Curtis Coleman Will Take Your Money Now (UPDATE)

Constitutional scholar Curtis Coleman tells supporters in an email yesterday that he is running for governor – well sorta, but not really.  An official announcement is coming later, but he does have a website and will take your contributions to his exploratory campaign – “Coleman for Arkansas.”

I imagine his motivation not to officially announce will be to allow him to continue his free air time on radio stations around the state and the continued promotion of tax exempt donations to his Curtis Coleman Institute on Constitutional Policy.  KARN radio station manager Dave Elswick has said he would not continue his generous mic time for Coleman once he is an official candidate.  I am not sure if this counts or not.

Snark aside – I will say that Coleman has certainly added to his grassroots fan base since his fifth place finish in the eight way race for U.S. Senate in 2010.  It remains to be seen if this can translate into success for the highest state office in Arkansas.  It could perhaps translate into a successful campaign for one of the other constitutional offices further down the ballot or perhaps a state legislative race (all noble positions to aspire for).

For now, Coleman seems intent on running for governor where a host of better known Republican candidates could be potentially waiting including (but certainly not limited to) Congressman Steve Womack, former Congressman Asa Hutchinson, Lieutenant Governor Mark Darr, and State Sen. Johnny Key.

Coleman’s new website is here – I will note some significant gaps in his resume – and his email to supporters is linked here.

UPDATE – Here is a copy of Coleman’s filing for his exploratory committee.  It is interesting to note some of the names on his committee.  His executive committee includes his father-in-law Carl Rosenbaum and Little Rock pastor Bishop Robert Smith as well as 16 other members.

Also, Dave Elswick tells me that since Coleman is not an official candidate he will still appear regularly on his show – four hours twice once a week.  He does note that Coleman pays for “The Coleman Commentary” which airs daily on this station. I also note he has several other radio stations he appear on as listed on his Institute website.