Arkansas Blog

One thing for sure MAX, we had a dismal LOW voter turnout, hope this is not par for the course for the general Elections In NOV. i feel with no TV ads in many house races for these offices never let the voter know who and what people were running for, its real confusing to pick folks by the amount of yard signs. one bought.

Low turnout in the runoff will help the non-Halter candidate, McDaniel, and Shoffner. I think Suskie's got a very good shot of winning though since he will pick up much of Herzfeld's supporters. In the LT. gov race it will be ABH vs Halter. Halter will have an uphill battle. Most all of House's support will go to Shoffner so she's in a very good position. Expect the money to start flowing in now and she did better than Campbell with about half as much money. Unless the DC crowd puts in another 100k, he is toast.

In the run off it is going to depend how bad McDaniel wants the race. He can "buy" the race if he wants. I do not mean that in a bad way but its the truth. Money will make a difference in the runoff and he has the means to go "all in" and put a ton of personal cash in the race. Suskie has a good shot since he will pick up more of Robert's votes than Dustin will.

It should be fun!

I disagree. Money will be even less of a factor in a runoff. You can spend all the money you want and you're not going to change the minds of those willing to vote in a runoff.

You make a good point re money.

What WOULD have been a big factor was the tax vote in Jonesboro that Willet and McDaniel were trying to get set for the same day as the runoff.

Okay Max, I'll bite. Are you saying she is the first "openly" gay lawmaker, or there is/were others "in the closet?"

By the way, I always thought Jim Bob Duggar always had that little look in his eye!

ARK. BLOG I am merely saying that it is an absolute fact that gay people have served previously in the Arkansas legislature. I don't think sexual orientation was much of a factor in this race. But, yes, I appreciate the thought of some Arkansas legislators having their prejudices confronted by a living, breathing fellow member and human being.

how about that Fox coverage last night? it looked like a SNL parody.
no offense Warwick, but those guys didn't know their head from their ass... that dude covering Halter forgot where he was. i think he was drunk.

What were you doing watching Fox, and their advertisers? That's the same as donating money to the Republican party. I've walked into places to eat and then left because they had Fox on the TV.

Well......I don't know if it is an "absolute fact" that gay people have served in the Ledge. It is a statistical probability but I just don't know. I could give a rip about Kathy's-or anybody else's- sexual orientation. I think she will do a damn fine job representing the District. Period. Having said that, I did greatly appreciate the fact that 2 good looking young women came over to put her sign up in my yard.

Honestly, was Shoffner's victory a huge surprise? The false hype around Mac demonstrates a classic example of the young insider crowd turning a blind eye toward conventional wisdom.

It's refreshing that someone like Martha, a modest, hardworking, nonpolitician will be our next treasurer. I'm sure Blanche will let "Mac back".

Re gay members of the Ledge:
Of course there are others, but former Rep. Brandon's obit in the Democrat the other day comes to mind. To add even more gay subtext, he was elected by defeating The Hat Lady, Willie Oates.

Strangest sight of the morning: Martha Shoffner holding a "THANK YOU" sign up in the Heights, with a visibly upset/gesticulating/finger/pointing Andrew Pritt standing nearby. Not sure what that was about, but it sure was entertaining.

The "who-shot-Johns"?
I can get the context clues, but still want the final word from Doug Smith....

Chuck Banks is a decent, honorable man who is wasting his time as candidate in Republican Party, which has completly been taken over by the Taliban.

Chuck Banks was withina hairs width of being a Federal judge when Clinton came into office. Too bad he has been overlooked again. Definitely had to do with his not being for sale during Whitewater leadup. He is a decent man and wish he would turn his eyes from the Repubs. They do not deserve him.

Congratulations to Kathy Webb! I worked with her a few years ago in a business context, and she was one of my favorite customers--always professional and truly a kind and caring person. Wish I lived in her district--certainly better than my new digs up in Holt/Duggar country!

Congratulations to Kathy Webb. Also, congratulations to
Jordan Johnson, who despite his youth and the two other guys in the race, ran a solid campaign and emerged as a respectable second place. It was apparent he was organized and had support within several groups. I doubt we've seen the last of him. He earned my respect and and I would be glad to vote for him in another race.

