By ANDREW DeMILLO | Arkansas Advocate
Two years after he was voted out of office as Arkansas governor, Bill Clinton made his comeback bid in 1982 by humbly asking voters to forgive the missteps of his first term.
His new slogan? You can’t lead without listening.
After candidates backed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders were defeated in last week’s primary elections, Arkansas’ Republican governor is unlikely to embark on a similar tour of contrition.
But she may take Clinton’s slogan to heart as she tries to listen to the message voters sent last week, especially in two Senate districts where Sanders’ efforts to oust Republican incumbents backfired.
How she deciphers that message will be telling.
Were the results a referendum on the Franklin County prison project Sanders championed that the two lawmakers opposed? Was it a response to the hardball political tactics of the governor and her allies? A larger warning sign about Sanders’ first term in office and her policy priorities?
Or will Sanders view the outcomes as a fluke that had nothing to do with her?
The losses Sanders suffered come nowhere near getting voted out of office, as Clinton was in 1980. The Republican governor still enjoys a GOP supermajority in the Legislature, and she’s in a comfortable position for her reelection bid with millions in the bank.
Yet the amount of political capital she spent on two Senate races elevated what would normally be considered locally driven campaigns into a national storyline. It’s rare to see The New York Times devote as much attention to an Arkansas legislative race as they did to the fight for Sens. Bryan King and Ron Caldwell’s seats.
It’s the kind of national spotlight that Sanders surely doesn’t want as someone widely viewed as a potential presidential hopeful in two years.
The tone and the flurry of the attack mailers and ads going after the two incumbent lawmakers rivaled the sort you’d see in a nationally watched race for Senate or Congress.
The over-the-top messages featured images of the Chinese flag, drag queens reading to schoolchildren and drones chasing farmers, and appealed to a cynical view of what politics has devolved into in the Trump era.
The cameo appearance of singer Kid Rock, who recorded a video endorsing Caldwell challenger Trey “BoDirt” Bohannon, was emblematic of the bizarre nature of these legislative races.
What wasn’t mentioned in the attacks was the biggest issue at play. King and Caldwell opposed the Franklin County prison project that’s been one of the few areas where Sanders has faced resistance in the Legislature.
The prison project is a key part of Sanders’ messaging as a law-and-order Republican, after the Legislature approved her sentencing overhaul legislation that ended parole for violent offenders.
But Sanders’ approach on the project from the start, including an announcement that took locals by surprise, has rankled some in the Legislature as heavy-handed. That was only exacerbated by the bids against Caldwell and King.
Further complicating matters for her were Democrats flipping a North Little Rock area House seat in a special election Tuesday, and Senate Majority Leader Blake Johnson’s loss in the GOP primary. Johnson had Sanders’ endorsement and was defeated by state Rep. Jeremy Wooldridge, who has not said whether he supports the Franklin County prison site.
Johnson’s loss creates uncertainty about who will lead the Senate next year, since the majority leader had previously planned to run for the chamber’s president pro tempore. Caldwell had also said he planned to run for the post, and his win leaves open the possibility that the chamber could be led by a lawmaker Sanders tried so hard to unseat.
The increasingly difficult political calculus Sanders faces may explain why the prison and requests for additional funding were left unaddressed when her budget proposal was outlined to lawmakers the day after the primary.
The warning signs for Sanders went beyond the Legislature, including Pulaski County prosecutor Will Jones’ ouster despite help from a group linked to the governor’s allies. Wendell Griffen’s win in the Democratic primary for Pulaski County judge also sets the stage for a critic of the governor to potentially be in one of the most high-profile local elected positions in the state.
To be clear, Sanders-backed candidates saw victories elsewhere on the ballot Tuesday. The most significant for the governor’s future is Justice Nick Bronni’s victory, which guarantees a predominantly conservative court key to legal fights over the governor’s policies.
And the next test of Sanders’ coattails could come later this month in the runoff elections, including the Republican primary for secretary of state. Sanders hadn’t endorsed anyone in the race but told reporters Tuesday she voted for either state Sen. Kim Hammer or Miller County Judge Cathy Hardin Harrison. She didn’t mention Bryan Norris, who Hammer will face in the March 31 runoff.
After casting her ballot, Sanders focused on her lack of a primary challenger and told reporters that’s a sign her agenda has widespread support.
How Sanders approaches the remainder of the midterms and the legislative session may show whether the governor still believes that to be the case.
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