Sheridan resident to seek House seat
Hall has eye on ex-Democrat’s spot
Dorothy Hall of Sheridan said she will seek the Democratic nomination for the seat now held by state Rep. Mike Holcomb of Pine Bluff.
Holcomb said three months ago that he’s a Republican and no longer a Democrat.
In 2012, Hall lost to Holcomb in the Democratic primary runoff in House District 10 by 180 votes. District 10 includes parts of Cleveland, Drew, Grant, Jefferson and Lincoln counties.
Hall, 67, is a farmer and a retired associate director of the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
Holcomb, 65, has served in the Legislature since 2013. He is a retired county judge for Jefferson County.
Hall said Thursday that voters in the district “want a legislator they can trust” and “one who will focus on real issues that impact all of us and can actually be tackled by the Arkansas General Assembly.” She said she wants to focus on improving education, expanding access to pre-kindergarten, dealing with crowded prisons and funding highways.
“[In] changing parties, he did that based on how he felt,” she said, referring to Holcomb. “I don’t think he checked that with any of the voters that elected him.”
When he announced his party switch on Aug. 20, Holcomb said the breaking point was the state Democratic Party’s opposition to Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s decision to end the state’s Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma. He said he also doesn’t support samesex marriage.
Hall said Arkansas has only two Planned Parenthood clinics that provide women access to health care services, and those clinics haven’t been engaged in fetal tissue donation.
Hutchinson ordered the termination of the state’s Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood after an anti-abortion group released edited clips of conversations with Planned Parenthood executives, doctors and staff members in other states talking about how much money the organization would receive for providing various body parts for medical research.
Hall, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in June, said: “That’s not something the Arkansas Legislature will be addressing.”
Holcomb said he has represented a conservative legislative district since 2013, and he wants to continue to work on fixing software problems with the state’s Medicaid eligibility and enrollment system, expanding vocational education programs and creating jobs.
The House now has 64 Republicans, 35 Democrats and one independent — state Rep. Nate Bell of Mena.
The parties’ filing period for state and federal offices runs from noon Monday until noon Nov. 9 at the state Capitol in Little Rock. The primary election will be March 1. The runoff election will be March 22, and next year’s general election is Nov. 8.