Mcdaniel tries to follow Beebe in bid
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Announcing his gubernatorial campaign nearly 2 1/ 2 years before the 2014 election, Dustin McDaniel is doubling down on an approach that Gov. Mike Beebe used to win the state’s top office and keep it for two terms.
But McDaniel is no Mike Beebe. And the political world in Arkansas that McDaniel faces in 2014 is dramatically different than the one Beebe faced when he too was an attorney general trying to win over the state’s voters in 2006.
McDaniel enjoys many of the advantages Beebe had when he ran six years ago. As attorney general, both men built widespread name recognition by attaching themselves to popular causes and high- profile lawsuits. McDaniel’s early start is similar to that used by Beebe, who long before the election was able to lock down major donors and establishment support in his successful 2006 campaign.
And like Beebe’s — the current governor was viewed as an inevitable candidate long before he actually ran — McDaniel’s political ambitions were so well known that last week’s announcement that the attorney general was organizing a bid was a predictable slice of news in a state whose politics have been anything but that in recent years.
That unpredictability is what makes McDaniel’s campaign much more challenging.
McDaniel announced his bid months before an election that could give Republicans control of the state Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction, a political shift that Beebe didn’t have to worry about in 2006. With enough votes to block some key budget bills, Republicans have already flexed their muscle in the Legislature after their recent gains.
McDaniel hinted at the difficulties the party- line divisions could pose long before he announced his bid.
“Meetings of the minds, however, are becoming more difficult to arrange,” McDaniel said in a speech last year. “Finding common ground is becoming less and less common.”
Despite those divisions, McDaniel has managed to rack up victories in court on high- profile cases and in the Legislature with an agenda of popular initiatives that’ll both figure into his argument in the 2014 election. They include his successful push for the closure of hundreds of payday lenders in the state in 2008 and a $ 1.2 billion fine the state was awarded in a trial over the marketing of an anti- psychotic drug. But McDaniel’s perception as a candidate- in- waiting for the governor’s office has made him an attractive target from Republicans, including at least one of his potential 2014 rivals. Over the past year, the criticism has focused on lawmaker complaints that McDaniel has too much control over settlements the state receives.
Lt. Gov. Mark Darr, a Republican mulling a run for governor, suggested that McDaniel’s using some settlement money to promote his office’s consumer protection efforts were more about promoting McDaniel himself.
The GOP criticism, however, hasn’t done much to damage McDaniel even as Republicans have made gains at nearly every level in Arkansas. Republicans failed to find a candidate to challenge McDaniel’s re- election bid two years ago, even as GOP leaders and tea party groups went after him for not signing on to a lawsuit challenging the federal health care law.
He even rallied Democratic Party faithful by pushing back against a Republican lawmaker’s claim that McDaniel was pandering to Hispanic voters by offering a Spanish language version of his office’s website.
“I will stand up for rich, poor, black, white, Asian, Latino, men, women, gay, straight. We are all God’s children,” McDaniel told Democrats at a fundraiser last year.
McDaniel’s also managed to stake himself out as a conservative Democrat on some issues, particularly gun rights. The former Jonesboro police officer has been endorsed in past races by the National Rifle Association and signed onto briefs opposing handgun bans in other cities.
It’s too soon to say what McDaniel’s campaign theme or major proposal will be. Beebe ran primarily on his promise to phase out Arkansas’ grocery tax and focused primarily on state issues. Republicans in recent elections have sought to tie local and statewide races to national debates on issues such as health care.
The brief statement McDaniel released after filing papers to begin organizing his campaign offered few clues on what his message would be.
“I have the experience and ability to lead our state, confront the issues facing our citizens, and meet the demands of a 21st century economy,” McDaniel said in the statement. “I believe Arkansas’ best days are yet to come, and I look forward to sharing my vision in the months ahead.”
McDaniel’s path to the Democratic nomination seemed clear after retiring Congressman Mike Ross gave up on his widely expected bid earlier this year. McDaniel made his bid official even earlier than Beebe, who announced his 2006 bid in June 2005.
Obstacles still remain. Former Lt. Gov. Bill Halter and Highway Commissioner John Burkhalter both are considering a run and could challenge McDaniel as outsiders.
A spokesman for Halter wasted no time in offering a hint of the bitter intraparty fight that may welcome McDaniel.
“People are sick and tired of perpetual campaigns and the election for the next governor is more than two years away,” Halter spokesman Bud Jackson said hours after McDaniel’s announcement.
Like it or not, the perpetual campaign for governor is already here. The only question is who will join it next.