Tolbert Report

The Tolbert Report

A relatively routine Arkansas Legislative Council meeting was made much more interesting today when Rep. James McLean, D-Batesville, raised some loud concerns over a couple of upcoming committee meetings in Fayetteville. The Arkansas Legislative Council Higher Education Subcommittee and the Senate State Agencies Committee both plan to meet at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Fayetteville on Friday afternoon on November 4 and Saturday morning on November 5, the same day that Arkansas plays South Carolina in Fayetteville.

"When I came into the legislature three years ago, these meetings were routine, but I thought we had decided to end this practice," McLean told me after the meeting. "It is not right to have a committee meeting in Fayetteville on the morning of a Razorback game…This sort of thing is the reason people don’t trust the legislature."

McLean said he had not spoken to the committee chairmen who had scheduled the meetings and was not sure of the agenda, but said he hopes they decide to cancel at least the Saturday morning meeting. Both meetings are chaired by Sen. Sue Madison, D-Fayetteville. I reached out to Madison for comment, but have not yet heard back.

This is not the first time Madison has scheduled gameday meetings in Hogville. In fact, last year I wrote a column on this practice and interviewed Madison about the practice. From my column last year…

“Because the library closes early on Friday we decided to also meet Saturday morning since we might not get finished on Friday,” said Madison. “We are meeting early Saturday morning because there is a football game later in the day. I don’t go to football games, but a lot of people do and traffic can get pretty nasty. I am hoping a lot of legislators are planning to come to the game and will attend these important meetings.”

I am sure many legislators will take her up on this deal. Legislators will be reimbursed a per diem of $116 per day plus reimbursement for mileage. To sweeten the deal, if they attend both the scheduled meeting on Friday and Saturday morning, they get double the per diem. They can make the trip to Northwest Arkansas, attend the meetings on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, catch the game, and taxpayers will pay them $232 plus mileage.

This is certainly not a new practice. Last year, the Legislature held meetings in Northwest Arkansas on three separate football weekends. According to records from the Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research, the total cost of having those meetings, including legislative reimbursements and staff travel, was just under $12,000. Legislators received, on average, about $300 for their weekend trip. The highest reimbursement in 2009 went to Sen. Gene Jeffress, D-Louann, who was reimbursed $915.10 to attend two committee meetings on Razorback weekends. The kicker — pun intended — is that he wasn’t a member of either committee. That’s not against legislative rules, but more than a little questionable.

The per day per diem rate this year is $123, meaning a legislator can receive $246 for attending the meeting plus mileage. Sen. Madison tells the AP that the reason for scheduling the meeting in Fayetteville is so that legislators attending the game will attend the meeting.

UPDATE – It is a noticable oddity that the Senate State Agencies is meeting without a joint meeting of the corresponding House Committee. This is not by accident. Apparently after the additional public scuriny on the Hogville meeting practice last year, the House informally decided this was not a good idea.

"The General Assembly should get out of the Capital City from time to time and engage the full population of the State that we all represent. In being consistent with the stated objectives of efficient use of members time and taxpayer dollars, two meeting per committee, within each of the four regions of the state, per calendar year, should be sufficient to accommodate this necessity," said Speaker Robert Moore in a memo sent to House Chairman in June.

Cain Needs To Clarify His Stance On Abortion

Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain addressed the issue of abortion on Piers Morgan’s show on CNN Wednesday night. His answer has caused concern from many in the pro-life community and his subsequent response has not yet put the issue to rest.

After first stating he believes "life begins at conception," Morgan asked him specifically about the what he would do if his granddaughter was pregnant as a result of a rape.

"It comes down to it’s not the government’s role or anybody else’s role to make that decision. Secondly, if you look at the statistical incidents, you’re not talking about that big a number. So what I’m saying is it ultimately gets down to a choice that that family or that mother has to make," said Cain. "Not me as president, not some politician, not a bureaucrat. It gets down to that family. And whatever they decide, they decide. I shouldn’t have to tell them what decision to make for such a sensitive issue."

It is difficult to determine if he was talking about abortion only in the case of rape or all abortion in his response, but he continued.

"I can have an opinion on an issue without it being a directive on the nation. The government shouldn’t be trying to tell people everything to do, especially when it comes to social decisions that they need to make," continued Cain.

