Turnout skimpy in GOP runoff
Winner will face off in fall
LITTLE ROCK — Some Arkansas voters said they were turned off by the negative tone of advertising in bitter Republican primaries for attorney general and a state Senate seat as they cast ballots Tuesday in the final contests before the November general election.
As expected, turnout was light for the primary runoff, which had a GOP contest for the attorney general nomination as its only statewide contest. A handful of local races boosted interest, particularly in a state Senate seat in northern Arkansas, which featured candidates who are sharply divided on the future of the state’s compromise Medicaid expansion.
Leslie Rutledge, 38, a former lawyer for ex-Gov. Mike Huckabee and the Republican National Committee who was touted by one voter as a “gun-toting female,” nearly won the GOP attorney general nomination outright during the primary three weeks ago. She entered Tuesday hopeful voters would give little credence to television and directmail advertising suggesting she was soft on gun rights because she didn’t match her opponent’s advocacy of a Stand Your Ground law.
David Sterling, 45, hoped to benefit from the advertisements, which were paid for by outside groups and which suggested that Rutledge’s stand would require people to beat a hasty retreat in the face of a perceived threat.
Rutledge has denounced the ads, saying state law already allows the use of deadly force in selfdefense. Sterling has said he didn’t have anything to do with the spots, but that he doesn’t believe they’re inaccurate.
The private practice lawyer from Little Rock also questioned Rutledge’s conservative credentials, and both candidates sparred on who had the best experience necessary to fight what both believe is an overreaching federal government.
The winner of Tuesday’s runoff will face Democratic state Rep. Nate Steel and Libertarian nominee Aaron Cash in the fall election. Steel said he believed the tone of the GOP runoff campaign would help him attract support in November. Steel said he looked forward to contrasting his platform against Rutledge or Sterling, who both ran on a vow to fight federal “overreach.”