GOP governor hopeful, justice candidates visit

ROGERS — Jan Morgan, challenger to Gov. Asa Hutchinson in the Republican primary next month, again called for a debate with the governor and criticized Hutchinson Tuesday for expanding state government in ways she said were against the party’s values.

Morgan, a

Hot Springs firearms instructor and former television journalist, spoke to several dozen people at the Benton County Republican Women’s monthly meeting and lunch in Rogers. Hutchinson was invited but couldn’t attend because of scheduling conflicts, a spokeswoman said.

“It is time for citizens to step up to the plate,” said Morgan, a supporter of President Donald Trump who has offered commentary on Fox News. She called herself a true Republican who would cut state spending and taxes and keep government transparent.

Two of the three candidates for the single opening on the Arkansas Supreme Court also talked with the group to describe their legal approach should they win the job. The nonpartisan judicial election and partisan primaries will be held May 22, with early voting starting May 7.

GOVERNOR PRIMARY

Morgan’s message Tuesday was largely the same it’s been since she announced her bid for governor last New Year’s Eve. She called Hutchinson a progressive, tax- and- spend type overseeing a government whose budget has only grown since his election in 2014. She said the state’s people voted for Trump to send the message that party establishments have betrayed them, a line that drew vocal agreement around the room.

“It is unacceptable from the Republican Party, and we can’t blame it on the Democrats,” Morgan said.

Morgan criticized Arkansas Works, the expansion of Medicaid that offers health coverage at low or no cost to more than 200,000 adults, is unsustainable no matter how many modifications Hutchinson and other state officials have made. The federal government with Hutchinson’s support recently allowed the state to require many program participants to work, seek a job or volunteer each month.

Hutchinson and state legislators have enacted income tax cuts that add up to around $150 million, but Morgan said they haven’t brought genuine relief to Arkansas residents, among the country’s lowest in income and highest in local tax rates. She said the people she’s met around the state are “hungry for integrity in government.”

Morgan worked as a TV journalist in Arkansas and Louisiana and said she investigated government waste and abuse, good practice for what she wants to accomplish.

She drew national attention in 2014 when she declared her business, Gun Cave Indoor Firing Range, wouldn’t allow Muslim members. Morgan said Tuesday she supported legal immigration but didn’t want the state to be a refugee resettlement site.

Hutchinson campaign spokesman Jamie Barker said Tuesday the state’s tax cuts, low unemployment, record number of job holders all

demonstrate the governor’s leadership, and Morgan’s attacks were nothing new.

“His record is clear, he’s kept his promises, and Governor Hutchinson has laid out a plan for the next four years,” Barker wrote in an email. “Instead of discussing ideas and specific plans for the future of Arkansas, Mrs. Morgan has built her platform on scare tactics and the misrepresentation of the facts. Her approach is unfortunate and, it’s a disservice to the voter of Arkansas.”

Hutchinson’s campaign previously declined to debate Morgan because she said in February she wouldn’t endorse Hutchinson for the general election if he won the primary race.

Campaign finance records with the Arkansas Secretary of State show Hutchinson reported raising more than $3 million combined through March for his primary and general election campaigns. He’s spent about $1 million so far.

Morgan reported raising more than $85,000 and spending about $70,000. She said Tuesday her shoestring budget demonstrates her refusal to meet with or be swayed by big special interest donors.

Whoever wins the primary will run against the winner of the Democrat primary and Libertarian candidate Mark West.

JUDICIAL ELECTION

Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge Kenneth Hixson and Department of Human Services chief counsel David Sterling want to replace state Supreme Court Associate Justice Courtney Goodson, who’s running for re-election.

The two challengers said Tuesday they’d be restrained justices but described what that means differently. Sterling said he supported an originalist approach that interprets the state or national constitution the way their writers intended, not by taking changing times and culture into account. He also would stay in his lane, as he put it, to leave lawmaking to legislators.

Hixson said he hears criticism of “judicial activism,” or aggressively using the power of the courts to modify laws. One person he met recently recently said that approach was bad, “unless it’s my side.” Hixson said he rejected that view.

“I don’t let my religion interfere, I don’t let my politics interfere,” he said, instead paying attention only to the letter of the law.

Hixson touted his experience, having been on the appeals court for about five years. He said he’s helped decide around 2,000 cases. Sterling, meanwhile, oversees around 75 attorneys at DHS that he said work on child welfare cases, the Medicaid programs and other needs.

Hixson said though only one of seven justice positions is up for a vote, it still matters. Recent cases concerning the death penalty and other important issues have hinged on one vote.

The Benton County group didn’t invite Goodson to its meeting, member Rebecca Hedges said. She said Goodson had a progressive tilt. Goodson’s campaign didn’t return an email and phone call requesting comment Tuesday afternoon.

Morgan