Newcomer says he’ll challenge Crawford

Democratic Party interest in the 1st Congressional District — stretching from the Delta into the Ozarks — has already surpassed 2016, when the party did not put up a candidate to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford.

In Arkansas County, cattle farmer and businessman Mike Nelson said Monday that he has decided to seek the Democratic nomination in 2018.

The 48-year-old is a political newcomer who described himself as a moderate “blue dog” Democrat in a phone interview.

Nelson said he’s bothered by “political correctness” and what he described as infringement upon free speech at college campuses.

He also said Crawford has not done enough to bring jobs back to the district. Nelson also criticized the Republican’s votes to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and banking regulations adopted after the 2008 financial crisis. Crawford is serving his fourth term.

Another possible Democratic candidate is former Wynne Alderman Jim Huff, who said in a text Monday that he’s still considering whether to enter the race.

A spokesman for Crawford declined to comment on the potential for a Democratic challenger or on Nelson’s remarks on his voting record.

According to Federal Election Commission reports, Crawford had more than $305,000 in his campaign chest at the end of March. Nelson said he has yet to file with the commission.

In 2014, the last time Crawford faced a Democrat, he won re-election by more than 30 points.

Nelson said he voted for Crawford in 2012 and 2014. But Nelson, who said he also voted for former President Barack Obama both times, said Crawford has become increasingly aligned with the U.S. House’s most conservative members.

The American Conservative Union, a Washington, D.C.based political organization, gave Crawford an 86 rating out of 100, based on his votes in 2016.

Specifically, Nelson called House Republicans’ plan to repeal and replace Obama’s 2010 health care law an “absolute piece of junk.”

Crawford voted for the House measure in May. Senate Republicans have said they are working on their own plan.

Nelson also said federal road projects — such as the re-designation of U.S. 63 in northeast Arkansas as Interstate 555 — should focus on maintaining old roads rather than building new ones.

For Democrats, competing in the party’s former stronghold of east Arkansas will be an “uphill battle” said Michael John Gray, the new head of the state party. Gray also is a state representative from Augusta, which is in the 1st Congressional District.

Gray said “the light has been shone on the Republican agenda,” as the party controls both Congress and the White House. That has encouraged Democrats to seek office in all parts of the state, Gray said.

Only one Democrat was on the November 2016 general election ballot for a U.S. House or U.S. Senate seat in Arkansas.

After living for years in Dallas and working in the agricultural brokerage and banking industries, Nelson said he returned to Arkansas County in 2009. He and his brother run an outdoors supply store and the family farm.

Nelson said he’s not married and has three daughters and three granddaughters.