Republican Lowery Hits Primary Opponent Clausen For Ties To Democrats

The Republican primary for the State House of Representative seat in Maumelle (District 39) is heating up with a mail piece going out this weekend. The Mark Lowery campaign is sending out a mailer that ties his Republican Primary opponent, Maumelle City Clerk Joshua Clausen, to two well-known Democrats.

“Which face is Joshua Clausen showing the voters of District 39?” asks the ad. “Principled conservative or are we seeing the face of another ‘do or say anything to get elected’ career political hack?”

The mailer shows pictures of Clausen posing with Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe and former State Senator and candidate for Lieutenant Gov. Shane Broadway at 2010 fundraisers for their campaigns.

The ad also points out that Beebe donated of $100,000 of his leftover campaign funds to the Democratic Party of Arkansas to help defeat Republicans. The amount was actually over $880,000 in January of 2011.

It is an interesting campaign tactic by Lowery.  The dreaded RINO label could certainly hurt Clausen in what is likely a low-turnout Republican primary.  At the same time, our latest poll shows that Gov. Beebe remains a largely popular figure in Arkansas even among Republicans. Even Broadway is pretty well liked across both parties.  But still, the piece raises questions about where Clausen’s loyalties lie.

The mailer is certainly a sign that this race is heating up.  You can see part of the mailer below and full piece here.