This answer prompted his opponent Rick Santorum to characterize Cain’s position as a "pro-choice position similar to those held by John Kerry, Barack Obama and many others on the liberal left." And Santorum’s point has merit. This answer sounded similar to the so-called "personally opposed to abortion" stance taken by many Democrats who seek to be able to call themselves pro-life, but not favor any governmental restrictions on abortion.

Cain put out a statement via email late yesterday that still leaves me wondering exactly where he stands….

The abortion issue is very serious. I believe strongly that this is true, and I believe that you do too.

Polls Show Beebe Hot, Pryor Not

Democrats are touting a compilation polling data out from Public Policy Polling that shows Gov. Mike Beebe has the highest approval rating of any governor in the country. Of those Arkansans polled, Beebe is approved of by 59 percent with only 22 percent disapproving. He truly seems to be the teflon man. Most Arkansans have made up their minds that they like him.

Sen. Mark Pryor, on the other hand, is one of the least liked Senators in Washington, according to the polling firm’s chart. Only 29 percent of Arkansans polled approve of Pryor, while 46 percent disapprove. Only two Senators, John McCain (R-AZ) and Bill Nelson (D-NE), come out worse.

It should also be noted that the data from the various states was not conducted at the same time. The polling data used from Arkansas was from January 2010 – which is why Sen. John Boozman is not listed. It would be interesting to see if these numbers have gone down any especially considering what the economy has done over the last year and half – illustrated by this chart from Roby Brock.

Also in April of this year, Talk Business and Hendrix College polled Beebe and Pryor in a statewide survey. At the time, Beebe had a job approval rating of 67%-22%. Pryor only held a 40%-36.5% positive approval rating. Click here to access those results.

Records Show Beebe’s Office Inquired About Replacing Black In March

A report presented last week by Arkansas Division of Legislative Audit paints a less than flattering picture of former Executive Director of the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Commission (ATSC) Aaron Black. However, records obtained by the Tolbert Report show an effort was made by the Governor’s Office to replace Black months before the audit ever began.

Email records from Commission Chair Susan Hanrahan show that she met with Lamar Davis, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Mike Beebe, on March 8, 2011. Two days later, Hanrahan emailed Davis as a follow up to this meeting.

Filings Show Primary Advantage For Elliott And Hester

As campaign financial filings trickle into the Secretary of State’s office, we can begin to see some advantages for certain state legislative candidates, particularly those facing the possibility of a primary challenge in the spring.

It looks like State Sen. Joyce Elliott (D-Little Rock) may win the award for the most money raised in the quarter, bringing in $59,180 in contributions for $60,628 cash-on-hand. She faces a potential primary from term-limited State Rep. Fred Allen (D-Little Rock), who does not appear to have begun raising money for a senate campaign yet, but does show $12,234 in carry-over funds.

In Northwest Arkansas, political newcomer Bart Hester has raised $32,925 with almost all of it still on hand for the Republican primary for the new Senate District 1. (Of note, much of Hester’s support comes from Crossland/Oelke businesses). Political veteran State Rep. Tim Summers (D/R-Bentonville) is behind, having raised $28,320 with $24,369 cash on hand.

In one of the state’s hottest Senate races in Conway, State Rep. Linda Tyler (D-Conway) leads the fundraising race (for the quarter but not cumulative) with $19,550 over State Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Bigelow) with $16,720. Rapert leads with cash-on-hand of $17,808 over Tyler’s $13,702.

Warwick Sabin could be the top fundraiser for House races with $46,303 for his Democratic primary in the Heights/Hillcrest section of Little Rock. Sabin faces the possibility of several opponents in his primary, including Bridgette Frazier, Mark Robertson, and Kirk Bradshaw.

Also worth noting is the filing from the Democratic Party of Arkansas, which continues to spend quite a bit on consultants. Last quarter, they showed expenditures of $43,115 with $15,000 to Wright Strategies (Zac Wright‘s firm – former campaign manager for Beebe and now with the Clark Hall for Congress campaign), $15,150 to The Markham Group, and $12,965 to Reger Research (owned by Alan Reger famous for opposition research.) So it appears their strategy of digging up as much dirt on their opponents as possible will continue.

