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Club for Growth-backed Cotton wins Arkansas House primary
Army veteran Tom Cotton (R) handily won his primary over 2010 nominee Beth Anne Rankin Tuesday night, a win for the Club for Growth-backed candidate over an ex-staffer for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R).
Cotton, a Harvard University graduate who many see as a fast-rising star in the GOP, raised more than $1 million for the primary, aided by $300,000 the Club bundled for him. This allowed him to blitz the airwaves in the district's inexpensive media markets and overtake Rankin's initial edge in name recognition and support from Huckabee. Cotton beat her by a 20-point margin.
Cotton starts off with a strong advantage: while the district is currently held by retiring Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), it leans heavily Republican and the area has been trending toward the GOP for decades. In addition, redistricting made it more favorable for Republicans — President Obama would have only received 37 percent in the new district in 2008, down from the 39 percent he won under the old lines.
In the fourth district, Democrats' favored candidate to face freshman Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) barely survived the primary to force a runoff. Arkansas state Rep. Clark Hall (D), the more conservative candidate who has proven a much better fundraiser, took just 39 percent of the vote in a three-way race, while Scott Ellington took 49, just short of the 50 percent he needed to avoid a runoff.
Hall split the more conservative Democratic vote with another candidate and could be able to rally for the next vote on June 12, but if Ellington is the nominee Crawford's edge in the GOP-leaning district will increase.
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