Boozman details Saturday announcement plans; Lincoln camp responds
by February 4, 2010 11:13 am 57 views
If U.S. Rep. John Boozman is not entering the race for one of Arkansas’ two U.S. Senate seats, he sure will spend a lot of time this upcoming weekend inside and outside the 3rd Congressional District to simply say he’s not running.
Boozman’s campaign staff — presumably staff for his already announced reelection to Arkansas’ 3rd Congressional District — issued a statement Thursday morning (Feb. 4) saying the Republican from Rogers will “announce plans for continuing his commitment to serving the people of Arkansas.” The announcement is scheduled for 11 a.m., Feb. 6, in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the State Capitol Building in Little Rock.
The fifth-term Congressman will then travel to his Lowell campaign office (322 North Bloomington, Suites A & B) for a 4:30 p.m. meeting at which he will say whatever it is he plans to say about his continuing commitment to serve. On Feb. 7 (Sunday), Boozman will be in Fort Smith at a 2:30 p.m. event at Sweet Bay Coffee (3400 Rogers Ave.) near Creekmore Park.
Boozman had initially declined to seek the Senate seat, but declining poll numbers for incumbent U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and the victory by Scott Brown in the election for the Massachusetts Senate seat long-held by Ted Kennedy sparked the recruitment of Boozman to enter the race.
If he enters the race, Boozman will be one of 10 candidates in the GOP primary. State Sen. Gilbert Baker, R-Conway, is the assumed frontrunner in the race.
A recent survey from the closely watched Public Policy Polling shows Boozman holding a 56-33 margin over Lincoln, and Baker defeating Lincoln by a 50-35 margin.
Lincoln is non-plussed with the polling.
“We see a lot of polls. They are only snapshots in time of a story that is still being written a full nine months before Arkansans go to the polls,” Lincoln spokeswoman Katie Laning Niebaum noted in an e-mail response to The City Wire. “Today is not Election Day. We’re going to get to have a campaign. Senator Lincoln continues her work as Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and as an independent voice in Washington for the people of Arkansas. She looks forward to the fall campaign when Arkansas voters will have the opportunity to compare her strong record of accomplishment for the state against the future prospects of the Republican nominee.”