When I was talking with David Kinkade (of The Arkansas Project) last week he alluded to views within the Arkansas Republican Party that they would do well at the local level this November. Rob Moritz of the Arkansas News Bureau files a story today about this very matter and cites several key races that the Republicans feel could be pick-ups. The most glaring are: District 29 where Republican Ann Clemmer faces off with Democrat Scott Smith in a bid to replace Democrat Janet Johnson who is term limited; District 28 where Republican David McCoy is running against Democrat Barbara Nix who defeated Lamont Cornwell, the incumbent, in the primary; and District 38 where Republican Kelly Eichler is in a close race with Democrat John Edwards to replace Democrat David Johnson who is running for the state Senate.
Republicans may be bolstered by John McCain’s continued strength in Arkansas, along with no competitive race for the US Senate to help drive Democratic turnout. Of course, Republicans gains in the Arkansas General Assembly would be one of the stranger things to happen, especially when you consider that Democrats all across the country – including places like Georgia and Mississippi – could be victorious on election night.
David Frum, a former Bush speechwriter, notes in The Washington Post today, “McCain’s awful campaign is having awful consequences down the ballot. I spoke a little while ago to a senior Republican House member. “There is not a safe Republican seat in the country,” he warned. “I don’t mean that we’re going to lose all of them. But we could lose any of them.”
We’ll see.
[...] at Blake’s Think Tank, my Democratic leaning counterpart Blake Rutherford picks up on a discussion we had last week on “Unconventional Wisdom” (I’ll quit mentioning that now) about the potential for GOP pick-ups in the state [...]