Four Democrats vie in 2nd District primary

In the four-way primary for central Arkansas’ congressional seat, the Democrats’ positions on health care — three support a single-payer solution and the other favors a Medicare buy-in proposal — reflect the tenor of the race’s debate.

Clarke Tucker, an attorney and two-term state lawmaker, has been painted by pundits and his three opponents as the more moderate choice. He’s also been portrayed as the favorite, backed by national party officials and a campaign war chest that’s triple the combined amount of his opponents.

The other three candidates — Paul Spencer, a history teacher at Catholic High School for Boys; Gwen Combs, a teacher in the Little Rock School District; and Jonathan Dunkley, director of operations at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service — are running in support of Medicare-for-all.

Tucker’s opponents have attacked him for being “part of the establishment” and not progressive enough. He thinks a single-payer solution isn’t feasible right now, but he takes issue with criticism his nuanced positions means he lacks passion.

“I absolutely believe you can be a moderate and have a lot of passion,” he said in a recent interview. “I certainly have a lot of passion about the issues I care about.

I may be more in the middle of the spectrum than at the end of the spectrum, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have passion.”

The four Democrats are vying for a shot to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill, who has held the office since 2015. Joe Swafford of Maumelle also is running as a Libertarian for the seat.

The district includes Pulaski, Conway, Van Buren, White, Perry, Faulkner and Saline counties. The GOP has held the seat since 2011.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which sought Tucker to run for the slot, believes it’s a district Democrats have a chance to flip in November.

Early voting for the primary begins Monday, and Election Day is May 22. If no candidate wins a majority, the two highest vote-getters would move to a runoff on June 19.

Hill, when commenting on the primary race, has tied the Democrats to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, saying he looks forward to a general election and contrasting his record of “lower taxes, smaller government and a stronger economy.”

Combs, Spencer and Tucker have all said that they wouldn’t support Pelosi for House leadership if elected. Dunkley said he would wait until meeting Pelosi before making a decision.

COMBS

Combs believes health care, education and financial security are human rights. She supports Medicare for all, debt-free public education from pre-kindergarten to employability and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

She wants to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal dollars from being used on abortion except in cases of rape or incest or when the mother’s life is at risk.

Combs pledged to refuse money from the National Rifle Association, and she wants to expand background checks for purchasing firearms and close certain gun-buying loopholes. However, she also noted that her family owns guns, and she’s not trying to take them away from responsible owners.

She called the Republican-led tax-cut plan passed through Congress in 2017 “a bunch of crap,” saying that it benefits large corporations on the backs of “hardworking Arkansans.”

Combs has raised $25,760, and she has $7,587 in the bank, according to the latest campaign-finance report.

DUNKLEY

Dunkley claims to be the most progressive candidate in the race, and his three main platforms are Medicare for all, debt-free college and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. If elected, he wants to quickly address education and health care.

A move to a single-payer system “isn’t the boogeyman scenario people are painting,” Dunkley said.

One of the chief issues he’d like to address is the mounting pile of student-loan debt. College education, he said, should be a gift, but it has become a curse looming over too many.

Dunkley believes the government could generate a lot of revenue by capitalizing on the legalization of marijuana. He pointed to several states that have generated substantial revenue by taxing recreational cannabis.

He supports abortion rights and favors repealing the Hyde Amendment.

Dunkley has raised $9,845 in contributions, and he lent his campaign $10,000. He has $970 in the bank, according to his most recent finance report.

SPENCER

Spencer has vowed to refuse any donations from political action committees, and he will impose a six-year, three-term limit on his time in Congress.

A former Republican, Spencer deals out criticism for both political parties without hesitation.

“The parties themselves, they’re the ultimate special interests, they’re the ultimate money-in-politics problem,” he said. “They get in and they want to keep generating more income for themselves and more relevance for themselves.”

While heralding progressive solutions like Medicare for all, student-debt elimination and union organization, Spencer still holds anti-abortion views.

He also wants to institute banking services at post offices. Banks, Spencer said, have left rural and poor areas, forcing many to turn instead to predatory payday lenders with their high interest rate and fees. The U.S. Postal Service, Spencer said, could offer free checking and savings accounts and low-interest small-business loans.

Spencer, according to the most recent campaign-finance report, has raised $251,479; he had $120,324 in the bank.

TUCKER

Instead of a single-payer system, Tucker supports “Medicare X,” a proposal that would allow people to buy into Medicare, but people who like their employer-based plans, for example, could keep those plans.

The plan would offer choices and coverage for everyone while increasing competition, according to the Little Rock native.

Education and the economy, Tucker said, go hand in hand. He’s a proponent of expanding the availability of pre-kindergarten, which he added would address so many social problems. Tucker said statistics show a steep dropoff in teenage pregnancies in those who attended preschool. That would decrease abortion, which Tucker said should be “safe, legal and rare.”

Tucker has raised $493,212 in campaign contributions, according to the latest finance reports, and he had $444,838 in the bank.