Time to pick state’s next governor

The state’s gubernatorial campaign has pitted the hard- working Chris Jones and the hardly visible — except in TV commercials — Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

And I should mention Ricky Dale Harrington is running, too. There, he’s mentioned.

The field was much more crowded in the early days: Republicans Leslie Rutledge and Tim Griffin were among the earliest candidates before they became inspired to seek other forms of continued state employment. What inspired them? Sanders’ move back to Arkansas to become the second-half of the first daddy-daughter team to serve as the state’s chief executive.

But that’s not why Sanders was able to suck away all the support Rutledge and Griffin might have been able to count on if Sanders had stuck with national politics (well, she actually did, but in the context of Arkansas needing a governor who would shield the state from those awful liberals in Washington). No, Sanders’ standing as the prohibitive favorite comes from her loyal attachment to Donald Trump.

Based on 2020’s electoral map, Arkansas sits squarely in the middle of a vast swath of pro-Donald Trump states, from Idaho to Florida and North Dakota to Texas. That’s why it was no shocker that the release of the Arkansas Poll by the University of Arkansas last week showed a preponderance of people who identify as Republicans in 2022 at 34% (37% of very likely voters). Those who think of themselves as Democrats totaled 23% (24% of very likely voters). The remaining were independents, 32% (32%) and other/don’t know, 5% (4%) and 6% (3%) respectively.

Poll after poll also shows Sanders with a serious lead against Jones.

If things go as a lot of people anticipate, voters will elect Sanders with a limited idea of what she will do for the state. By that, I’m referring to the real nuts and bolts of running state government. Despite what Sanders would have you believe, the governor’s office is not a daily battle with Washington elites.

Chris Jones has focused on developing Arkansas preschool access, affordable broadband for a state that lacks it in many areas beyond the urban centers and creating highwage jobs. He says state government needs to be fiscally responsible while addressing the needs of Arkansans, from mental health care to caring for older residents and those facing hunger. He’s pledged to work in support of small businesses and to improve a broken foster system.

These are many of the state issues we should rely on a governor to provide leadership for.

Because I’m in the newspaper business and don’t march in lockstep with any political party, I’m accused from time to time of being among the “liberal media.” It’s a tiring and useless characterization based not one bit on who I am. On a lot of issues I trend to the right — but I’ll never be mistaken for the hard right. Even among Democratic friends in Arkansas, I sense more conservatism than I witness in national politics. That’s why I can honestly say our state has been well served by Asa Hutchinson and Mike Beebe, Republican and Democrat, respectively.

I appreciate public officials who will listen to constituents — not just their supporters, but all Arkansans — and seek to find the most common ground possible. And ones who can put politics of party on the far back burner once they are elected to office.

I don’t think Sarah Sanders will do that, although Republicans tell me she’s smart and much more substantive than her campaign suggests. If she wins, I hope that’s so. And I hope her nationalization of the governor’s office was just a campaign tactic, not a vision for the next four years.

But based on what we know as we vote, Chris Jones has more to offer as a governor.