Hill wins 2nd District ballot spot

French Hill greets supporters Tuesday in Little Rock before announcing his primary victory.
French Hill greets supporters Tuesday in Little Rock before announcing his primary victory.

Banker French Hill of Little Rock on Tuesday won the Republican nomination in central Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District, defeating state Rep. Ann Clemmer and retired Col. Colonel Conrad Reynolds of Conway.

With 388 of 391 precincts reporting, the unofficial results were:

Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29,884 Clemmer. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,383 Reynolds. . . . . . . . . . . . . .11,961

Hill said he believes he won the the Republican primary because of great volunteers and supporters, his business experience and his stances on the issues.

“It was messaging, hard work and … the whole effort,” he said.

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2nd Congressional district map

Hill said he’ll be helped in the general election by his job-creation experience and by his work in the nation’s capital, so he won’t need “onthe-job training.”

Asked why Hill won, Clemmer said in a brief interview that “We’ll do an analysis another time,” adding that “I want to go out with dignity. I don’t want to slap anybody.”

She said later in a written statement: “We came up a little short. We will hold our heads high and be proud of our efforts. I want to congratulate Mr. French Hill. He is a quality opponent and I truly wish him the best.”

Reynolds could not be reached for comment by tele- phone Tuesday night.

Hill will take on Democrat Patrick Hays, a former North Little Rock mayor, and Libertarian Debbie Standiford of Little Rock in the Nov. 4 general election.

The congressional seat has been held since 2011 by Little Rock Republican Tim Griffin, who is running for lieutenant governor.

Hill, 57, who has raised and spent far more money than both Clemmer and Reynolds, has been the target of criticism from the two over the past few months, leading him to say last month, “I am trying to talk about specific policies and areas of things I am interested in, and they are talking about innuendo and spin.”

He has said he wants to shift some federal responsibilities back to state and local governments and will insist on more accountability from the federal government, if elected.

Hill also said he wants to try to simplify the federal tax code and repeal the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that President Barack Obama signed into law in 2010. Hill has said he opposes “any implementation of Obamacare in Arkansas, including the so-called private option,” which Clemmer voted to fund last year before voting against funding it this year.

Clemmer, 55, a political science professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and Reynolds, 53, a security consultant, repeatedly criticized Hill for contributing to Democratic candidates, including former state Treasurer Martha Shoffner, and for helping to lead the successful campaign to raise Little Rock’s sales tax by 1 percentage point to 1.5 percent.

All three candidates signed a pledge promising to oppose attempts to raise marginal income tax rates, if elected.

Last month, Clemmer announced that her campaign had removed a secretary of state spokesman, Alex Reed of Little Rock, as her volunteer campaign treasurer after discovering “unauthorized disbursements.” She later reported that Reed had reimbursed her campaign.

Hill, the chief executive officer for Delta Trust & Bank, contended he would be the best candidate, on the basis of his business experience. In addition to banking, he worked as a U.S. Senate staff member and in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

Clemmer had said she would be the best choice because she has a conservative voting record in the state House of Representatives.

A section on 05/21/2014

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