State Rep. Jim Sorvillo is touting his endorsement from Gov. Asa Hutchinson on a digital billboard in west Little Rock and on social media. But he's steering clear of saying whether he's going to vote for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Sorvillo of Little Rock is one of 18 Republican legislative candidates who each have received a contribution of $5,400 from the Republican governor's political action committee, called ASA PAC. The contribution consists of the $2,700 maximum allowed in both the March 1 primary and in the Nov. 8 general election.
Through Sept. 30, the political action committee reported raising $584,425.25 and contributing $168,800, mostly to 46 Republican legislative candidates in this year's elections.
ASA PAC also reported making financial contributions to the state Republican Party for various events, to Arkansans Against Legalized Marijuana to encourage others to contribute, and to the Family Council. It also reported a $2,700 nonmonetary contribution to Senate candidate Trent Garner, a Republican from El Dorado.
During the past few elections, Republicans have made historic gains in state and federal offices by linking Democratic candidates to Democratic President Barack Obama, who is serving his final year of his eight-year term as the nation's chief executive.
Hutchinson said he doesn't know linking lawmakers to Trump will play out in the Nov. 8 election.
"I think there are some unpredictable elements in this election cycle that we're not going to know the outcome until election night," he said.
"But I've had the view there is going to be a distinction between the national race and our state and local races. If people don't like Trump, I don't think they hold it against local candidates because Donald Trump is such an unusual candidate in and of himself, so I think it is harder to nationalize the agenda and the election this year because Donald Trump is such a unique candidate, and it's such a very unusual election. We'll see if I'm right on that theory," Hutchinson said.
"We've had wave elections," he said, using a term that describes when a party makes major gains. "I don't see this as being a wave election in Arkansas. I think in other states, it is a little bit different dynamic. I think the Trump candidacy does make a difference in North Carolina, New Hampshire."
House District 32
Sorvillo has been in the state House of Representatives since 2015 serving House District 32. He is a former Pulaski County justice of the peace.
His Democratic opponent, Susan Inman of Little Rock, has sent out a mailer calling Sorvillo "Donald Trump's #1 Fan in Arkansas" and noting that Trump has referred to women as "fat pigs," "slobs," "flat-chested" and "eating machines." She has called for Sorvillo to disavow Trump on Twitter.
Sorvillo said he started featuring Hutchinson's endorsement last week on a rotating digital billboard near Pleasant Valley Liquor Store on Rodney Parham Road in Little Rock and on social media because he believes it will help his re-election campaign.
"Asa is popular," he said. "Democrats are going to vote for Democrats, and Republicans are going to vote for Republicans."
Sorvillo said Hutchinson's support is "a positive message" to help him attract independent voters.
But Inman, who lost a challenge to Republican Secretary of State Mark Martin in 2014, said she's not sure whether Hutchinson's support of Sorvillo will make a difference in House District 32.
"The governor endorsed Donald Trump, too," she said.
"I do think the Trump connection has been harmful to Sorvillo because he supports Trump and won't speak up against his actions," Inman said. When asked how she knows that Sorvillo supports Trump, Inman said, "I have Tweeted it, and we have done mailers and he has no response, so one has to believe he supports those values."
She said she voted last week for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton because Clinton will be "a fabulous president" and "she stands for my values."
Sorvillo repeatedly declined last week to say whether he's going to vote for Trump.
"I'm not talking about who I am voting for," he said at one point.
"This is my right to go into a polling place and vote my conscience, but I am voting Republican up and down the ticket," Sorvillo said later. He said he won't vote for Clinton for president but stopped short of saying who will get his vote for president.
Sorvillo said God's Scripture says women and men are equally valued, and to "honor our spouse," and he believes that honor should be extended to all women.
House District 39
In another legislative race in Pulaski County, Bill Rahn, a Democrat from Morgan, is using a similar Trump-linking strategy against state Rep. Mark Lowery, a Republican from Maumelle who has served in District 39 since 2013 and has Hutchinson's support.
Rahn has sent out a mailer that states that "Mark Lowery is Trump's #1 Fan in Arkansas. No Wonder. Donald Trump and Mark Lowery have trouble following the rules." It cites an investigation and sanction from the state Ethics Commission against Lowery for not timely filing campaign finance reports.
Lowery, who has received $5,400 in contributions from Hutchinson's PAC, said Hutchinson's support helps shore up his re-election bid that's in fairly good shape because the governor is very popular in his legislative district.
He said he initially supported U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to be the Republican presidential nominee, and he's voting for Trump for president.
"He's my party nominee, and there is still something called loyalty," Lowery said, adding that Trump has adequately apologized for his taped comments about women. "His protection of the unborn has more influence with me than what was picked up on a hot mic."
Rahn said he's supporting Clinton because she's pragmatic and will make a fine president.
"She's flawed, but I don't think it compares with Donald Trump," he said.
Trump's impact
In a column last week in the Arkansas Times weekly newspaper, Hendrix College politics professor Jay Barth wrote that Republican candidates in certain districts with pro-Trump demographics, such as Reps. Mary Bentley of Perryville and Mike Holcomb of Sulphur Springs, "will be advantaged. Indeed, having Trump at the top of the ticket may pull Republicans across Arkansas to victory.
