuit Court saying Fite has a 1984 criminal conviction that makes him ineligible for election.
Fite faced a federal jury trial in February 1984 on several counts of Medicaid fraud and bribery. The trial, held in the Eastern District of Arkansas, ended in a mistrial, and Fite eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor charge and was given three years probation.
Fite has refused to respond to several attempts by local press for comment on the matter.
Fite also is making the process difficult to formally adjudicate, according to Brian Meadors, the attorney for Grulkey.
The matter could be aired in a Pulaski County courtroom on Wednesday, but it may not be settled on that day. The seat is one of several that Republicans are counting on to help make historic gains in the Arkansas legislature.
You can read more on this developing story from Michael Tilley with our content partner, The City Wire, at this link.
