Who Might Run For Snyder’s Seat?
January 16th, 2010It’s only been hours since Vic Snyder announced his retirement and already a number of names of potential Democratic candidates are being floated around. Here’s the list of names and faces I’ve heard mentioned so far, and some thoughts on each of them.
Bill Halter- First on the list is this cycle’s most talked about man in Arkansas, Lieutenent Governor Bill Halter. Halter of course is either running for reelection or, if our draft effort pays off, challenging Blanche Lincoln in the primary. This provides him an alternative, a way to move up into a race where Democrats sorely need a top candidate and fast. There are a lot of good aspects to a potential Halter candidacy. First, Halter is a fundraising machine and a popular statewide official. He’s also a seasoned campaigner, and isn’t afraid to hit back hard when attacked (ask Jim Holt and Tim Wooldridge) which will be important when going up against Rove scum like Griffin. What’s more, he’s a solid populist progressive that would fit the district nicely and do us all a world of good in the U.S. House. There’s only two minuses I can see in this equation. One of them is that that it obvously throws cold water on our draft effort to get him into the senate race. The other is that the House of Representatives might be too small a stage for Halter, especially when he has options like the Senate and a potential run for the governorship.
Shane Broadway-Term limited and respected state senator Shane Broadway has had his name floated. While I admit I don’t know Broadway’s position on every issue, his reputation as a skilled legislator and policy wonk precede him. He’s been very good as an advocate for public education. Labor likes him. He’s kept his head down on social issues, unlike his potential successor Dawn Creekmore. He’s also represented the conservative Saline County and still managed to be somewhat progressive. I can’t think of anyone who’s ever had a negative thing to say about him. In fact, he’s the name I most often hear when people are bemoaning term limits. Personally, I’d have no problems with him running for the seat, though I’d want to know more about him and the other prospective candidates before I picked sides.
Mark Stodola-The mayor of Little Rock once ran for the U.S. House and lost to Snyder. I don’t know anything about him though, but if he’s been a decent mayor then Little Rock then having the state’s biggest city for a base would be a big asset.
Robbie Wills-The Speaker of the State House. I get mixed reviews on Wills and I must admit I’m really not sure what to think as of yet. In many ways he’s been a very skilled Speaker. But at the same time, I get he overwhelming sense that he’s just one of the good ol’ boys with a tendency for self promotion over issue advocacy.
Bob Johnson-Two words: HELL NO! The state senator who was once making noise bout challenging Lincoln to the right is by all accounts a Republican. I mean it! He’s reportedly an actual Republican who runs as a Democrat, something rather common in many parts of Arkansas. He’s tight with Gilbert Baker, very tight, and from what I hear from a few inside Arkansas politics sources there’s some serious corruption issues. This character has no business trying to fill Vic Snyder’s shoes.
Paul Suskie-Former candidate for Attorney General and current Chair of the Arkansas Public Service Commission. Suskie’s a nice guy. I met him when he was running for AG, even went out to lunch with him. But he was way to conservative for my taste, both in the AG race and for this one. However, his military record would serve him well in the counties outside Pulaski, just as it has always helped Snyder. Still, there is that little issue of his tour of duty in Iraq being cut short, a “privilege not afforded to other soldiers that directly conflicts with U.S. Army policy”. That’s something I’d rather not revisit over the course of the campaign.
Joyce Elliott-By far, this is the person on the list that interests me the most. State Senator Elliott has been a great progressive leader in the Arkansas Senate, so much so that she’s clearly meant for bigger things. What’s more, she says she’s going to be seriously thinking about the race. There are some areas outside of Pulaski that she might be a hard sale in, but she’d also give the base a reason to be excited. Personally I’m on pins and needles waiting to hear what she decides. She’d also bring much needed diversity to our delegation. Heck, she’s the only bit of diversity on this whole list!
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I really have no idea why all the pictures have run together like that. I tried everythin in the world to make this post look presentable and have them all aligned to the left, but no, the powers that be seem to think they need to line up like that. Time to call the tech guy…
UPDATE: Okay…the pics are now alligned to the left, but still not lined up with their names and comments….Oy!
UPDATE 2: And it’s fixed! Thanks Matt!
Tags: AR CD-2, Bill Halter, Bob Johnson, Democrats, Joyce Elliott, Mark Stodola, Paul Suskie, primaries, Robbie Wills, Shane Broadway, Vic Snyder
On second thought Halter may not have a name recognition advantage within the second district against these possible candidates. I can’t see what would stop at least three of them from making a try for the seat so if Halter is willing to fight a battle royal I would suggest he has better odds doing it over Senator Lincoln’s seat.
We’ll know soon enough.