"More of the contested races this cycle, however, are in areas where the backlash to Trump is likely to be most intense. Those include the Maumelle district being defended by Rep. Mark Lowery, the West Little Rock district now held by Rep. Jim Sorvillo and several Northwest Arkansas districts. Democrats will likely overperform there," Barth said. In 2010, Barth ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for the state Senate.
The state House of Representatives now has 62 Republicans, 34 Democrats and independent state Rep. Nate Bell of Mena. There are three vacancies because of the resignations of Reps. Kelley Linck, R-Flippin, and Bill Gossage, R-Ozark, to take state jobs and the death of state Rep. Sheilla Lampkin, D-Monticello.
The state Senate has 24 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
Hutchinson said he's involved in more legislative races in this year's general election than in the primary "just in a sense of supporting candidates, financial contributions, but I am probably spending less actual time on the races.
"There were very unique circumstances. ... In the primary, we were building up to a special session in which Arkansas Works [Hutchinson's plan to change Arkansas' version of Medicaid expansion] was going to be on the agenda, and I had some incumbent legislators that had really walked the plank with me and were key supporters of mine and incumbents, so I fought hard for a number of key races," he said.
But now, with the general election approaching, he's more focused on the coming legislative session and his proposed budget. The day after the election, he's expected to announce his budget for the coming fiscal year.
In the March 1 primary, Hutchinson endorsed eight Republican legislative candidates and six of them won.
In the general election, Hutchinson said he's followed the lead of the legislative Republican caucuses, particularly House Republican leader Mathew Pitsch, R-Fort Smith, and he hasn't prioritized some races over others.
"These races are ultimately decided based upon how hard each candidate works and their respect in the community and their own campaigns, so my influence is just expressing my support. ... I don't see my support as making any decisive difference in general election candidates this year," he said.
Community ties
Despite Hutchinson's support for Republican legislative candidates, House Democratic leader Michael John Gray of Augusta said legislative races ultimately are won or lost based on candidates' relationships to the communities in their legislative districts.
"I think endorsements at this stage make the candidates feel good, but the real difference is in their relationship with their communities and voters. I really don't think the endorsements make that much difference," he said.
As for the presidential race, Gray said, "I think you have to accept this national noise is going to affect the voters. But you would hope that Arkansas voters identify with their neighbor and their community member to represent them to do the business of their state and local district."
Hutchinson said the state Democratic Party has sent out a mailer against several Republican lawmakers suggesting that they voted for golden toilets at the Governor's Mansion.
In one mailer, the Democratic Party says Rep. Richard Womack, R-Arkadelphia, voted "for a luxury remodel of the Governor's Mansion, including a $1,000 toilet. At the same time Richard Womack voted to cut pre-K, senior centers and libraries."
The mailer cited Womack's vote for what became Act 1145 in 2015, the law that distributes general revenue among agencies. State Democratic Party spokesman H.L. Moody confirmed that similar mailers have been sent out against Holcomb, and Reps. Rebecca Petty of Rogers and David Wallace of Leachville, who is a Senate candidate.
The prices cited in the mailer? Mirrors, $22,000; French sofas $26,161; antique table $10,500; chandelier, $39,050; and silk wallpaper, $16,974.
Hutchinson said the mailer is "blatantly false.
"First of all, the things that they have there are from the association that raises private dollars for it, so it's not tax dollars. It's not something that is voted on, so it is false in terms of the vote. It's false in terms of taxpayers' dollars. It is an orchestrated Democratic Party strategy for legislative candidates that is totally false," the governor said.
In a statement, Moody said Act 1145 provided $6,608,765 to the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council, and "over $1 million in funds to remodel the Gov. Mansion came from Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council. Your tax dollars for this luxury remodel are in this bill. ... It originated from a Republican controlled-agency and voted for by the Republican majority, including Representatives Petty, Holcomb, Womack, and Wallace."
The legislation cleared the House in a 92-0 vote and the Senate in a 29-4 vote, according to the General Assembly's website.
House District 14
Meanwhile, Rep. Camille Bennett, D-Scott, said she doesn't think Hutchinson's support for her opponent, Lonoke County Justice of the Peace Roger Lynch, a Republican from Lonoke, will make much difference in their House District 14 race.
"People in my district don't know him every well," Bennett said, referring to Hutchinson, who hails from Rogers.
She said she has worked hard for all of House District 14.
"I would be surprised if it's a close race," she said. "But you never know. We have had a record voter turnout. I don't know what I can predict from that."
Lynch said Hutchinson spoke at a fundraiser for him, and the governor's PAC contributed to his campaign. He wishes Hutchinson could have helped him more.
"I need all the help I can get. He doesn't know me from Adam. I've only met him a few times. He's a nice man," said Lynch. "The people who supported him in the election and elected him to office are probably glad to know who he supports.
"We expect the race to be very close. I'm running against a well-known incumbent," Lynch said.
Bennett has served in the House since 2015, after she garnered 4,252 votes to Scott Republican Buddy Fisher's 4,166 votes in the 2014 general election.
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