With Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) looking increasingly vulnerable as she debates whether to support health care legislation, a familiar Republican rival is looking to run against her.
The Tolbert Report (a must-read Arkansas political blog) is reporting that former state senator Jim Holt, the GOP nominee against Lincoln in 2004, is eyeing a rematch. Holt, an outspoken social conservative, ran a one-note campaign centered on his opposition to gay marriage, and lost to Lincoln by 12 points, 56-44%. He hardly raised any money for the statewide race.
But as Tolbert notes, Holt could win enough of the vote from his northwestern Arkansas base to head into a runoff. Republicans view state senator Gilbert Baker as the early frontrunner in the primary, but he’s unlikely to win a majority of the primary vote given the crowded field of candidates.
Military veteran Conrad Reynolds, businessman Curtis Coleman and state senator Kim Hendren are also vying for the GOP nomination against Lincoln.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/1109/Blanche_Lincolns_familiar_foe.html?showall