In Hope, hopefuls messy and wet

HOPE -- With rain falling and the ground sopping wet, there weren't many observers Saturday for the Hope Watermelon Festival's annual Politically Correct Watermelon Eating Contest.

But most of the state's leading office seekers showed up anyway, participating in a tasty, messy but obligatory Arkansas campaign ritual.

Bruce Westerman, the 4th District Republican congressional candidate, shook hands and greeted voters.

With umbrellas blooming and storm clouds boiling overhead, his Democratic opponent, James Lee Witt, monitored radar images on his iPhone as he waited for the contest to begin.

Pointing to the ominous blue and green band of precipitation, the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, issued his own severe-weather alert, warning: "It looks like it's really going to get after us."

Standing a safe distance from John Burkhalter, his Democratic opponent, Republican lieutenant governor candidate Tim Griffin ticked off his itinerary.

"The whole day is devoted to watermelon," the 2nd District congressman explained, noting that he'd devour the fruit in Hope and then spit seeds later at the Cave City Watermelon Festival.

Summing up the significance of the Hope event, Griffin said: "It is a competition; not just an exhibition. It's important to recognize that."

Hope gained national attention in 1992 when native son Bill Clinton ran for president, and the city's festival has been around for decades.

But the Politically Correct competition is a relatively new creation -- Saturday was the 12th annual contest, organizers said.

At least one Hope official hopes to make watermelon Arkansas' official state fruit and made a pitch while the candidates gathered.

Trudging through the mud, volunteers distributed campaign fliers and paper fans. Someone dressed in a yellow bird suit carried a sign mocking one of the Democrats.

As the starting time neared, Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor and his Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, climbed onto the stage and prepared to battle.

Asked his strategy, Cotton summed it up in six words: "Eat as fast as I can."

Pryor looked about and realized the weather had dampened turnout.

"Usually, when it's not pouring rain like it is now, there are tens of thousands of people that come [to the festival]," he explained later. "It's always been a must-do stop if you're running for statewide office."

Cotton, like most contestants, wore a red shirt to better hide any stains. Pryor wore a blue one; if it got too messy, he had a spare.

The contestants listened politely while the master of ceremonies ticked off a short list of rules: "No kicking, no biting, no slapping, no splitting." And they prepared to devour foot-and-a-half-long slices of locally grown melon.

The 11:30 a.m. starting time arrived and the contest began. Chunks of red fruit flew through the air. Black seeds splattered the platform and green rinds littered the ground.

Start to finish, it took less time than a 30-second attack ad.

Hempstead County Sheriff James Singleton finished ahead of the pack, winning "by a whisker," a contest official said.

He's won it four years in a row.

Gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson conceded defeat and left the stage. "The sheriff won again and he deserved it," Hutchinson said.

So did Mike Ross, Hutchinson's Democratic opponent.

Ross had predicted the outcome: "I always enter. I always make a mess. But the sheriff always wins."

While in town Ross purchased a 110-pound watermelon at an auction and donated it to Monticello's Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church. It took two men to load it into a pickup and haul it away.

With few voters to greet and thunder rumbling in the background after the contest, candidates headed for drier ground.

Democratic attorney general candidate Nate Steel headed one direction.

Leslie Rutledge, the Republican attorney general candidate, headed the other. Her old boss, ex-governor and Hope native Mike Huckabee, would be proud of her performance, she said before walking away.

"I probably was middle of the pack on the watermelon eating," she said. "But it tasted great."

Metro on 08/10/2014