Category Archives: Elections

Lawsuit limits trailing in courts, poll

Elections, Politics, State government

Lake View, Supreme Court, Issue 1By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

There’s an expression sometimes used in politics: Go big or go home. With Issue 1, the tort reform amendment, the Arkansas Legislature went very big. And at the moment, that amendment is in serious danger of being sent home either by the courts or by the voters.

The wide-ranging measure would make major changes to the state’s legal system. It would limit “non-economic” (pain and suffering) lawsuit awards to $500,000. It would limit punitive damage awards meant to punish and deter wrongdoing to $500,000 or three times compensatory damage awards, whichever is greater. There wouldn’t be a limit if the defendant intentionally caused the harm. The amendment also would limit attorneys’ contingency fees to one-third the net amount awarded their clients. And it would enable the Legislature to override rules made for the state’s courts by the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Legislators referred the measure to the ballot during the 2017 session. Powerful groups support it, including the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, the Arkansas Hospital Association and the Arkansas Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes. Naturally, the trial lawyers oppose it.

Huge amounts of money are at stake for both sides. Therefore, huge amounts will be spent on this issue both for and against. Continue reading Lawsuit limits trailing in courts, poll →

Will 3 percent vote for almost no government?

Elections, Independents and third parties, Politics, State government
Mark West
Mark West is running for governor as a Libertarian.

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

For Mark West, victory in the Arkansas governor’s race realistically will be measured using two numbers: 50 and 3.

He says if his votes keep Gov. Asa Hutchinson under 50 percent, that would be a measurable number that shows his third party campaign kind of caught on. Achieving that goal seems unlikely.

The more important number is 3 percent. If he wins that amount, his Libertarian Party won’t be a “new” party under Arkansas law in 2020, and it won’t have to expend its limited resources collecting 10,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot. The party’s 2014 candidate for governor, Frank Gilbert, won 1.92 percent.

How limited are those resources? Hutchinson as of the last campaign finance reporting deadline Aug. 15 had raised $4.3 million for his campaign. The Democratic challenger, Jared Henderson, had raised about $324,000. West has raised $6,000 to date. Continue reading Will 3 percent vote for almost no government? →

What Gov. Hutchinson and Jared Henderson have in common

Elections, Politics, State government

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson and his Democratic opponent, Jared Henderson, have at least two things in common: They both started their political careers at young ages as heavy underdogs in statewide races, and they both have offered a big idea regarding education.

Hutchinson’s political career began in 1986 when, at age 35, he challenged the late two-term U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers, 61. Bumpers was a Democrat like almost all elected officials in Arkansas. Running as a Republican gave Hutchinson little chance to win a statewide race of any kind. But that was the party where he felt he belonged. He lost, 62-38 percent.

Four years later, Hutchinson ran another statewide race – this one against Democrat Winston Bryant for attorney general. Bryant had been lieutenant governor for a decade, mostly under then-Gov. Bill Clinton. Hutchinson lost, 55-45 percent

Hutchinson did not have a realistic chance of beating Bumpers. Beating Bryant would have been an upset.

Continue reading What Gov. Hutchinson and Jared Henderson have in common →

What does Ohio’s 12th tell us about Arkansas’ 2nd?

Elections, Politics

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

To get an idea of what will transpire in Arkansas this election season, consider what just happened in Ohio.

There, the state’s wealthiest congressional district held a special election Tuesday to fill a vacant seat. Ohio’s 12th had elected Republicans to Congress since the 1980s, and President Trump won it by 11 points.

The election pitted Republican Troy Balderson against Democrat Danny O’Connor, and polls showed it was tight. If the Democrat won, it would be seen as a big sign that the November elections might go that party’s way nationwide. This year is a midterm election, which typically favors the fired up party not in the White House – and Democrats are very fired up. Millions of dollars poured into the race from both sides. President Trump held a big rally there Saturday.  Continue reading What does Ohio’s 12th tell us about Arkansas’ 2nd? →