State Rep. Clarke Tucker of Little Rock said Monday that he is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2nd Congressional District seat and wants to work in Congress on making health care more affordable and accessible.
The incumbent is Little Rock Republican French Hill, who has represented the district since 2015. The former banker was elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2016.
Tucker, 37, an attorney, is the third candidate to announce a bid for the Democratic nomination for central Arkansas' U.S. House seat. Last summer, teachers Paul Spencer of Scott and Gwendolynn Combs of Little Rock announced their own Democratic campaigns for the seat.
The filing period for state and federal offices begins Feb. 22 and ends March 1. The primary election is May 22 and the general election is Nov. 6.
Tucker, who has served in the state House of Representatives since 2015, said in an interview that he decided during the past several days to run for Congress rather than seek re-election to his District 35 seat.
"The issue that drove it home was health care," he said.
"As I lived through and beat cancer [last year], I watched as Congress voted to make our healthcare more expensive, undo good programs like Arkansas Works and strip away healthcare for Arkansans with pre-existing conditions," Tucker said in a written statement.
Arkansas Works is the state's version of Medicaid expansion that provides private health insurance to about 285,000 low-income Arkansans.
"I have watched as politicians used children's health insurance as a bargaining chip, placing greater loyalty to their political party than to our state and country, and I decided I could no longer stand by and watch," he said.
Tucker said his grandfather taught him that "opportunity exists where there is need, and right now there is a need for new leadership in Congress.
"We need a representative who will stand up for Arkansas' families, not the D.C. establishment, and who will work hard to reach across the aisle to find common ground and get things done," he said in his written statement.
Asked about President Donald Trump, Tucker said in an interview that most of the people in Arkansas and United States have made up their mind about the Republican president. Tucker said he will work in Washington, D.C., with whoever has a good idea that would benefit Arkansans.
If elected to Congress, he said his priorities would include making health care more affordable and accessible to Arkansans, helping create more jobs, improving highways, expanding access to broadband and increasing support for early childhood education and pre-kindergarten programs.
He said he also wants to combat the opioid epidemic, promote the enactment of a farm bill that is critical to Arkansas, and to protect the illegal aliens who have been protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and provide a pathway to citizenship for them.
Tucker said he probably would have voted for the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by then-President Barack Obama in 2010. Tucker said he wants to find a way to improve the federal law.
He said he would have voted against the legislation that cleared the U.S. House of Representatives in May with Hill's vote that would have repealed and replaced the federal health care law. The measure would have removed protections for people with pre-existing conditions, would have undone programs such as Arkansas Works, and would have left millions of Americans without a viable alternative, he said.
"I think we deserve better than that," Tucker said, but he is not inclined to support a proposed Medicare for All plan because "I don't think it is feasible with the system we have in the United States right now."
Last year, Hill said the health care bill that he voted for would have lowered the cost of care for individuals and families, provided coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and shifted power back to the states with added flexibility in determining what policies would have the most positive outcomes for their own residents. Among other things, it would have increased the cost to the states for Medicaid expansion and lowered the cost to the federal government.
Tucker also said he would have voted against the federal tax overhaul bill signed into law by Trump in December, which Hill supported.
Tucker said he supported part of the bill that cut individual income taxes, particularly for the middle class. But he said that he is worried that the federal government is going to finance individual and corporate income tax cuts by adding $1.5 trillion to the national debt. He also said repealing the requirement that most individuals purchase health insurance will increase the number without health insurance and increase premiums.
Regarding abortion, Tucker said he wants to concentrate on preventing unplanned pregnancies in order to reduce the number of abortions. "When they do happen, they need to be safe and that decision needs to be made by a woman, her family, her God and her doctor, and not the United States Congress," he said.
Both Combs and Spencer said Monday they welcome Tucker into the Democratic primary race.
Combs said she has the supporters and the momentum needed to beat Hill, and that Tucker's background is too similar to that of Hill's.
"Voters are looking at the 2018 midterms as an opportunity to elect candidates who understand what it's like to be an Arkansan who doesn't come from money or privilege," Combs said in a written statement. "I am a candidate of the people, for the people."
But Tucker said: "My background is working across the aisle in the Arkansas Legislature to get things done for all Arkansans. I believe the people of Central Arkansas will welcome a chance to once again have an independent voice in Congress for the families of this district."
Spencer said in a written statement that "it is no longer acceptable simply to play defense in response to the dystopian legislative agenda of the modern Republican party and Representative French Hill.
"If Democrats want to win back House Districts like the Second, we must no longer be afraid of making bold, progressive demands on the issues that matter most to average Americans, such as Medicare For All, a $15/hour minimum wage, paid maternity leave, automatic voter registration, fair tax reform for workers, rural broadband access, debt-free higher education, and comprehensive campaign finance reform that addresses the special interest control of Washington D.C.," he said.
Hill said Monday in a written statement that "the Democrats have a spirited primary ahead of them and I look forward to contrasting my record of lower taxes, smaller government and a stronger economy against Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats' record of higher taxes, bigger government, and a weaker economy." Pelosi is the leader of the House Democrats.
As of Dec. 31, Hill reported his campaign had $1.3 million in the bank, while Spencer reported $128,205 in his campaign account and Combs reported $10,407.
A Section on 02/06/2018