A candidate for Arkansas lieutenant governor, state Sen. Jason Rapert, Monday criticized fellow candidate Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's spending on her office's television ads, saying she has used them to promote her political campaigns.
Meanwhile, another candidate in the race, state Surgeon General Greg Bledsoe, called both Rutledge and Rapert "runaway spenders" of taxpayer dollars.
All three are seeking the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported that Rutledge's office spent $2.2 million on radio and television advertising in fiscal 2020, the largest amount that office has spent on such ads since at least fiscal 2008.
Her office spent $969,587 on radio and television advertising in fiscal 2021 and $2.19 million in the first six months of fiscal 2022, according to quarterly reports released by the office. Fiscal 2022 ends June 30.
Rutledge launched her campaign for governor in July 2020. At that point, she altered her office's television ads to remove her name, image and voice, changes she later abandoned by airing an ad featuring her and office staff members encouraging Arkansans to be vaccinated against covid-19 starting in August 2021.
Rutledge switched from the gubernatorial race to the lieutenant governor race in November.
"The Attorney General needs to remember that this money is not hers, it belongs to the state and ultimately the hardworking Arkansans who pay taxes. It is unconscionable that she has wasted over $5.3 million of the state's money to promote herself in her failed campaign for Governor," Rapert, of Conway, said in a statement.
Rapert also criticized Rutledge's reversal of removing herself from the ads. The reversal occurred after several state lawmakers questioned the ad spending by her office in May 2020.
"What is even worse is that she spent $2.19 million since July 1, after her flip-flop on her promise to the legislature to stop promoting herself," he said.
Monday afternoon, Bledsoe issued a statement criticizing both Rutledge's and Rapert's government spending.
"As attorney general, Leslie Rutledge doubled her office budget in the last eight years and wasted over $5 million of our money on advertisements to promote herself and her next campaign. Meanwhile, Jason Rapert has voted for millions of dollars in tax increases and refused to cut wasteful spending in Little Rock," Bledsoe said, adding that he is the true fiscal conservative in the race.
Rutledge's office spokeswoman, Amanda Priest, dismissed the criticism in a statement Monday.
"In a desperate attempt for relevancy, the Attorney General's political opponents are merely piggybacking on false claims previously made by liberal Democrats," Priest said.
Asked for specifics on tax increases Rapert has voted for, Bledsoe said his team has just begun studying the senator's tax record and a cursory review unearthed 10 bills Rapert had voted for that increased taxes or imposed fees, including raising taxes on private timberland and nicotine and telecommunications fees.
"We are continuing our review and expect to find others," Bledsoe said in an email.
Rapert said by phone Monday that he voted for the largest round of net income tax cuts in Arkansas history and carried a sales tax reduction bill under then-Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, that has resulted in $65 million in annual savings for families since it was passed.
"It would appear that Dr. Bledsoe is somewhere in La La Land because I have sponsored, voted for and co-sponsored the largest round of tax cuts, be them income tax cuts, sales tax cuts et cetera in our state's history over the past decade," he said. "If Dr. Bledsoe would like to start dealing with government waste I would suggest we cut out the surgeon general's $173,000 a year that he gets for a part-time job that he has been AWOL on."
In response, Bledsoe said, "only a career politician like Jason Rapert would believe that a physician providing medical care during a pandemic is a waste. What a shame."
"And if Jason is worried about the pay of the surgeon general's office, he needs to ask himself why he voted to approve it every year he was in the senate," Bledsoe added.
In a written statement later Monday, Rapert added that the bills Bledsoe listed supported efforts to help stop forest fires, grant telecommunications equipment for the hearing and vision impaired, and fund the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences' effort to become a nationally designated cancer center.
The primary election is set for May 24, and the general election is Nov. 8. Arkansas' lieutenant governor is a part-time position that pays $46,704.50 annually. Its duties are presiding over the state Senate with a tie-breaking vote, serve as governor when the governor is out of state and serve as governor if the governor is or impeached, removed from office, dies or is otherwise unable to discharge the office's duties.
Information for this article was contributed by Michael R. Wickline of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.