UPDATE: See additional note on the Tyler-Rapert Senate race in Conway. I was correct that Tyler does lead for the quarter but as a reader pointed out, Rapert leads overall with $28,970 cumlulative to Tyler’s $19,550.

Also, worth noting is a donation to Republican Senate candidate Mike Akin down in southeast Arkansas – a $1,000 from former Gov. Mike Huckabee. Interesting footnote – Huckabee lists his North Little Rock address not his Florida one. Akin has also put in $25,000 of his own money. His potential Democratic opponent former State Rep. Gregg Reep raised $7,750 with cash on hand $5,275.

Edwards Is Staying In The State House – Will Not Run For Congress

It is no secret the the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is actively recruiting here in Arkansas for races against Republican Congressmen Tim Griffin and Rick Crawford as well as the open seat currently held by Democratic Congressman Mike Ross. However, you can scratch at least one name off their list in central Arkansas.

The Tolbert Report picked up on a rumor a few days ago that the DCCC was actively recruiting state Rep. John Edwards (D-Little Rock) as a challenger for Griffin; however, he tells me tonight he is staying where he is.

"I have no plans to run for Congress in 2012," said Edwards. "I am running for another term in the Arkansas House. Earlier this year, I was contacted by the DCCC and told them the same thing."

Although it is still early, there have been a noticeable lack of candidates stepping forward on the Democratic side. State Rep. Clark Hall (D-Marvell) is considering challenging Crawford, but has not formally announced and State Sen. Gene Jeffress (D-Louann) has announced for Ross’ seat. No Democrat has announced against Griffin.

House Votes To Block Abortion Funding In Obamacare

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure Thursday evening by a vote of 251 to 172 that seeks to block any funds from being used for abortion in ObamaCare.

Romneycare Issue Not Going Away

Although – as I pointed out on Sunday – Mitt Romney appears to be the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, the issue of RomneyCare is simply not going to go away anytime soon. This past week, we learned there are even more direct ties between the advisors who worked on RomneyCare in Massachusetts and those who worked on ObamaCare in Washington. The ties? Well, they just happen to be the same people. One of these RomneyCare/ObamaCare advisers – Jonathan Gruber – appeared on "The Last Word with Lawerance O’Donnell" this week and had a lot of interesting things to say.

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"The truth is that the Affordable Care Act is essentially based on what we accomplished in Massachusetts. It’s the same basic structure applied nationally. John McDonough, one of the other advisors who worked in both Massachusetts and advised the White House, said ‘it’s the Massachusetts bill with three more zeros’," said Gruber (h/t The Right Scoop)

The whole interview is worth listening to and pretty much blows apart Romney’s argument that RomneyCare is different from ObamaCare. And just so you don’t think Gruber is some sort of fringe consultant that Romney barely knows, O’Donnell plays a clip of Romney at the bill signing from RomneyCare thanking Gruber for his work.

Even here in Arkansas, Romney endorser Lieutenant Governor Mark Darr admits that he believes RomneyCare is "socialized medicine" when asked about it immediately following his endorsement.

"Massachusetts is different from Arkansas," said Darr. "Their voters decided what they want. It is a state issue. My argument against the health care (legislation) is the unconstitutionality of forcing Americans to buy that. If a state decides that is what is best for their state, right or wrong. Now do I agree with it? No, I don’t. But that is their state’s right to choose whether it is for them or not."

"I don’t agree with any socialized medicine to be honest with you," continued Darr when asked if he thinks then-Gov. Romney was wrong to enact his plan. When asked specifically if he believed RomneyCare was socialized medicine, he responded, "Yes."

Ouch! Darr explained that his endorsement was in spite of this disagreement pointing to the fact that he agrees with Romney 95 percent of the time and thinks he is the best candidate to defeat President Obama. But when even Romney endorsers have this view on RomneyCare, it is still a problem.

Perry Press Release Backfires – Highlights Eroding Support

Last Thursday, the Rick Perry Campaign sought to do some damage control in Arkansas following the endorsement of Mitt Romney by Lieutenant Governor Mark Darr and Congressman Tim Griffin. He quickly sent out a press release highlighting his Arkansas endorsements. However, it looks like he was a bit too quick.

The press release highlighted the endorsement of State Land Commissioner John Thurston and 19 GOP state legislators. Two big problems.

