Jack Foster, a former Pine Bluff council member and a Vietnam veteran, will run for U.S. Senate as a Democrat in 2022, he announced this week.
Foster, 75, said he only had one thing on his mind -- helping the people of Arkansas.
"Arkansas is a state that has pockets of poverty all over it," he said in a news release. "Currently, whatever resources we are getting from the federal government are not going to all Arkansans equally."
Foster said he would like to see more trade with Cuba, which he said would benefit Arkansas farmers.
Another priority is infrastructure improvement. Foster said he supports President Joe Biden's plan.
"Our infrastructure is in bad shape," Foster said. "It's past time that we do something to fix it."
Foster said he would also focus on serving constituents by creating a liaison position in his office to address the needs of communities across the state.
"If you call my office, someone will call you back and get you an answer," Foster said. "Citizens should expect their elected officials to respond to their needs."
He criticized Arkansas' current congressional delegation for not being in better touch with their constituents and for not voting for the most recent covid-19 stimulus bill.
"What does that say?" Foster said. "Our people in Washington don't care about Arkansans struggling and suffering. They want you to continue to struggle and suffer."
Foster said his experience on the Pine Bluff City Council is one of his strong points.
"I know how to get things done," he said. "I know politics and what it takes to help people. And that's what it's all about. We need people in Washington who want to help Arkansans."
In 2004, Foster was convicted by a federal jury of aiding and abetting an attempted extortion while he was a council member, something he noted in his campaign announcement and said he wanted to be up front about.
Foster said he was wrongfully convicted.
The U.S. Constitution establishes the qualifications for members of the U.S. House and Senate and does not bar people with felony convictions from holding federal office. An amendment to the state constitution prohibits people convicted of a felony from holding office in the Arkansas General Assembly or "any office of trust or profit in this state," but the state doesn't have the constitutional authority to add qualifications for federal offices, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Foster attended the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He has been married to his wife, Johnnie, for 36 years and has 11 children. He was born in Eudora, raised in Lake Village and currently lives in Pine Bluff.
The incumbent, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., has declared candidacy for the Republican primary in 2022. Arkansas' other senator, Sen. Tom Cotton, is up for reelection in 2026.
Foster is the second Democrat to launch a campaign for the party's nomination in 2022. Dan Whitfield of Bella Vista has also announced that he is running.
Boozman has two challengers for the Republican nomination: Heath Loftis of Stuttgart and Jan Morgan of Hot Springs.
The party primaries will be held in late May 2022 and the general election is in November 2022.