Christie, Pence, Haslam, Barbour Campaign For GOP In Jonesboro

Three current Republican governors and one former GOP governor lent their support Friday for the Republican ticket, just days before a pivotal election.

Governors Chris Christie of New Jersey, Mike Pence of Indiana and Bill Haslam of Tennessee were joined by former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour at the campaign stop at Sue’s Kitchen in Jonesboro.

Republican Asa Hutchinson, who faces Democrat Mike Ross Tuesday in the governor’s race, told the crowd that the state and Northeast Arkansas are going red Tuesday.

“Woody Freeman, did you ever think this would happen?,” Hutchinson told the 1984 GOP gubernatorial nominee and Jonesboro resident who lost to then-Governor Bill Clinton that year.

Hutchinson was surrounded by members of the Republican ticket as well as the governors on stage.

“We are on the verge of turning the entire state red,” Rep. Tom Cotton, who faces Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor Tuesday, said. “I have traveled this state and have looked for that mysterious person who votes 93 percent of the time with Barack Obama. Too bad, I had to go to Washington, D.C. to find him.”

Barbour, who served as Republican National Committee chairman before becoming governor, said the early vote totals as well as Election Day are key for Republicans.

“Tom said earlier that 50 percent of the people in Arkansas will vote early. What does that mean?,” Barbour said. “That means 50 percent have not voted yet.”

Both Barbour and Haslam implored the crowd to get out and vote Tuesday. Haslam also said he and Hutchinson have one thing in common and may have another thing in common next week.

“After Tuesday, we will be neighboring governors. Already, both of us went to Memphis to find our wives,” Haslam said of meeting his wife, Chrissy, and Hutchinson meeting his wife, Susan, across the river.

In interviews Friday with Talk Business and Politics, both Christie and Pence, who are considered possible Republican presidential candidates in 2016, said that the stakes are high for this year’s election.

“When you look at the fastest growing states in the country, they are all being run by Republican governors,” Pence said. “I am impressed by Asa’s agenda of lower taxes and workforce education. It is what we have done in Indiana and we have been very successful.”

Pence said his state has seen growth in the past two years, in part due to tax reform and a balanced state budget.

Christie, who is also chairman of the Republican Governors Association, said he believes the decision Tuesday between Hutchinson and Ross is “very clear.”

“You are very lucky in Arkansas. It is a very clear choice between Asa and his opponent,” Christie said. “He understands you and your family. You have known him and he knows you.”

The visit to Jonesboro was the 19th state that Christie has visited in recent weeks. After the event, Christie said the race between Hutchinson and Ross is an opportunity for Republicans.

“It is a potential pickup. We have been here since the spring and we believe in Asa. But you can’t take anything for granted,” Christie said.

State Democrats sent out press releases Friday, attacking Christie’s campaigning for Hutchinson and Cotton.

In a statement, Ross said Christie was “responsible for the slanderous TV ads that have attacked my (Ross) wife and me – ads that have been proven ‘false and defamatory’ by fact checkers. It should make every Arkansan question Congressman Hutchinson’s character and judgment that he would once again campaign alongside an out-of-state partisan politician who has spent millions on sleazy attacks that smear my wife only to advance Hutchinson’s own campaign.”

J.R. Davis, spokesman for Hutchinson, said, “We are not going to comment on this.”

Democrats also criticized Christie for campaigning with Cotton, especially after a 2013 vote on Hurricane Sandy relief.

David Ray, spokesman for Cotton, referred reporters to a statement made by Christie Friday morning to the Associated Press.

“You’re never going to agree with anybody 100 percent of the time. If you’re looking for the candidate you agree with 100 percent of the time, go home and look in the mirror. You’re it,” Christie told the AP. “Tom and I are never going to agree on everything, but I agree much more with Tom Cotton than I ever would with Mark Pryor.”

The visits by Christie, Pence, Haslam and Barbour have put Northeast Arkansas into the nation’s eye as election day approaches.

Hutchinson said the visit Friday was about building momentum and helping to excite grassroots supporters of the GOP.