Campaign filing season opens
LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- With the clanging of a bronze bell taken off a locomotive, Arkansas' campaign filing season opened Tuesday with candidates already in line to sign up for this year's races.
Sen. Tim Wooldridge of Paragould, a Democrat running for lieutenant governor, was first in line after traveling to Little Rock for Senate meetings on public education. "This is an exciting day for me and meant a great deal for me to get here early," Wooldridge said.
In a brief ceremony before the filing began, Secretary of State Charlie Daniels referred to the opening as the "kickoff" of the 2006 election season.
"I believe you who are here today are making a real sacrifice for yourself and your families," Daniels told the candidates gathered.
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Arkansas campaign filing season opened with Democrats hoping to return to the governor's office and Republicans hoping to keep the post - plus make gains in the Legislature. By the end of the day, at least 148 people had filed to run for political office.
U.S. Reps. Marion Berry and Vic Snyder filed for re-election Tuesday, as did four of the 12 candidates running for lieutenant governor. Three justices on the Arkansas Supreme Court and the Arkansas Court of Appeals' chief judge filed for re-election.
For the next two weeks, political hopefuls will file papers with Daniels' office to formalize their candidacies. Daniels also plans to seek re-election. Party primaries will be held May 23, runoffs will be three weeks later and the general election is Nov. 7.
Neither U.S. senator from Arkansas is up for re-election; Sen. Blanche Lincoln won re-election two years ago and Sen. Mark Pryor won his seat in 2002. All four U.S. House members are expected to seek another two-year term.
Among state races, Attorney General Mike Beebe, a Democrat, and former Homeland Security undersecretary and ex-congressman Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, have announced their intent to replace Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has served as governor since 1996 and is prohibited by the state's term-limits law from seeking re-election.
Beebe and Hutchinson have already raised, collectively, more than $4 million to fund this year's race.
All other state constitutional offices are up this year, too, as are 17 of the 35 seats in the Arkansas Senate and all 100 of the state House of Representatives seats.
Four positions on the state Supreme Court will be contested, as will four on the state Court of Appeals, plus five circuit judge positions.
Among the first to file on Tuesday were Jim Lagrone, a Republican running for secretary of state. Lagrone's paperwork as a candidate was filled out by Daniels, his potential opponent in the November general election.
"I'm sure that hasn't happened a lot over the years," Lagrone said. "That was a classy thing for him to do."
Democrat Bill Halter, who dropped out of the governor's race to run for lieutenant governor, also waited at the Capitol to file his paperwork for the first political race of his career.
"This is a new experience for me," Halter said. "You can feel a lot of excitement in here."
Most legislators were already at the Capitol on Tuesday for a day of meetings to address Arkansas' school-funding woes, with the House meeting in the morning and the Senate meeting later in the afternoon.
Rep. Doug Matayo and Sen. Jim Holt, both Republicans from Springdale, filed their papers to seek the lieutenant governor's post Tuesday afternoon.
Berry, a Democrat whose 1st Congressional District includes much of eastern Arkansas, faces a challenge from Cabot Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh, a Republican.
"We've been working on the Democratic platform for the '06 campaign ever since the last campaign was over, and I'm really pleased with where we are with it," Berry said. "And it has nothing to do with the failed policies of the past."
Berry said Democrats have a candidate who will run against Rep. John Boozman, the Republican who represents the 3rd District in west and northwest Arkansas, but would not say who the candidate is. Boozman's district has been considered a Republican stronghold.
Snyder, a Democrat seeking a sixth term in Congress, represents a central Arkansas district that includes Little Rock.
One of Snyder's Republican challengers, Andy Mayberry of East End, also filed to run Tuesday. Republican Tom Formicola of Little Rock also has announced for the seat.
"I think the elections this year are so critical here as well as across the country," Snyder said as he waited to file his papers. "We need to have a full public discussion about where our country needs to go in the future."
Three justices of the state Supreme Court - Donald L. Corbin, Annabelle Clinton Imber, and Robert L. Brown - filed for re-election on Tuesday. Arkansas Appeals Court Chief Judge John Mauzy Pittman likewise filed for re-election.
Fifteenth Circuit Court Judge Paul Danielson also filed Tuesday for the Arkansas Supreme Court seat currently held by Associate Justice Betty C. Dickey.
Jonesboro attorney Price Marshall filed for the Appeals Court seat currently held by Judge Olly Neal.
Earlier Tuesday, about 40 Republican candidates gathered at the state GOP headquarters to mark the opening of campaign filing and detail a package of policy proposals.
The proposals include strengthening sex-offender penalties, banning gays from adopting children, limiting land condemnation and requiring a 3/4 majority of the Legislature to raise the sales tax.
"We believe that these are things that are critical to the state of Arkansas," said Sen. Shawn Womack, the Senate minority leader from Mountain Home.
Jason Willett, chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party, said the state party unveiled a set of policy proposals last year for the legislative session.
"Gov. Beebe, no doubt, will be willing to work with anybody who has a good agenda to move Arkansas forward," Willett said.
© 2006 The Associated Press