Doyle Webb: Why Republicans Will Win in 2014

Editor’s note: Doyle Webb is the chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas. His commentary appears in the latest magazine edition of Talk Business Arkansas.

In November 2012, Arkansas voters made a historic choice.

Arkansas chose to embrace the bold, conservative ideas offered by Arkansas Republicans for reforming our state government and reject the status quo of one-party rule that dated back to the 19th century. Arkansas has lagged behind every surrounding state thanks in part to our poor business-tax climate and high-income tax rate. January 2013 marked the first time that Republicans have controlled the state Legislature since 1874 and in the time since, Republicans have proven that they can efficiently and effectively govern by focusing on fiscal reform while moving Arkansas forward.

For Arkansas voters in 2014 the choice will be clear, because as the old saying goes, “the proof really is in the pudding.”

In 2014 Arkansas voters can yet again make history — Republicans have not held both the Governor’s office and the Legislature in modern history. I truly believe that historic event will be a reality in 2014. Voters simply need to look at the strides we have been able to make in a very short time in Arkansas and continue to embrace the now proven effective, bold, conservative designs both at the state and national level. We must continue this movement towards a true, two-party state.

We have seen a new era of Arkansas politics in the 89th General Assembly. This Legislature knows Arkansas deserves real solutions, real growth and real reforms that will make our state a true jobs magnet, improve education and create a more efficient and effective government. With a robust majority in the State Senate (21 out of 35), and a razor-thin margin in the House (51 out of 100), Arkansas Republicans went to work enacting some of the strongest conservative laws in the nation. Whether it was providing tax relief to Arkansas families, protecting the unborn, defending our Constitutional liberties, or improving education, our majorities not only proved they could govern, they proved they could govern conservatively.

By increasing our ranks in the upcoming 2014 elections, Republicans will continue to deliver results for our state.

We realize many good things were accomplished during the 89th General Assembly, but our work is not completed. As the old adage goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” It will take some time to transform the political culture of a state that has been subjected to one-party machine rule for most of its history, but Arkansans are ready to make this change.

This was not only evidenced by the recent voter turnout in the state Senate special election primary in Craighead County, but is also a likely indicator for GOP turnout throughout Arkansas next year.

The fact that nearly one thousand more voters chose the Republican primary over the Democratic primary is remarkable, especially when you consider the district has not elected a Republican state senator in the last century.

The transformation of the political tide in the region began in 2010 with the election of Congressman Rick Crawford—the first Republican to win the seat since the 1870’s. Also during the 2010 election, Senator John Boozman won 16 of the then 27 counties in the First Congressional District, which includes Craighead County. While these events began the shifting of the political tide, what we saw in the special primary indicates we are experiencing a tsunami—a total realignment from Democrat to Republican. Voters have awakened and realized it is the Republican Party that truly represents the views and values of everyday, hardworking Arkansans.

The new Chairman of the state Democrats has attempted to assert that Republicans only made their gains in Arkansas in recent years by nationalizing state elections.

But we all know that when you have an overly intrusive federal government that passes a healthcare reform law like Obamacare, one that puts bureaucrats between the sacred relationship of a patient and a doctor, then that becomes a matter that concerns every day Arkansans.

When you have a runaway deficit and a lackluster economic recovery brought on by the liberal policies of Barrack Obama, it effects job creation and unemployment in Arkansas, and those are Arkansas issues.

The new Chairman is simply using the old trick of smoke and mirrors to try and distract the people of Arkansas away from the issues where elected Democrats, such as Mike Ross and Mark Pryor, have failed them.

That dog just won’t hunt anymore. The people of Arkansas can see through the smoke and mirrors and want elected officials who represent them and their concerns. Those officials and candidates are now Republicans in Arkansas. This fact will be abundantly clear in November 2014.