AR-02: Arkansas race tests Democrats' reach in solidly red state
LITTLE ROCK — When she ran for an Arkansas congressional seat a decade ago, Joyce Elliott lost by 20 points as Republicans took over nearly every major office. So it would have been easy to write her off as she ran again in a state that’s only grown redder.
But the state senator has turned what was a longshot bid into one of the Democrats’ best chances to flip a seat in the South this year. She outraised the district’s Republican congressman, French Hill, in the second quarter, and three election forecasters have upgraded the race from likely to lean Republican.
Once under the radar, the race is now attracting outside money from both sides. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC, have each made six-figure TV ad buys over the past week in the district.
Elliott’s candidacy will test whether turnout of Black voters mobilized after widespread protests against police brutality and racial injustice, combined with resentment over President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus response, will give Democrats a better chance in conservative parts of the country.
“It’s a much better race for her than 10 years ago when she ran,” said Jay Barth, emeritus professor of political science at Hendrix College and a member of the Democratic Party’s state committee. “She was a candidate way out of step with the times in 2010. She’s a candidate more in step with the times in 2020.”
https://www.pbcommercial.com/news/20201006/arkansas-race-tests-democrats-reach-in-solidly-red-state
