Notes from the Campaign Trail: Warren Stephens, Tom Cotton and Trump politics
by March 21, 2016 7:40 pm 340 views
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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THE TRUMP TRAIL
Donald Trump was on the receiving end of a Republican meeting and could be meeting another Republican on the airwaves. Trump took his anti-Washington crusade to Washington at the request of U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who added several other GOP Senators to the meeting, including Arkansas U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton.
After the meeting, Cotton’s office issued a statement that read, “Senator Cotton attended the meeting today, but he has remained neutral in the Presidential race and will continue to do so. He is focused on defeating either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders in the fall and is focused on keeping Republicans’ majority in the senate so that our armed forces have the resources they need to defeat radical Islamic terrorism and restore United States leadership around the world.”
Trump is unlikely to meet Little Rock financier Warren Stephens, although there’s a good chance he’ll see evidence of Stephens’ political influence. According to multiple national news sources, Stephens donated $1 million to Our Principles PAC, an anti-Trump political action committee. Our Principles has run ads critical of Trump’s business acumen, including the controversy surrounding Trump University.
DNC CHAIR COMING TO LITTLE ROCK
A fundraising reception on March 31st in Little Rock will feature Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Florida representative. The invitation to the event says the address will be provided “upon RSVP.” Among those hosting the meet-and-greet are Democratic Party of Arkansas chairman Vince Insalaco, State Sen. Joyce Elliott, former Arkansas AG Dustin McDaniel, former Little Rock Mayor Lottie Shackelford, and Democratic Black Caucus chairman Darrell Stephens. Suggested donations range from $50 to $1,000.
JERRY TAYLOR DIES AT AGE 78
Former state legislator and Pine Bluff Mayor Jerry Taylor died on Saturday after a long illness. Taylor served as a Pine Bluff councilman, mayor and represented the region in the Arkansas legislature as a State Representative and State Senator in the 2000’s. Taylor always ran as a conservative Democrat, but led several “Democrats for Republican candidate” efforts, such as supporting Tom Cotton and Asa Hutchinson in 2014.
CHAMBER BUSINESS
U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, is a recipient of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Enterprise Award. This award is issued to members of Congress who support policy and legislation that facilitates the free enterprise system, the chamber said. Hill has supported a number of pro-chamber legislation in Congress.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, will be at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday afternoon from 3-4 p.m. He’ll be meeting business leaders to highlight the importance of skilled trades to the state’s workforce through the state chamber’s new “Be Pro Be Proud” workforce initiative.
NEW LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST TREASURER DENNIS MILLIGAN
KATV’s Marine Glisovic reports: “A lawsuit was filed on Monday afternoon against State Treasurer Dennis Milligan stemming from a shoving match that occurred during a deposition in a separate lawsuit. According to court records, attorney Luther Sutter filed the suit shortly after 1 p.m., asking for a Declaratory Judgement that he acted in self-defense.”
Read a copy of the filing and the full report at this link.