Assuming the Suskie finish holds, where does this leave Herzfeld politically? Obviously it leaves him out of office and presumably without the free-media platform he has used so aggressively. Personally, I'd like to see a fork in him. But he's young and others have lost races and come back.

Thoughts?

Ridin' Skip's coat-tails and drinking beer at Cao Bacci ain't enough to win.

"Assuming the Suskie finish holds, where does this leave Herzfeld politically? Obviously it leaves him out of office and presumably without the free-media platform he has used so aggressively. Personally, I'd like to see a fork in him. But he's young and others have lost races and come back."

Robert Herzfeld ran one hell of a race. I must give him credit. Herzfeld came closer than anyone would have imagined and were it not for Suskie's huge win in Pulaski , he probably would be in the run-off.

Herzfeld has a very bright future. He beat all expectations, ran a very strong race and increased his name recogintion and created a network for himself. He will be back at some point.

Herzfeld actually ran the best race of the field. Without McDaniel's personal money orSuskie's Pulaski County advantage he came within an eyelash of pulling it off. His strategy was exceptional. Just a victim of geography.

...North Little Rock city attorney Paul Suskie has 32 percent, with 94 percent of precincts reporting. Suskie is to hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Saline County Prosecutor Robert Herzfeld finished third, with 30 percent, according to the unofficial returns. In an interview with The Associated Press Wednesday, Herzfeld conceded defeat.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

I am a supporter of Paul, but I will say that Robert ran a very good race. Paul knew he needed big results in Pulaski and he did what it took to make that happen. Robert hit some areas that weren't as heavily traveled by Dustin or Paul and it paid off. Herzfeld is a smart guy and I'm sure we haven't seen the last of him.

Jordan Johnson = loser

Jordan Johnson = loser

classy, folks.
real classy.

What a great slate of candidates we had in the District 37 race. Besides Kathy Webb, who I thought would win and deserved to win, the candidate I was most impressed with and would like to see back in the future was the last-place finisher, Jesse Gibson.

I'd never heard of Gibson, and he raised virtually no money, but what an outstanding young man. Ditto Jerry Larkowski. Jordan Johnson to me was overhyped and underqualified compared to the rest of the field, but he's another future leader that I respect for the hard, clean race he ran.
Hats off to the entire field!

I agree with Offended. This blog is not the place for anyone to spew the vile words and sentiment posted by John or Johnny McGee. Calling Jordan Johnson a loser is simply juvenile. How about it, Max? Can't you eliminate this stuff?

Anyone who runs a race, whether you like them or hate them, deserves credit. No one is a loser who steps up to the plate to be part of the American process. Calling Amy Brewster that name is uncalled for and sexist. That post should be removed.

I didn't want to start a fight, but no one really answered the question about Webb.
Law of averages say that a gay person has served in the Arkansas legislature, but that doesn't mean that they they were open about it.
In the Fighting 37 being gay means nothing. And I don't think it is a big deal, but it still strikes me as interesting.
So here's the question again:
Has an openly gay person ever campaigned and won a seat in the Arkansas state legislature before Kathy Webb?

Hard to believe that someone would complain about the use of the word "loser" just a few posts down froma post that called someone a rather offensive slange term for female genitalia and attempted, but failed, to spell the word "whore."

That was what my first post was about, the "c" word. That is what I am offended about. Bad taste to call someone a loser period if they had the gumption to run for office. It's the "c" word that is most offensive.

The state of Arkansas would be a better place if Kathy Webb's three opponents could somehow join her in the General Assembly next year (replacing any three Republicans). I never heard Kathy or anyone closely associated with her campaign utter one negative word about her opponents. That's because they are fine young men who deserve respect for wanting to serve. They worked hard and ran a good race. I wish them well in the future. If you are a Kathy Webb supporter, please follow Kathy's example and stop the name calling.

