Notes from the campaign trail: Sen. Boozman releases TV ad

Editor’s note: Notes from the Campaign Trail is a compilation of various political insider tidbits and is sponsored by Little Rock-based Capitol Advisors Group.

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SEN. BOOZMAN TO AIR TV AD: Incumbent GOP U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., has a new TV ad that will be seen over the next few days. No word on how big the buy is. The TV spot reaches back to his father’s service as an Air Force gunner in World War II and connects it to Boozman’s work for veterans in the Senate.

“Today, John Boozman fights to save the nation that they risked their lives to defend,” a narrator says over footage of Boozman talking with veterans. “That means a stronger military, secure borders and destroying ISIS.”

Brad Howard, campaign manager for Boozman’s Democratic challenger, Conner Eldridge, issued a press release on Tuesday highlighting Boozman votes he said hurt veterans.

“Senator Boozman has had more than 14 years in Washington to secure our borders and fix the problems plaguing the VA – even as a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee – and his failed leadership has failed Arkansas once again. Arkansans and veterans from both parties are clearly frustrated with Senator Boozman’s doublespeak and lack of results – forcing him to defend his lackluster record with early TV ads in order to fend off a challenge from within his own party,” Howard said in a statement.

We’ll update this post with a copy of the TV ad when it becomes publicly available.

HUCKABEE IN IOWA: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has been ratcheting up his press machine in Iowa ahead of next week’s big caucus day. There have been four press releases in the past two days as Huckabee barnstorms across the Hawkeye State on a 150-event tour in January.

Here is a sampling of some of the press release headlines and Huckabee quotes:

Huckabee & Josh Turner performance & rally TONIGHT in Des Moines, Iowa
Huckabee: “Josh is an amazing talent, but more important he’s a strong Christian who loves the Lord.”

Huckabee campaigns in Iowa Tues. & Weds.
Huckabee: “Authenticity and conviction matters, and I will never say one thing in Marshalltown, Iowa and another in Manhattan.”

Huckabee comments on indictments for pro-life activists in Planned Parenthood recordings
Huckabee: “Harvesting human organs is beyond barbaric, it’s unimaginably grotesque and evil. And it’s a sick day in America when our government punishes those who expose evil with a smartphone—while accommodating those who perform it with a scalpel.”

Huckabee hosts exclusive Sun. screening of ‘God’s Not Dead 2’ in Iowa, makes cameo in much-anticipated sequel
Huckabee: “The success of ‘God’s Not Dead’ stunned Hollywood, but not the people of middle America, and I’m thrilled to hold an exclusive world premiere of the sequel in Des Moines this Sunday night. On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, it’s a great reminder why religious liberty and moral clarity matters in this election…”

ETHICS COMMISSION INVESTIGATING MILLIGAN COMPLAINT: KATV’s Marine Glisovic reports that State Treasurer Dennis Milligan was at an Arkansas Ethics Commission hearing on Tuesday with his lawyer to answer questions regarding a complaint filed last August by attorney and blogger Matt Campbell.

After the closed hearing, Campbell told reporters some of the strongest concerns that ethics investigators raised were various uses of Saline County employees to campaign for Milligan during county time and intentionally falsifying campaign expenditures, some involving the treasurer’s current Deputy Chief of Staff Jason Brady.

Watch the video report or read more at this link.

DONORS AND FILING FEES: The quarterly contribution and expense reports for the Arkansas GOP and Democratic Party of Arkansas are on file. Who were the biggest donors to each party’s coffers in the fourth quarter of 2015?

The reports are primarily a boatload of filing fees. The new March 1 primary moved the filing period to November. With more Republican candidates filing for office than Democrats, the total fee collections were much bigger for the GOP, which was aided by multiple Presidential candidate filings at $25,000 a pop and Congressional candidates in all four districts at $15,000 each. Of course, the two GOP Senate candidates added another $40,000 cumulatively.

There were some large contributions from companies and individuals to the Arkansas GOP during the quarter (the Democrats didn’t report any major contributions from donors during the fourth quarter, but did earlier in the year). Arvest Bank CEO Jim Walton made a $50,000 contribution, while Mountaire Corp. gave $20,000.

So the final tally in the reporting period is as follows:

Republican Party of Arkansas total contributions – $1,006,887.44
Democratic Party of Arkansas total contributions – $206,434.00