Arkansas Positioned to Influence Presidential Primary

Posted March 1, 2016 By Nathan Green In Politics

Arkansas Republicans, now holding nearly a super majority in both the House and Senate, thought moving the state’s primary to March 1, also known as the “SEC Primary,” would give Arkansas a stronger voice in the presidential election.

After the most interesting and unpredictable primary election to date, Republicans in the Arkansas Legislature may have been right.

As the field narrows to now five Republican presidential candidates, Arkansas is in the middle of the national primary election cycle. To date, businessman Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Marco Rubio and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson have all visited the natural state to spread their message of a more conservative America.

On the Democrat side, former Arkansas First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also made a stop in Arkansas to spread her message on how best to move America forward.

As presidential hopefuls continue to vie for meaningful endorsements from Arkansas dignitaries, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Reps. Rick Crawford and Steve Womack, Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin and 29 state lawmakers have endorsed Rubio. In Cruz’s camp, 18 state lawmakers and Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin support the Texas Senator.

As the March 1 primary approached, a majority of the presidential candidates visited the natural state for one final push to pursue Arkansas voters. This past weekend, Rubio, Cruz and Trump made trips to Northwest Arkansas, and Clinton campaigned in Pine Bluff.

Arkansas, because of the work done by the Republican legislature in an extraordinary session, has positioned itself well to make sure the voices of Arkansans are heard loud and clear on who they want to be the next President of the United States. Who has your vote to be the next commander in chief?