Benton man seeks House seat

City Council member District 28’s 2nd GOP hopeful

Benton Republican Kerry Murphy said Thursday that he will run next year for the seat held by state Rep. Kim Hammer, R-Benton.

A year ago, Hammer announced that he is seeking the Senate District 33 seat held by Little Rock Republican Jeremy Hutchinson. Hammer has served in the House since 2011. Last month, Hutchinson confirmed that he wouldn't seek re-election next year. East End Democrat Melissa Fults said she would run for the Senate seat, which includes parts of Pulaski and Saline counties.

Murphy, who owns a gun show company, announced his bid for the House District 28 seat late Thursday afternoon during the Dave Elswick Show on radio station KHTE-FM, 96.5, in Little Rock. He said the announcement followed what he described "as a lot of soul searching and people asking me to run for different offices.

"I want to help in any way I can, and I want to keep conservative values," said Murphy, who has been a Benton City Council member for seven years and lost a bid for county judge in Saline County in 2014. "I believe in less taxes [and] believe in what Lt. Gov. [Tim] Griffin is doing, looking for ways for the state to be competitive with Texas and Tennessee since they don't charge income tax."

Another Republican candidate for the House District 28 seat is Jasen Kelly of Benton, who announced his intentions in April.

Kelly, who is the chief executive officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Saline County, has described himself as a conservative who will work to make state government more efficient and accountable. He also said he would promote long-term economic success for House District 28. House District 28 includes part of Benton, Bauxite, Haskell and Traskwood.

He could not be reached by telephone Thursday afternoon regarding Murphy's announcement.

For the 2018 election, the filing period for state and federal offices will be Feb. 22-March 1. The primary will be May 22, and the general election will be Nov. 6, 2018.

Metro on 10/09/2017

Upcoming Events