First, Thurston tells the AP today he has not endorsed Perry and does not plan to. He says they talked to him, but he did not endorse him. He says he also likes Herman Cain.

Another big problem, 19 state legislators is a smaller number than the 20 state legislators that formed Arkansans for Rick Perry encouraging him to jump in the race back during the summer. Missing from the list is State Rep. Jane English. I asked English about this at the Republican Party Governor’s Dinner last week and she declined to comment, but did say my observation that her name was absent was correct. I am also told by reliable sources that a couple of other names on the list are fairly soft at this point as well.

This is just another strike against Perry with his weak performance in the last couple debates.

Insurance Department Continues Push For State Health Insurance Exchanges

The Arkansas Insurance Department used part of what remains from the million dollar grant money received for Level 1 planning of implementing state health insurance exchanges to host a forum that was a mix of continued advocacy for early implementation of state exchanges and a report to the stakeholders on what has been done up to this point. Other than a bit of back-and-forth between some Republican state lawmakers and the speakers brought in to advocate for the state insurance exchange, there was not a whole lot of new territory discussed.

I did speak briefly with one of the keynote speakers – Dr. Joel Ario, immediate past director of the Federal Office of Health Insurance Exchanges. My main question that I have not really heard answered is: How will the federal government outsourcing the health insurance exchange to the state be any different in the end product that the taxpayer uses?

"It depends on how the state chooses," explained Ario. "The most important issues are how do you work with insurers, do you have low bars and essentially have a lot of insurance come into the marketplace so that there is a lot of choice and sort of let the marketplace sort it out, or do you try to do a competitive bidding process and whittle it down to the insurers? That’s a big decision that states have to make."

"What kind of options should be available to small businesses on the exchange? That’s a big decision. Should it be a model where the employer puts the money in and employees choose the plan or should it be a model where the employer picks the plan for the employees? Both of those are possible, you can choose one or the other in the exchange," he added.

"The state would run the exchange in the state exchange model and there would be some federal regulation but a minimum set of standards, a floor regulation if you will, and then states have a lot of flexibility about the floor," responded Ario to my question as to how much flexibility the state would have in setting up the exchange. "If you see the federal government running the exchange, then the federal government is making those decisions. The federal government is still going to reach out to the states and want input, but it is a much different thing for the federal government running the exchange asking for input that it can take or not take versus the state running it and having to meet minimal standards and being accountable only for those standards and making its own choices above that floor."

Meet Mike Ross’ Democratic Successor

In case you missed it, State Sen. Gene Jeffress (D-Louann) announced today that he will seek the Democratic nomination to succeed Congressman Mike Ross in south Arkansas. If you did miss it, you are not alone – even the press missed this one. Why? It seems Sen. Jeffress did not send out a press release. We found out about it from his brother (and fellow per diem collector) state Sen. Jimmy Jeffress’ Facebook page.

"My brother, Senator Gene Jeffress, made an official announcement this morning of his candidacy for U. S. Congress in Arkansas’ 4th District. He is seeking the post being vacated by Rep. Mike Ross. The 4th District encompasses almost half of the geography of the state of Arkansas," posted Jimmy.

Anyway, it looks like the Jeffress campaign is off to a slow start. How slow? He tells the Associated Press last week that his campaign so far "hasn’t raised a penny." By contrast, his potential Republican opponents combined have raised over a half million dollars.

Darr Takes Exception To Beebe’s Partisanship Comments

Lieutenant Governor Mark Darr uses his bi-weekly column this week to take on Gov. Mike Beebe’s comments last week saying that the state legislature has become too partisan. I think it is worth a read…

Governor Beebe was quoted recently in the state newspaper saying that partisanship in the Arkansas House of Representatives is “scary”. No disrespect to the governor, but from what I’ve seen, I would have to characterize the situation in the Legislature a bit differently.

For over 100 years in Arkansas, the Democratic Party in Arkansas has operated in an environment in which they were virtually unchallenged in the state’s legislative chambers and for the most part, the executive branch. At present, the Republican Party is still the minority party.

