Womack wins 3rd District runoff; to face Whitaker in November (Updated)

Rogers Mayor Steve Womack barely held on to what was initially a large lead in the GOP 3rd Congressional District primary, defeating State Sen. Cecile Bledsoe of Rogers with 52% of the Tuesday (June 8) primary runoff vote.

The November general election will see Womack face Fayetteville attorney David Whitaker.

Womack was the big winner in the May 18 primary, capturing 19,358 votes (31.2%) compared to Bledsoe’s 8,211 votes (13.3%). Bledsoe finished a close second ahead of Fort Smith attorney Gunner DeLay who received 8,053 votes.

Womack was able to win the runoff despite an aggressive Bledsoe campaign that tried to tie Womack’s comments on health care reform and immigration to those that mirrored President Barack Obama’s.

However, the night began in Bledsoe’s favor. She was up with 51.2% of the vote with 10% of precincts reporting. With 26% of the 3rd District precincts reporting, Bledsoe was up to a 52.5% lead. With 33% reporting, she was gaining, up to 53.5%.

But Benton County had yet to come in. With 40% of the precincts reporting, less than 20% of Benton County had been counted as of 9:50 p.m.

And then it all shifted. At a little past 10 p.m., the precinct count was up to 75% and Womack had pulled ahead to a 50.5% lead. The Benton County votes were coming in. With 90%, Womack edged up to 50.6%.

By 11:30 the race was over, with Womack capturing 18,290 votes (52%) and Bledsoe receiving 17,048 votes.

CLOSING THE GAP
It wasn’t supposed to be this close.

Following the primary, the Womack campaign released results (May 24) of an internal poll late Monday showing Womack with a 29-point lead over Bledsoe in the 3rd runoff.

A poll from Wilson Research Strategies shows 53% voter support for Womack, 24% for Bledsoe and 23% undecided. WRS contacted by phone 400 likely GOP Primary election voters in Arkansas 3rd District. The poll was conducted May 19-20. The margin of error is equal to +4.9% in 95 out of 100 cases.

More importantly, the poll showed Womack with a commanding lead in the Republican stronghold of Benton County. There he has a 53% to 28% lead over Bledsoe.

Keith Emis, a consultant to the Bledsoe campaign, said the poll results do not reflect Bledsoe’s momentum in recent days, included endorsements from three other candidates (Gunner DeLay, Steve Lowry and Doug Matayo) in the GOP 3rd District primary.

Updated info:
So how did Bledsoe close the gap?

“You have to understand that the gap we talk about was a gap we saw just moments, just a day after the primary. But you have to put that in perspective because there were seven other candidates … and the endorsements by (Sarah) Palin and the others helped close the gap,” Womack explained.

The Womack campaign also was slow to respond to the aggressive media campaign ran by Bledsoe. Womack said Tuesday night after the results were in that Bledsoe “ran a great race” and that his campaign “probably should have swung back sooner.”

“Our numbers had dwindled to the point where it was no longer OK to sit on the sideline and take a beating,” Womack said when asked about his last few days of more aggressive media campaigning.

Womack said Bledsoe called him to “pledge her support and the support of her team.” Nevertheless, Womack stressed a bottom-line point during the late Tuesday interview.

“Here’s the takeaway from this tonight. In the county (Benton County) where the two of us are best known, where we live, where we have served and where people know us, I had a very substantial lead. And I think that says volumes. That says people that know me know that I am not the person I was portrayed to be in the last few weeks,” Womack said.

And how does he ensure that a likely wide margin over Whitaker does not narrow in November?

“It’s one thing to run against someone in the same party as you who appeals to a lot of the same people. It’s something else entirely to run against (a Democrat) in the 3rd District,” Womack said. “Do I have a lot of work to do? Sure I do. But we will work this district and the people will get to know who I really am.”

ENDORSEMENT BATTLE
An endorsement battle then began, with Bledsoe being endorsed by 3rd District GOP candidates Gunner DeLay (who came in a close third with 8,053 votes), Steve Lowry and Doug Matayo. Bledsoe recently was endorsed by former Alaska Gov. and 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Bledsoe also has the endorsement of former 3rd District Congressman Asa Hutchinson and other “establishment” members of the Arkansas GOP.

It is the endorsement of 3rd District GOP primary candidate Kurt Maddox that has created the most buzz. Maddox, the only candidate in the primary to endorse Womack, received a visit to his home by Bledsoe and one of her supporters the night prior to his endorsement of Womack.

Maddox told The City Wire that Bledsoe and one of her supporters did come to his home the evening before he endorsed Womack. He refused to comment on details of the meeting, saying he didn’t want to get “caught up in what would really be a nasty he-said-she-said” issue just a few days before the election.

The whole thing is petty politics from the Womack campaign, according to DeLay, who quickly and adamantly rejected the idea he’d been promised a position on Bledsoe’s staff if she wins.

“It just seems like a lot of last-minute whining by someone who is fixing to get their tail kicked,” DeLay said.

Womack said he’s kept his distance from the rumors of pressure and promises from the Bledsoe camp. However, he believed them to be true, and suggested the Bledsoe camp was conducting “Chicago-style politics.”