After vote, GOP in 4th to unite
3 seeking retiring Ross’ seat vow to back victor of primary
The three candidates seeking the Republican nomination in the 4th Congressional District said Saturday that they will unite behind whoever wins the May 22 primary to elect a Republican in a historically Democratic district.
The Arkansas Federation of Young Republicans held a debate Saturday at the Hot Springs Convention Center. The Republican candidates have participated in a handful of debates in the 4th District, an area that has been held by a Democrat since Reconstruction, except for when Republican Jay Dickey of Pine Bluff held the seat from 1993 to 2001. This was the last debate Republicans have scheduled in the district race.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Ross of Prescott has held the seat for nearly 12 years. He announced in July that he will not seek a seventh term.
The 33-county district ranges from Ashley County across
the southern half of the state and extends up to Madison County in Northwest Arkansas.
Tom Cotton of Dardanelle, John Cowart of Texarkana and Beth Anne Rankin of Magnolia are vying for the GOP nomination.
Q. Byrum Hurst Jr. of Hot Springs, Gene Jeffress of Louann and D.C. Morrison of Little Rock are seeking the Democratic nomination.
“May 23 we will unite and we will go on to win victory in November,” Rankin said. She challenged Ross for the seat in 2010 but lost with 40.15 percent of the vote.
“I’m hoping to build on that and continue to take that conservative message out there,” she said. “It took quite a bit of guts to stand up and face Congressman Ross.”
Rankin owns a music-production company.
Cowart, a Texarkana police officer and lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve who returned from Afghanistan in January, agreed.
“This is a process where steel sharpens steel,” he said.
Cowart’s and Rankin’s fundraising efforts thus far have been dwarfed by the $890,102 raised by Cotton, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Cotton is a former attorney who was an Army infantry officer in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rankin has raised $365,850 in contributions through March 31. Cowart reported raising $32,804 in contributions.
Cowart attributed the low amount in his war chest to his comparatively late entry into the race in February. Rankin and Cotton have been campaigning and accepting contributions since last fall.
“I’m proud that my campaign has been doing more with less,” Cowart said. “We had an uphill battle, but every week it gets better and better. We will see what happens in the next month.”
Cowart said he has never stood by when he felt he was needed and he wants his campaign to reflect that.
“If you send me to Washington, D.C., it doesn’t matter what the odds are. I don’t need to know whether you are strong or weak, I don’t need to know what’s in it for me. I don’t need to know if we are definitely going to win or have a hard time of it,” he said. “I’m coming to join the fight for you, if you are on the right side.”
Cotton also addressed his campaign contributions. Nearly half of his donations have been from out of state.
“Money is certainly an important part [of a campaign]. The most important part though is a conservative vision,” Cotton said. “I believe Arkansans are more concerned about our plans once we get into office. I think I have a lifetime of preparation to be not just a conservative voice in Congress, but a conservative leader.”