By Jason Tolbert
For the first time in who knows how long, Arkansas will have a contested Republican primary in all four congressional districts.
As each candidate tries to distinguish himself or herself, the endorsements from fellow conservatives roll in to build credibility to their campaigns. Perhaps the most interesting are the endorsements from former Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has weighed in on each of the four congressional primaries. And it seems each one has its own subplot to go along with the endorsement.
Hogan Gidley, director of Huckabee’s political action committee HuckPAC, says that they have no problem getting involved in the primaries as long as the candidates met their qualifications. “All of the candidates that HuckPAC endorses must be passionate advocates for human life, tax reform, a strong national defense, real border security, the family, less government and individual liberty,” said Gidley.
Huckabee’s first endorsement in Arkansas back in January was for Rick Crawford in the 1st District. At that time, Crawford was the only Republican candidate. However, since then Princella Smith, who previously interned for Huckabee, announced she would challenge Crawford in the primary.
According to the Crawford campaign the relationship between Crawford and Huckabee goes way back. However, it also should be noted that Crawford employs future Huckabee son-in-law Bryan Sanders through the political consulting firm Dresner-Wickers, which has also done quite a bit of work for Huckabee over the years.
Recently Huckabee has weighed in on the other three congressional races as well. In the 3rd District, Huckabee endorsed Doug Matayo who faces seven other candidates for the seat left vacant by Rep. John Boozman. Matayo served as Huckabee’s floor leader when he was a state representative and campaigned around the country for Huckabee for president. And down in Huckabee’s stomping grounds of the 4th Congressional District, Huckabee endorsed former gubernatorial staff member Beth Anne Rankin who facec Tea Party candidate Glenn Gallas in the Republican primary.
“Anyone who says endorsements are made without regard to personal relationships is being disingenuous,” said Gidley regarding these connections. “The reason we tend to help candidates who helped Gov. Huckabee should be obvious to any seasoned political observer — if someone supported Gov. Huckabee when he was a clear underdog, it was clearly a matter of principle and shared conviction.”
Finally in the 2nd District, Huckabee surprised many with his endorsement of underdog Scott Wallace over presumed front-runner Tim Griffin. Griffin’s campaign has far outpaced Wallace in fundraising by all reports and has locked up support from Arkansans such as former Congressman Ed Buthune to national leaders such as House Minority Leader John Boehner.
“Gov. Huckabee knows something about being an underdog and overcoming overwhelming odds to succeed in life and politics,” commented Gidley on the Wallace endorsement. “Whether front-runner, underdog or somewhere in between, it makes no difference. HuckPAC supports conservative Republicans who share our conservative principles.”
Time will tell what impact these endorsements will end up having on these campaigns, if any. Huckabee still remains perhaps the most well-known Republican in Arkansas. A poll from Talk Business Quarterly in January found that he remained popular with a 61 percent approval rating in the state.
As for the eight-way Republican primary for the U.S. Senate, Gidley says that Huckabee will be staying out of that one — at least for now.
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Jason Tolbert is an accountant and conservative political blogger. His blog — The Tolbert Report — is linked at ArkansasNews.com. His e-mail is jason@TolbertReport.com