There are, of course, some legacies of prolonged partisan dominance that have continued. For example, on the powerful House Rules committee, Democrats maintain a 2-to-1 majority. Is that a fair balance? Some in the legislature yearn to cling to the idyllic times when the Speaker of the House, always a Democrat, assigns all committee chairmanships to Democrats. Fortunately, this practice has changed over the past few General Assemblies, as some Republicans have received appointments.

Currently in the Arkansas Senate, Democrat senators get to choose their committee preferences first before a single Republican gets to choose the committees on which they wish to serve, regardless of seniority. We’ve seen over the years that when a majority is too comfortable in government, things like transparency and accountability weaken.

Now, the Governor was elected as a Democrat. I was elected as a Republican. We both represent the same constituents. Arkansans expect both of us, along with our other elected colleagues to do what’s best for Arkansas, regardless of what party we belong to. However, this does not mean that we will not both speak out on issues from divergent perspectives.

Naturally, partisanship is going to exist in the Capitol. Political parties wouldn’t exist otherwise. But, it’s not all bad. The truth is that divided government can be good for democracy. It fosters debate on issues rather than allowing the whims of the majority to be imposed by default. We’ve seen this scenario at the federal level in Washington many times.

The go-along-to-get-along approach can be nice and collegial, sure, but is it what’s best for constituents? The Legislature debates serious issues that affect people’s daily lives. The focus should be on doing what’s right, not just appeasing a colleague. With as many bills as are filed during a legislative session, there are myriad opportunities for and examples of bipartisan cooperation.

We need legislators to engage one another in the arena of ideas. State capitols are often called the laboratories of democracy. New models of government efficiency and policy are developed across the country by state governments. Some are successful and some are not. But, what’s important is that competing ideas are discussed. The norms of government are challenged. When policies that have been in place for decades are proven not to work, there needs to be a push for change and if that happens to come from an opposition party, then so be it.

Also, executives should never assume that members of their own party will always support their proposals. Earlier this year, President Obama submitted a budget proposal to Capitol Hill. Not one member of the United States Senate, from either party, supported it. We have separation of powers for a reason and it’s a good thing.

I hope that you don’t take away from this article that I want our state lawmakers to withdraw to their respective partisan camps and fight constantly and contentiously like the politicians in Washington. The point I want to communicate is that competitive ideas and disagreements are natural components of our republic. Change is inevitable. At the end of the day, the citizens still hold the power, with their voice and their vote. And, if those they elect do what’s right, there should be nothing scary about that.

Column: Advantage Romney

My Arkansas News Bureau column today was a somewhat painful admission that it appears Mitt Romney has the advantage in the race for the Republican nomination.

‘occupy Arkansas’ Organizer Called For Guillotines For Republicans

Max Brantley with the Arkansas Times reports on the efforts currently under way to organize an "Occupy Arkansas" protest. He posts a video of their first meeting where it appears they have not yet figured out exactly what they want to protest.

"I am Adam and I am here because I have no idea what is going on and I want to understand why people are occupying Wall Street and other streets," commented one of the participants.

I noticed one of the organizers in the video is the former Green Party nominee for Governor, Jim Lendall.

"Basically we are living under the wrong Golden Rule," says Lendall on the video. "They believe that the Golden Rule is who has the gold rules. That’s not the Golden Rule. We want to get the right Golden Rule out there."

You may recall Lendall for making news back in April when he stood on the steps of the state capitol at a "Make Them Pay Rally" and called for erecting guillotines.

“The French, inspired by our American Revolution, knew how to deal with the wealthy arrogant aristocrats. The French people built guillotines. Maybe we can park a guillotine in front of every chamber of commerce, corporate headquarters, bank, investment house, and Republican Party headquarters to remind them that democracy is about people not profits. We need to tell them in one clear voice, ‘no more greed,’” said Lendall.

No word yet if the Occupy Arkansas group will call for building guillotines as well.

Arkansas Democratic Party Disputes Report From Kark

A spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Arkansas has just issued a statement disputing a report from KARK. As reported yesterday, KARK did a story on Lieutenant Governor Mark Darr’s opposition to the federal health care reform law. They asked for a response from the Democratic Party of Arkansas and reported the following…

Brewer: Arkansas Said, “we’re Not Taking Your Stinkin’ Money” (updated)

Arizona Republican Gov. Jan Brewer was on KARN Newsradio this afternoon. She is in Little Rock today to speak at the Republican Party of Arkansas annual Governor’s dinner.