I can't believe anyone would call someone a loser for sticking their neck out to run for public office. All of us on this blog are a buch of chickens and scared to do the same. We need more people like Jordan Johnson to give it a try. I met him on the campaign trail and I was very impressed with him. He has experience beyond his years, and I hope to see him ou there again soon.

Hear, hear, Pavel. Well said.

I sense the animosity that some have toward Mr Johnson may be a result of the actions of a few overzealous members of Skip's young stormtroopers . I don't blame Johnson for that. We are all good Democrats. (Well, most of us are.) Time to close ranks, guys.

Skip's stormtroopers? HA!

Who do you mean??

I attended many events for the 37 race and agree with Pavel and Logan, we were lucky to have 4 qualified, good canidates who each maintained decorum and civility throughout the race. Hats off to all of them- they chose to spend time away from work and home to seek public office.

Whoever on this thread that is incapable of using words other than juvenile diatribes and vulgarity needs to go back to myspace.com. Give us a break!

Congrats to Herzfeld for running a good race. He faired much better than expected, but he still got his ass handed to him by McDaniel. McDaniel will get the money and kick Suskie's ass also in the run off.

Where are all the Herzfeld supporters now.....silence....enough said.

Go Dustin

Typical classless response from a Dustin McDaniel supporter.

Re: the question of whether an openly gay person has ever been elected to the AR legislature: I'm not by any means an expert on Arkansas history, though I'm a native Arkansan with an interest in the subject.

To my knowledge, no, there has never been an openly gay person in the legislature. But I'd be very surprised if there aren't quite a few gay persons sitting in each legislative session--many of them married. We're everywhere, and in Arkansas, everywhere often means hidden and/or invisible....

It's interesting that Kathy Webb's election isn't drawing the kind of attention it probably should get, because it is an historic first. The media seem to be tiptoeing around the historic-first dimension of this win.

Webb didn't make a particular issue of her sexual orientation in the campaign did she?

And the previous posters are right, it was a very civilized campaign.

Re:And the previous posters are right, it was a very civilized campaign.

The District 37 race was more than that -- it was downright polite! It seemed as though all of those folks knew that running for public office demanded personal sacrifice, and they accorded their opponents respect for choosing that route. The only candidate who offended me in any way was the one who looked at my Kathy Webb yard sign and said she was a "nice lady." It didn't take me but a second to tell him she was that but she was also a very smart woman.

It really pains me to see some folks sling arrows at good people. Jordan Johnson is one of the best people I know. Often times in politics we run across fake people. Jordan is anything but.

I congratulate Kathy on a great campaign and surprising win w/o a runoff. She deserves the accolades afforded to her. In the same breath, Jordan, Jesse, and Jerry are all fine people with bright futures.

Anyone who calls these three men losers should be ashamed of themselves. I assume they are unhappy people, so I have some sympathy for them. Thankfully Kathy has much more class than you.

Please! Jordan, Jesse, Jerry.... STAY INVOLVED!

Will some one please tell Logan 69 that Kathy WEBB is not the only gay in the village, nor is she the first to run for a house seat, in District 37 ,who was openly Gay what ever that means .she has really not plow no new ground in this area, and there has been post after post from 4 posters all over these threads at AT telling him/her as well she is not the first to be Gay and Elected. IN the Arkansas State house. and the only history, she need to make is in the HOUSE, Lawmaking not before she even taken her seat, IN 2007 session.hillcrest area is back to freshman status house members and they rarely pass any substantial LEG / laws in their freshman term. that is HISTORIC also she only reps dist, 37 about 5% of the Total Gay and Lesbian VOTE in the State of Arkansas. "she won great " now she need go to WORK for all the People in 037 not pontifacate about her Sexual History.. Good GOD. this supporter who ever it is( IS )doing REP Kathy WEBB no favors. prob. why the MSM has not picked it up because it simply just not history. ,Good luck Kathy Webb .

"Looks difficult for Greenberg in the runoff because Hetherington had a majority in Pulaski County, the biggest vote, while Saline votes forced the runoff.)"

Max -- Greenberg came close to winning this thing outright with 47% of the vote. Hetherington got 39%. How is it that you think Hetherington is in a better position?

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