Checking in with the LG candidates
Sunday, Apr 30, 2006
By David Sanders
We are inching closer to the Democrat and Republican primaries. The only contests that are generating any bipartisan excitement at all are the races for the No. 2 spot (lieutenant governor). Democratic and Republican candidates are hard at work, at least some of them, generating interest and excitement. It's time again to check in with the candidates.
The Democrats:
Bill Halter - When you're ahead you're a huge target. His money advantage, which has drawn the ire of some of his opponents, has funded a few well-produced television ads with sizable media buys that have helped solidify his place at the top. That money, which contributors had given to his short-lived governor's campaign, has been returned to the donors. Many of those same donors turned around and issued a check to Halter's lieutenant governor campaign. Not everyone is happy with that arrangement, mainly Mike Hathorn.
Mike Hathorn - On Wednesday, his campaign staff was feverishly typing away at the computer trying to construct the appropriate ethics complaint against Bill Halter. The complaint in its early draft suggests that Halter has violated some state election laws. Hathorn has become Halter's largest critic since the former gubernatorial candidate joined the race.
I'm not sure that filing a complaint now will ensure a hearing and subsequent ruling from the state Ethics Commission before the May 23 primary. It's clear Hathorn is trying to do his darndest to plant seeds of doubt about Halter in the minds of Democratic primary voters. Will they take? Hathorn will have to be careful; if he slings too much mud, I suspect some of it could get him dirty.
Jay Martin - Laying low is a campaign strategy that rarely works. I read as much in the papers about Martin's campaign staff singing at karaoke parties as I do the candidate making any noise.
Tim Wooldridge - I took a little trip through Northeast Arkansas last weekend. It was clear that I was in Wooldridge country. There were yard signs everywhere: Tuckerman, Swifton, Hoxie, Walnut Ridge, Paragould, his hometown, and a few rice fields in between. I know yard signs don't vote, but the folks who place them in their yards (and fields) usually do. I knew going into this race, he would have regional strength. Will it be enough to break through and land second place to make the runoff?
Drew Pritt - He didn't file, but he is running a shadow candidacy; he won't go away. He calls in to radio shows, still sends press releases and has now taken to issuing open letters to the Democratic candidates who actually paid the filing fee to run. He has been trying to find someone to pay him to bash Bill Halter, but I'm not sure that has worked out yet. I recently e-mailed him with a question about who he was working for. His response: "For God and Country!"
The Republicans:
Chuck Banks - Monday, Banks' campaign launched a statewide cable media buy. The television ads play up Banks' service as a U.S. attorney during the Reagan Administration. A recent poll showed him way behind front-runner Jim Holt, but he may be gaining some momentum. Those close to the campaign say, in addition to television, there will be strong radio campaign and a hard-hitting direct mail effort.
Jim Holt - One of Holt's friends recently told me that his pal is going around quoting something I had written in a column. Holt is said to be quoting a March column where I wrote the following: "I underestimated him once in a Republican Primary. I won't do it again. He has about a 90 percent chance of winning the GOP nomination." Holt is leaving out the part of the column where I said if he is the nominee, he has a 99.99 percent chance of losing in the fall.
Let me give him a new line to quote on the stump: If Republicans want to have any chance in the lieutenant governor's race in the fall, they will need to nominate someone other than Jim Holt.
Doug Matayo - See Jay Martin, sans the Karaoke comment.
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David Sanders writes twice weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. His e-mail address is DavidJSanders@aol.com.