My left-leaning colleague Michael Cook pointed out that unlike Arkansas Republicans, Brewer decided to accept a $30 million federal grant for planning for a state health care exchange.

Brewer addressed this today on KARN’s Dave Elswick show. She stated that – unlike Arkansas – Arizona has sued to challenge the constitutionality of ObamaCare and has brought this lawsuit all the way to the Supreme Court. She defended accepting the grant to plan for a state exchange saying this was in case their lawsuit was unsuccessful.

But, she said she can understand why Arkansas Republicans would use the grant funding especially since Gov. Beebe and the Attorney General have not joined in the lawsuit.

"Probably some of that is how Arkansas is fighting back saying, ‘We’re not taking your stinkin’ money’," said Brewer. (Audio coming later.)

She speaks tonight at 7:00 in Little Rock at the Statehouse Convention Center.

UPDATE – The Governor’s Dinner was one of the most well-attended dinners in recent memory with a crowd of about 500. Brewer focused primarily on the need to beat President Obama in 2012 because of his failed policies. She compared his new jobs bill to a "ketchup popsicle" saying that the American people aren’t buying it.

One funny moment happened after RPA Chairman Doyle Webb surprised Brewer with a .44 magnum Henry rifle and she surprised him with a kiss on the lips.

"Governor Huckabee never kissed me like that," joked Webb.

Democratic Party Of Arkansas “stands Behind The Health Care Law”

Good story last night from KARK Channel 4 on Lieutenant Governor Mark Darr’s speech to the Political Animals Club yesterday. The headline of the speech was his endorsement of Mitt Romney, but he also talked quite a bit about his opposition to ObamaCare and its implementation in Arkansas. KARK got a very interesting response from the Democratic Party of Arkansas to Darr’s position.

But the Democratic Party of Arkansas disagrees. Spokeswoman Candace Martin said the party stands behind the health care law and its implementation and Democrats are ready for 2012.

Wow. Good for the them for being so clear that they support ObamaCare and are working to implement it in Arkansas. But of course, wanting to be diligent with my blog, I asked them whether this report was accurate. They did not dispute it, but instead said, "We disagree with the Republican Party of Arkansas pushing for the federal government to implement the healthcare exchange."

They were referring to the minority party not signing on to Gov. Mike Beebe’s request for a $3.8 million federal grant to begin planning for the implemention of a health care exchange. ObamaCare contains incentives in the form of grants to states who begin implementing federal health care reform early. The grant money the Democrats wanted would have gone to items such as $1.5 million for a "public education campaign."

In addition, the federal government has offered to outsource part of the function of running the health insurance exchanges to the state government if they play ball on implementation. No one that I have heard has offered any substantive difference for these exchanges other than allowing the funds to flow through a state run agency.

The argument that the Democratic Party is trying to make is that by standing up to Washington, turning down their grants, and therefore slowing down the implementation, the Republicans risk the state not getting to be the outsourcing agency for implementing ObamaCare in Arkansas. Keep in mind this argument is coming from the Party that has gone on record now as standing behind the health care law and its implementation.

Also worth noting, the report from KARK was briefly missing from their website. I posted a link to a cached version of the website and inquired what happened to the story. The station responded that it was a "computer glitch." The story is now back up.

Walking In High Cotton

The Tom Cotton for Congress campaign today announced that it raised over $343,000 in the third quarter and spent less than $12,000, leaving $331,000 cash on hand and no debt. The campaign achieved this in only two months of activity since its kickoff.

"I am deeply grateful for the incredible and humbling support from our many grassroots volunteers and donors. I will work tirelessly to fight Barack Obama’s failed agenda and to stand up for individual liberty, limited government, the free market, and Arkansas values," said Tom Cotton about the campaign’s third-quarter performance.

In addition to Cotton, former 2010 Republican candidate Beth Anne Rankin and Marcus Richmond have also announced for the GOP nomination. So far, state Sen. Gene Jeffress is the only Democratic candidate to declare his intention to run.

UPDATE – Rankin also send along her first fundraiser numbers showing $170,000 raised. The release does not show cash on hand or how much was spent but does tout that 91 percent came from Arkansas and 81 percent came from the fourth district.

