Davy Carter Expected To Announce He Is Out

Arkansas politicos spent Thursday wondering if House Speaker Davy Carter would announce his anticipated decision regarding whether he would run for Governor or if it would come on Friday.  He is scheduled to speak at the Political Animals Club at the Governor’s Mansion at noon on Friday and the final decision is all but certain to be announced by then.

The mood shifted during the day from the belief he would run to a relative certainty he will not.  The thinking of sources I spoke with is that he will not run for any office in 2014 and instead head back to the private sector.  Carter previously worked as an executive for Centennial Bank where he was a rising star before stepping down to give full attention to his duties as Speaker.  He would certainly be an attractive candidate for anyone in the banking field if he decided to go in that direction.

But as Thursday has wound to a close there was still nothing official from Carter.  If he does not announce that he is out of the race tomorrow morning I – and every source I spoke with today – will be completely shocked.  There are zero preparations being made for any sort of roll out for a campaign.

I will add here that I believe Davy Carter would have made an excellent Governor.  His experience working with the state legislature would have given him the knowledge to understand the way Arkansas state government works in a unique way.  His ability to hold true to his conservative core values while working in a bipartisan manner would have been a refreshing tone.

But alas, he would have had an uphill battle to beat a well-funded candidate that most Arkansans already know on a first name basis – Asa!  So for now it appears that it is not meant to be.