Republicans Host Fundraiser for Democratic Rep. Hank Wilkins

An invitation to a fundraiser for State Rep. Hank Wilkins (D-Pine Bluff) includes the names of 20 of his colleagues in the House and the Senate, notably among them are 3 Republicans.  Rep. Denny Altes (R-Fort Smith), Rep. Tim Summers (R-Bentonville), and Sen. Gilbert Baker (R-Conway) were all listed as hosts for the fundraiser last night at Ciao Baci in Little Rock.

It is not usual to see some bipartisanship when it comes to hosting these fundraisers, particularly when the Democrat is unopposed in the general election as is the case with Wilkins. We saw this in the Senate for Larry Teague last summer when several Republicans signed on to a fundraiser for him.

However, both Altes and Summers are in the middle of a Republican primary.  Altes faces Fort Smith engineer Mat Pitsch in his bid for a final House term before being term-limited.  Summers is looking to move up to the Senate chamber and faces Bentonville real estate businessman, Bart Hester.

It will be interesting to see if hosting a fundraiser for a fairly liberal Democrat will be a factor in a primary now only a few weeks away.

UPDATE – Summers tells Larry Henry with 5News in northwest Arkansas, “I didn’t authorize the use of my name…I’m not a supporter of Rep. Wilkins. We’re seatmates and friends.”