Plenty of Arkansas voters like Donald Trump. But Trump’s campaign has increasingly pitted him in a blood feud against the Republican Party itself, and that’s meant Republican elected officials either openly reject him or simply give him a wide berth. If there were any GOP officeholders at Trump’s rally in Little Rock last night, I didn’t see them.
Here’s one prominent Republican who turned up at Barton Coliseum on Wednesday: Sarah Joy Reynolds, the executive director of the Republican Party of Arkansas. Reynolds shared the above post on social media last night.
Is this an endorsement of Trump from the statewide party’s ED? I’ve asked the question of the Arkansas GOP, and I’ll update this post if I get a response. To be fair, Reynolds also tweeted pictures of herself last night posed with a number of the other GOP contenders — Cruz, Bush, Carson and a number of also-rans — with the text, “I have been so fortunate to meet many of the presidential candidates!” Then again, Trump isn’t just another GOP candidate.
The picture attracted some sarcastic words last night from Rep. Nate Bell (I-Mena), a supporter of Marco Rubio and vociferous critic of all things Trump:
Here's your @ARGOP Executive Director & who appears to be National Committeewoman at tonight's Trump rally#CruzCrew pic.twitter.com/TEOYRQPnzh
— Nate Bell (@NateBell4AR) February 4, 2016