Sources: Boozman sights set on Senate

WASHINGTON — Rep. John Boozman, the only Republican member of the Arkansas congressional delegation, plans to give up his House seat and enter the Senate primary race, altering an already volatile Arkansas political landscape.

Boozman stopped just short of acknowledging his entrance into the Senate race Friday, saying he would make a “very, very important announcement” a week from today in LittleRock.

But several Republican sources familiar with the situation said Boozman - who revealed only last week that he wasconsidering the Senate race - has made calls in recent days to tell others of his plans to seek the seat held by Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln.

They spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they preferred to let Boozman make an official announcement when he’s ready.

That would make Boozman the third House member not to seek re-election and at least the 10th Republican to toss his hat into the Republican primary race for U.S. Senate - adding to the sweeping changes under way in the state’s political hierarchy at the beginning of the 2010 election year.

Boozman said Friday that he’s been encouraged by the calls he’s made to numerous Arkansans over the past several weeks.

“What I tried to do is determine where I can best serve the people of our state,” he said in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “The response has been very positive; it’s been overwhelming.”

Although he has not set a time or precise location for next week’s announcement, he added that he expects to be “all over the state of Arkansas in the weeks and months to come.” The congressman made his comments from Washington where he was stranded because of the inclement weather in Arkansas.

When asked whether he would schedule a formal announcement if he did not plan to enter the race, Boozman said, “I think that’s for your readers to figure out.”

Boozman, a Fort Smith native who practiced optometry in Rogers, is serving his fifth term representing the 3rd Congressional District, which spans Northwest Arkansas. He was re-elected in 2008 with 71 percent of the vote.

Among those he’s been talking with, Boozman said, are fellow Republicans who had said they would seek their party’s nomination for the Senate seat. Because there are so many races in the state, he said, “it’s not fair to candidates” to delay his decision, Boozman said. But most of those contacted said they would stay in the Senate race regardless of whether Boozman enters it.

Democrats say Lincoln, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, will campaign as “an independent voice in Washington for the people of Arkansas.”

“She looks forward to the fall campaign when Arkansas voters will have the opportunity to compare her strong record of accomplishment for the state against the future prospects of the Republican nominee,” said campaign spokesman Katie Laning Niebaum.

Lincoln, a Helena native who previously served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, is seeking her third term in the Senate. Her campaign announced earlier this week that she raised more than $1.3 million in the last quarter of 2009, leaving her with more than $5 million in her campaign coffers.

As of the last filing date for campaign finance reports, Sept. 30, Boozman reported $305,856 on hand, according to Federal Election Commission information compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Whoever wins the Republican nomination, Boozman said, “will be able to raise the money they need to be successful in the race.”

Recent polls showed Lincoln’s job approval ratings dropping at the same time her unfavorability ratings were increasing. She has been attacked by detractors on both the right and the left for her positions on health-care legislation.

Some liberals are encouraging Lt. Gov. Bill Halter to run against her in the Democratic primary, although he has said he is also considering the 2nd District congressional race in central Arkansas.

Democratic Rep. Vic Snyder is stepping down from that seat, while fellow Democratic Rep. Marion Berry is retiring from his 1st District seat in northeastern Arkansas.

That leaves Democratic Rep. Mike Ross as the only incumbent House member seeking re-election. The 4th District congressman, whose district spans southern Arkansas, issued a statement underscoring that point Friday.

“This is an historic time in Arkansas politics,” Ross said. “At least half of the House members in the Arkansas congressional delegation will be leaving at the end of the year. As a result, I believe I can be most effective for my home state by continuing my service in the U.S. House of Representatives.”

Last week, the “Rothenberg Political Report” moved the Arkansas Senate race into the “lean takeover” category for rating contested races, meaning the burden has shifted “from requiring Republicans to prove that they can defeat Lincoln to requiring Lincoln to show she canwin re-election.”

On Friday, the report’s editor, Stuart Rothenberg, said “obviously, the Republicans in the nation’s capital and in Arkansas have decided this seat is theirs for the taking.”

As a member of Congress, Boozman would automatically move into the top tier of a crowded campaign field, said Rothenberg, whose nonpartisan analysis of politics and elections is followed closely by Washington insiders. He noted, however, that the larger a candidate field grows, the more impact a long-shot can have.

“It wasn’t that long ago that Republicans in Arkansas were desperate to find one candidate to run; the cupboard was bare,” Rothenberg said. But “a combination of unique circumstances” has left Lincoln vulnerable and Boozman on the verge of entering the race.

Several of the other candidates who’ve said they would run in the May 18 primary election responded Friday to news of Boozman’s pending announcement.

The two state senators who are in the race said Boozman’s decision wouldn’t affect their plans.

“I am running for U.S. Senate and looking forward to a spirited primary,” said state Sen. Gilbert Baker of Conway, who has led in the fundraising category with about $800,000 so far.

State Sen. Kim Hendren of Gravette said he’s also staying in the Senate race.

“This has never been an opportunity for me to look around for a race I could win or thought was easiest,” Hendren said. “Somebody needs to stand on the floor of the U.S. Senate and represent the common people of America. ... Frankly, I think we need a chicken catcher in the U.S. Senate.”

Hendren said he caught chickens for a living for four summers when he was in college.

“I’ve done it before, and I ain’t too good to do it again,” said Hendren, who also owns a car dealership and is an engineer. “I came in the house today with chicken manure on my shoes.”

Former state Sen. Jim Holtof Springdale said he doesn’t plan to drop out.

“We’re still in,” Holt said. “We look forward to a healthy debate. We welcome anyone. The more the merrier.”

Curtis Coleman, a Little Rock businessman who is running for U.S. Senate, said he also intends to stay in the GOP primary.

“I plan to be in the race all the way through November,” he said.

But others are keeping their options open - or keeping an eye on Boozman’s spot in the House.

“I’ll be making plans if he announces he’s running,” said Buddy Rogers of Rogers, a financial adviser and U.S. Senate candidate. “ There’s really no point in speculating because things can change and often do.”

Asa Hutchinson of Bella Vista said he has “received a lot of calls both in regard to the congressional race and the Senate race.”

Hutchinson served as the 3rd District congressman from 1996-2001 before becoming director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in the George W. Bush administration.

“I have held off on making any comment about my decision until Mr. Boozman makes his formal announcement about what his intentions are,” said Hutchinson.

“There’s no secret to the fact that I expect to be a candidate for the U.S. Congress,” said Steve Womack, who has been mayor of Rogers for 11 years. “I certainly admire Mr. Boozman for taking this step. ... If Mr. Boozman makes his announcement on the 6th, I wouldn’t hesitate to follow him [with an announcement for Congress]. I wouldn’t want to make an official declaration until he makes his announcement.”

The other Republican candidates for U.S. Senate include Randy Alexander of Springdale, Tom Cox of Little Rock, Fred Ramey of Searcy and Conrad Reynolds of Conway.

Two candidates had already announced plans to try to unseat Boozman in the 3rd Congressional District. They are Republican Bernie Skoch of Elkins, a retired Air Force brigadier general, and Democrat David Whitaker, a former assistant city attorney in Fayetteville.