Notes from the campaign trail: Second Eldridge ad tying Trump and Boozman leads to fundraising calls

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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ONLINE AD SENDS BOOZMAN, ELDRIDGE AFTER DOLLARS
Democratic Senate challenger Conner Eldridge has launched a second Internet ad that seeks to tie GOP incumbent Sen. John Boozman to the Republican presumptive Presidential nominee Donald Trump. Both Boozman and Eldridge are using the ad to raise money.

The ad, which you can view below, outlines comments from Trump that the Eldridge campaign labels “dangerous, nonsensical and arrogant.”

“The ad further underscores the silence from Senator John Boozman and his refusal to tell voters whether or not he stands in agreement with Mr. Trump and his rhetoric,” the Eldridge campaign said. Like the first ad, Eldridge is hoping for more national recognition of the aggressiveness as it certainly brings attention to his campaign from those hoping to swing the U.S. Senate from Republican-controlled to Democratic-controlled.

Boozman’s campaign manager, Chris Caldwell, has used the ads as an appeal to boost the coffers of his boss’s bid for re-election.

“By now, I’m sure you’ve seen or read about the attack videos our opponent is running against Senator Boozman. My guess is that this is only the tip of the iceberg,” Caldwell says in a fundraising email.

“I’ve looked over our opponent’s finance reports and found a common thread: the same liberal donors from across the country who gave to President Obama have already poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into his campaign of attack and smear tactics,” he adds. “However, what these liberal supporters don’t understand is that Arkansans don’t fall for low-ball politics. Arkansans are focused on issues that matter to their families; important issues like our national security, our economy, and our out-of-control federal spending.”

GOV. HUTCHINSON IS POPULAR
Morning Consult, a national politics web site, has Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson ranked as the eighth most popular governor in America. A collection of polling taken from January through May from across the U.S. is used in the compilation of most and least popular state chief executives. Hutchinson had a 62% approval rating versus a 22% disapproval number.

Republicans take eight of the spots on the list of 10 most popular governors. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is America’s most popular governor, and he is followed very closely by fellow Republican Larry Hogan of Maryland. Delaware’s Jack Markell is the country’s most popular Democratic governor.

Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy, whose state has experienced job losses to neighboring Massachusetts, is the second-least popular governor in the country and the least popular Democrat. His approval is 29 percent, while 64 percent of voters in the Nutmeg State disapprove of his performance.

Read the full list at this link.

TOM COTTON AND ELIZABETH WARREN JOIN FORCES
Say what? Yes, U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have hooked up to co-author a letter regarding financial regulation.

In a bipartisan letter sent to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Cotton and Warren asked about steps the independent regulator is taking to address misconduct among financial advisers and to protect investors. The letter comes after a recent study found high rates of misconduct among advisers under FINRA’s supervision, and revealed ineffective sanctions for this misconduct.

“Although the vast majority of professionals in the industry conduct themselves ethically, patterns of misconduct highlighted in the study are concerning,” Warren and Cotton wrote. “The risks to investors posed by advisers with a disciplinary history are disturbing – but they are not unpredictable… FINRA is responsible for addressing the risks posed by these brokers and firms so that investors can obtain the scrupulous, high-quality financial advice they deserve.”

The senators’ letter asks FINRA to provide information about steps it is taking to address high levels of adviser misconduct and recidivism, as well as steps it is taking to address the problem of firms that employ a large share of advisers with a history of misconduct.

COTTON IN SOUTH CAROLINA
Because the 2016 Presidential election hasn’t been enough for you yet, U.S. News and World Report has a profile piece on Sen. Cotton’s recent speech in South Carolina at the state GOP’s annual Silver Elephant dinner. It’s a high-profile event and has launched the Presidential campaigns of several recent GOP White House aspirants, including Bobby Jindal, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum and Marco Rubio.

Cotton’s speech was heavy on “doom and gloom” and had a lot of warnings about global terror threats that he sees from his position on the Intelligence Committee.

“I sit on the Intelligence Committee. I can tell you I’ve learned a lot over the last 15 months in that committee about situations around the world and U.S. policy about those situations. I can tell you it’s not as bad as you might think,” he said, pausing for a beat. “It’s much worse.”

A soft rumble of laughter rolled through the room, but Cotton made clear there was no punch line.

“I wish I was joking, but I’m not,” he said. “The world has grown gravely more dangerous over the last seven years. And the United States is no longer seen as what we were under President Reagan and both President Bushes, the leader of the free world. The stakes could not be any higher.”

Read the full article here.

INDEPENDENT CITIZENS COMMISSION TO MEET
The Independent Citizens Commission, the group founded to set legislative and judicial salaries among other things, will hold its first meeting in awhile. Next Wednesday, May 18 at 9 a.m., the commission will meet at the State Capitol in Room 151. The only major agenda items is a presentation on the economy and budget from DFA economist John Shelnutt. The panel hasn’t met since May of 2015.