Category Archives: Elections

Will the Republican red tide flood Arkansas’ county elections?

Alabama, blue wave, school boards, Hixson, Breanne, red tideThe most compelling races in Arkansas this November won’t be the big ones – governor, Congress, etc. Republicans probably are going to win all of them, and most of them easily.

Instead, the county races may be the ones most worth watching. That’s because this could be the election cycle where Republicans become the majority party in Arkansas.

Republicans now control every U.S. congressional office, all statewide races, and about three-fourths of the Legislature. And it’s mostly happened since 2010, the election following the election of President Obama. Before that, Arkansas was a one-party state – in fact, one of the nation’s one-partiest – controlled by Democrats.

But for all of their dominance at the state and national levels, Republicans still hold only a minority of partisan elected seats statewide, according to their own count. GOP Chairman Doyle Webb says that of 1,524 partisan offices ranging from justice of the peace up to the major state and national offices, Republicans control 620, or only 41 percent.  Continue reading →

Five races to watch in May

Alabama, blue wave, school boards, Hixson, BreanneReady to vote again?

Arkansas’ party primaries are May 22, and that’s when many of the most interesting and competitive races will be, rather than in the November general election.

What are the races to watch? Depends on where you live, but let’s focus on five.

Governor’s race: A contrast

In the governor’s race, Gov. Asa Hutchinson faces a challenge from Jan Morgan. The governor is popular statewide and had $2 million banked as of his last campaign finance report. Morgan, a political newcomer, has little money.

But Morgan has an anti-establishment, Trumpian appeal. The Hot Springs shooting range owner who banned Muslims from her business knows how to call attention to herself. She’ll be able to run to Hutchinson’s right on guns, probably the most important issue in a Republican primary. Primaries attract low turnouts with more restless, dogmatic voters. That means an officeholder, even one with widespread general support, can be taken down by a small percentage of the electorate.

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School boards head to the big ballot

Alabama, blue wave, school boardsIf you’re like most voters in Arkansas, you rarely if ever cast a ballot in school board elections. This May and November, that will start to change.

That’s because the Legislature last year voted to require school districts to choose between holding elections to coincide either with the May primaries or the November general elections. Because of that, school board candidates are filing for office now alongside candidates in other races.

Previously, school elections were in September, when few voters were interested or often even realized elections were occurring.

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Let 16-year-olds vote so they can defend themselves – against us

vote, Mark Moore, 16-year-oldsThe legal voting age since 1971 has been 18. Maybe that should be the maximum instead of the minimum, at least for a few election cycles.

I write that at age 48 after observing young people lately interact with the world created by supposedly responsible voting-age adults.

Exhibit A is the students at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, who escaped from a mass killer while 17 of their classmates and educators didn’t. The killer, a clearly troubled 19-year-old, had purchased his military-style weapon almost as easily as he later purchased a drink at Subway after his rampage ended.

We adults refuse to do much about this. So the students are. Continue reading →

A blue wave is coming. How big, and how wet will Arkansas get?

Alabama, blue waveHistory – both the recent and not-so-recent kinds – suggests a blue wave is coming. The only questions for this column are, how big will it be, and how wet will Arkansas get?

The recent kind of history is that, since President Trump was elected, Democrats nationwide have flipped 35 state legislative seats that were occupied by Republicans. In contrast, Republicans have flipped four seats that were occupied by Democrats.

The latest occurred Tuesday in Missouri, where a 27-year-old Democrat, Mike Revis, was elected in a district outside St. Louis that Trump won by 28 points in 2016. Revis defeated a pro-life, pro-gun Republican.

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