Kati McFarland, whose challenge of U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton’s dereliction on health care at a raucous town hall last year drew national attention, asks for a mention about her candidacy for state legislature. Happy to oblige a resister.

McFarland, 27, who lives in Bethel Heights, is running as a Democrat against incumbent Republican Rep. Jana Della Rosa for District 90, which includes parts of Lowell, Springdale, Rogers and Cave Springs.

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McFarland’s own struggle with a genetic illness threw her into the health care debate in support of the Affordable Care Act and she’s become a national activist.  She’s traveled to Washington 10 times to lobby on the issue and is taking a sabbatical from continuing university studies to make the race.

“People are hurting in so many ways today,” Kati notes. “Healthcare costs, the opioid epidemic, maternal death rates, childcare costs, workplace mistreatment — all of these, and other, issues have real human faces, and they belong to our friends and neighbors. And while not all of our problems can be solved by legislation, there is almost always something the government can do to ease the path to solutions if legislators are dedicated to giving every constituent opportunities to fully realize their aspirations, purpose, and potential to help Arkansas thrive and grow.

She has a website and a Facebook page.

McFarland earned a mention a year ago in a Time magazine article on patients turned activists.

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