Gov. Mike Beebe said Wednesday that he doesn't expect President Barack Obama to win Arkansas' six electoral votes and said he'll "probably" vote for his fellow Democrat in next year's election.
During a live interview on the Talk Business website, Beebe cited Obama's loss by 20 percentage points in Arkansas to Republican nominee John McCain in the 2008 election and the president's low approval numbers in the state.
"I think you'd have to be living in a cave not to believe that Obama doesn't stand a lot of chance of winning Arkansas. ... I don't think he's going to carry Arkansas," Beebe said.
Obama last visited the state in 2006 to campaign for Beebe's successful bid for governor. Beebe, who was re-elected last year, endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton in Arkansas' 2008 Democratic Party primary.
Clinton, the state's former first lady, won the Arkansas primary with the support of most of the state's top Democrats, but she went on to lose the nomination to Obama.
Beebe did not say whether he believes the president will win re-election, and he was non-committal on whether he'd vote for Obama.
"I'm probably going to vote for him. It depends," Beebe said. "I assume he's going to be the Democratic nominee."
Beebe said he thinks former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney stands the best chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination and would be the most formidable opponent for Obama. Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Darr and U.S Rep. Tim Griffin have both backed Romney's bid, and Griffin is chairing his Arkansas campaign.