Arkansas governor seeks $5M to pursue re-election run; cash not key, GOP rival says

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday that he wants to raise $5 million for his re-election campaign.

This is the first election cycle in which candidates for state offices haven't had corporate contributions, which were a sizable share of contributions during the last campaign, the Republican governor said during the grand opening of his campaign headquarters in Little Rock. Amendment 94 to the Arkansas Constitution, approved by voters in 2014, bars direct corporate and union contributions to candidates for state office.

"We are going to have a very strong grass-roots organization because I want our votes out in the Republican primary that is coming up here and then you have the general election," Hutchinson said.

As of Dec. 31, he raised $2.39 million and had $2.02 million in his campaign accounts, said Hutchinson chief political strategist Jon Gilmore. The governor started receiving contributions with a fundraiser in January 2017 at the Capital Hotel before that year's regular legislative session. He reported raising $621,866.55 and spending $152,692.38 in the last quarter of 2017.

Meanwhile, the committee through which Hot Springs Republican Jan Morgan explored a gubernatorial campaign raised nearly $36,000 during the fourth quarter of last year and transferred nearly $17,400 to Morgan's gubernatorial account on Dec. 31, according to the committee's latest report filed Tuesday.

Morgan, an owner of a gun range, announced the formation of the Jan Morgan for Governor Exploratory Committee in mid-October. She announced her bid for office Dec. 31.

The filing fee for Republican gubernatorial candidates is $15,000. The filing period for state and federal offices begins Feb. 22 and ends March 1.

"We are not worried about the filing fee," Morgan said Tuesday during a brief interview at the Arkansas Sheriffs' Association conference in Little Rock.

"I think that what you are going to see with this campaign is what you are seeing happen around the country. You saw it with [now President Donald] Trump. He didn't have to spend anything near what [Hillary] Clinton and Jeb Bush spent to win this election," Morgan said, referring to the 2016 presidential election. "Instead of the big-money people winning the races, people are learning that if people get together and have boots on the ground and go to the polls and vote, it doesn't matter how much money a candidate has."

Asked about her comments, Hutchinson said Wednesday, "I certainly agree that campaigns are not just about the money."

He said he was outspent by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Ross during the 2014 election, "so it is about connecting with the voters, it's about really grass-roots organization and that's one of the things that I emphasize there."

During the 2014 general election campaign, Ross reported spending $6.4 million and Hutchinson reported spending $4.4 million.

In its report filed Tuesday with the secretary of state's office, Morgan's exploratory committee reported that it raised $9,297 in December to increase her total contributions to $35,800 and spent $25,008.34 in the month to increase her total expenses to $35,800 through Dec. 31.

Her expenses included a $17,398.04 transfer on Dec. 31 to her campaign account, the report showed. Morgan spokesman Tracy Horne said Morgan will file her first monthly campaign-finance report as a gubernatorial candidate in about two weeks for the month of January.

As of Dec. 31, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jared Henderson reported lending his campaign $100,000 and raising $31,478.18 and spending $2,698.91. He announced his campaign Dec. 12.

Metro on 02/01/2018

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