Rep. Clarke Tucker to run for Congress

State Rep. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, will seek the Democratic nomination for the Second Congressional District and the opportunity to challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock.

Tucker, 37, announced Monday (Feb. 5) he will file for the office later this month. Currently, Democrats Paul Spencer and Gwen Combs have announced intentions to run for the Congressional nomination. Natashia Burch Hulsey is running as an Independent.

“I am excited to announce my candidacy to represent the honorable, decent, hardworking families of Central Arkansas in Congress. Throughout my life, my own family has taught me the values of hard work, opportunity, integrity, loyalty, and a duty to serve. I’ve worked to uphold those values in my public service, and I teach them to my two children every day,” Tucker said.

He is an attorney in Little Rock and currently represents House District 35. Tucker serves on the Judiciary committee and the Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative & Military Affairs committee.

Tucker said a pivotal moment in his decision-making process occurred during last year’s healthcare debate.

“But my life changed last year. As I lived through and beat cancer, I watched as Congress voted to make our healthcare more expensive, undo good programs like Arkansas Works, and strip away healthcare for Arkansans with pre-existing conditions. I have watched as politicians used children’s health insurance as a bargaining chip, placing greater loyalty to their political party than to our state and country, and I decided I could no longer stand by and watch,” he said.

During his two terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives, Tucker has championed campaign finance reform, urging members to pass legislation to provide more transparency on “dark money” contributions to candidates. He also worked on legislation centered on paid maternity leave for state employees, pre-K, and lower taxes for middle class Arkansans and veterans.

Tucker is a graduate of Central High School in Little Rock and Harvard University. He served as student body president at Central and as student president of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics. He completed his law degree from the University of Arkansas, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Arkansas Law Review and he clerked with federal judge, the Honorable J. Leon Holmes.

“My grandfather taught me that opportunity exists where there is need, and right now there is a need for new leadership in Congress. We need a Representative who will stand up for Arkansas families, not the D.C. establishment, and who will work hard to reach across the aisle to find common ground and get things done. I am ready to be that Congressman, and I look forward to earning the trust and the votes of the good people of Central Arkansas,” Tucker said in a press release.

Tucker and his wife, Toni, have two children and live in Little Rock.

Talk Business & Politics reported in December that Tucker was eyeing the Congressional race. You can watch a video interview of Tucker discussing his candidacy below.