Author: Michael Cook

Michael Cook

McDaniel’s Pre-Announcement Announcement

Dustin McDaniel today sent out a press release that I like to call his pre-announcement announcement for Governor in 2014. He didn't announce for Governor today, but let it be…

Did Jane English Break The Rules Again?

It appears that Republican State Representative Jane English once again seems to believe the rules just don’t apply to her. Apparently, Jane English parked illegally in a handicap spot with…

Arkansas Democrats Help Iowa Congressional Candidate

Christie Vilsack, the former first lady of Iowa and current Congressional candidate is getting some help from some powerful Arkansas Democrats. On June 21st, Vilsack is holding a fundraising luncheon…

Voter ID Fraud: Put Up Or Shut Up

Exactly two weeks ago today, 335,885 Arkansans went to the polls to vote in party primaries and in non-partisan judicial elections. By all accounts, the elections went smoothly with no…

Notes On The Little Rock Film Festival

That's a wrap! Sunday night's awards gala at the Clinton Presidential Library marked the close of the 6th Annual Little Rock Film Festival. This year's festival was a smashing success…

Arkansas Democrats Weirdly Criticized For Following Rules

Today, I read my blogging colleague Jason Tolbert’s post about the Democratic Party of Arkansas’ decision to not award delegates to gadfly Presidential candidate John Wolfe. I believe Tolbert is…

Bombshell: Mike Ross Not Running For Governor

Congressman, and expected 2014 gubernatorial candidate, Mike Ross dropped a political bombshell today that sent shock waves throughout the state. Today Ross told the Arkansas media he would not be…

Democrats Hall And Hurst TV Ads

The primary election is less than two weeks away and two Arkansas Democratic Congressional candidates are running television commercials to make their cases to the voters. In the First Congressional…

Six Democratic Senate Primaries Worth Watching

Here at Cook’s Outlook we’ve often discussed the fight for the State Senate and which party will control that chamber in 2013. However, before we focus further on fall elections,…

Some Arkansas Conservatives No Longer Compassionate

Why is it that many modern-day Republicans’ first instinct is to stick it to the middle-class, the young or the poor? Republican Rep. Nate Bell’s comments today on his Facebook…

Jason Rapert’s Trouble With The Truth

Last week, at a Conway public forum, State Senator Jason Rapert railed against the 2011 Public Safety Improvement Act or Act 570, saying it was “not the direction we need…

Retire Pryor Group’s Sloppy Bookkeeping

The independent expenditure committee known as “Retire Pryor” today took out a full-page advertisement in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette attacking Senator Mark Pryor because of his in-laws’ business and potential tax…

First District Fundraising Numbers Tell a Story

The latest fundraising reports are in for the Democratic candidates running for the First Congressional District nomination. Sometimes these reports can tell a story on the status of a race…

Kudos to Candidates Ignoring Family Council Survey

With the Primary Election Day right around the corner, the Arkansas Family Council, Little Rock-based special interest group, is stepping up pressure to have candidates fill out their survey. Earlier…

RPA Chair Knows What It’s Like to be Black or Brown

Today, I attended the Little Rock Political Animals Club monthly meeting at the Governor’s Mansion. The program featured a debate between Democratic Party of Arkansas Chair Will Bond and Republic…

Arkansas Education Association Endorses Legislative Candidates

The Arkansas Education Association released a partial list of legislative endorsements this week. The AEA represents thousands of teachers across the state and their organization has been influential in both…

Cong. Rick Crawford: Machiavelli or Gomer Pyle?

For political writers, Congressman Rick Crawford is the gift that keeps on giving. In the past few weeks, Crawford lied to voters when he called for a tax increase after…

Highspeed Holland Goes Too Fast – Again

State Senator Bruce “Highspeed” Holland has once again been caught for going to fast, although this time Holland wasn’t even in a car. Holland faces a stiff challenge in the…

First CD News & Rick Crawford’s Broken Pledges

There has been some noteworthy news over the past week in the First Congressional District race, both on the Democratic and Republican side. First, some news from the Democratic nomination…

Hurst Benefits from Republican Attacks (And Clark Hall, Too)

There are times when your friends and even your opponents can define who you are and how others perceive you. This week, Fourth Congressional District candidate Q. Byrum Hurst learned…