“I am overwhelmed and tremendously grateful for the swift and incredible outpouring of grassroots support from all thirty-three counties in the Fourth District. To have donors in all 33 counties within 33 days of the start of our campaign is absolutely amazing, and I am so grateful for everyone who invested in our efforts and wants to get America moving forward again. The supporters of our campaign recognize the importance of launching a strong and well-funded organization. Our message of getting back to the basics of a smaller federal government guided by Constitutional principles is resonating with citizens all across the Fourth District. It’s time Washington, DC understood that it needs to get out of the private sector and let the free enterprise system get this economy roaring again,” Rankin said.

Darr Endorses Romney

Lieutenant Governor Mark Darr announced today his endorsement of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for President. Darr made the announcement at the Little Rock Political Animal’s Club luncheon, which was held at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. The endorsement is the first high-profile endorsement for Romney in the Natural State, although more will likely follow. (Update – Congressman Tim Griffin announced his endorsement about the same time as Darr.)

"I think Arkansas is looking for its leaders to be bold and want to know where they stand on the issues and who they do or do not support," said Darr when asked why he is endorsing this early in the primary. "Because the field of candidates needs to begin to narrow, I have decided who I am going to support and felt now was the time to make that public."

Darr stated that he believes that Romney "gives us our best chance of defeating President Obama."

"I like that he has real-world business knowledge. He’s not just a politician, he’s owned businesses. I think he has stood out during the debates as someone who is well-versed on the issues. He has shown that he can go toe-to-toe with the President. I believe he will be able to appeal to and pull support from other parts of the country that other candidates might not. He also has shown that he can put together the necessary resources to mount a successful campaign," said Darr.

In June, 20 Arkansas legislators formed "Arkansans for Rick Perry" encouraging the Texas Governor to get in the race. Darr was part of a group from Arkansas that traveled to Austin to meet with Perry in late July. In August, Perry took the Arkansas legislators’ advice as well as others from around the country unhappy with the current field of Presidential contenders and jumped in the race. He immediately shot up to the top of the polls and became the frontrunner; however, after a lackluster performance at a debate last month in Florida and a distant second place showing in the Florida straw poll a few days later, his bubble seemed to burst and former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain’s stock started to rise.

"I think Governor Perry is a great man and a great governor for Texas, but from what I’ve seen in the campaign so far, I think Governor Romney is better prepared to take on the President and win," said Darr when asked why he went with Romney over Perry.

Rep. David Sanders with Arkansas for Rick Perry said he is sticking with Perry in spite of his recent stumbles pointing out that he is "a proven job creator" in Texas and just announced today that he has raised $17 million.

"Campaigns are long enterprises. There are going to be starts and stops and bumps in the road," said Sanders. "To not acknowledge that there have been some bumps along the way would be to ignore reality. But I feel confident in his ability to get things going, and again, I think the message and record is so compelling. Some of the items have been substantive while some have been nitpicky but I think the record and the message overshadow that."

The average of the latest polls from Real Clear Politics shows Romney leading with 21.6 percent, followed by Perry with 18 percent, and Cain with 15 percent. All other candidates are below 10 percent.

Latest Senate Rumor: Chris Stewart

Looks like another Republican is thinking about challenging Sen. David Johnson (D-Little Rock) in 2012. Republican Justice of the Peace Jim Sorvillo announced his plan to challenge Johnson a couple weeks ago.

Now it appears general counsel for the Republican Party of Arkansas Chris Stewart is thinking about it as well.

According to reports, a phone survery was conducted that asked issued-oriented questions on Sen. David Johnson and Chris Stewart. Question such as…Would knowing that Johnson was one of a handful of Democrats to vote against the ban of partial birth abortions make you less likely or more likely to vote for him? Would knowing Chris Stewart helped pass the Arkansas Marriage Amendment in 2004 make you less likely or more likely to vote for him? That sort of thing.

Stewart could not be reached for comment.

While we are on the rumor front, the Arkansas Patriot speculates whether former Searcy mayor Belinda LaForce (D) might be thinking about challenging Rep. Mark Biviano (R-Searcy.) And also one official announcement, Rep. Gary Stubblefield (R) announced he will seek the State Senate seat in open district 6. He will likely face former Rep. John Paul Wells (D) in the general election.