Arkansas

Under Construction

Summary:


Senate:

From Politico:  

"Arkansas is one of a handful of Republican-leaning states represented by Democrats (in the Senate) — Louisiana, North Carolina and Alaska are the others — that are critical to the GOP’s chances of flipping the Senate next year. The party needs to net six seats to capture the chamber. But Democrats say history is in their favor, noting that only three of their incumbents have lost in the past decade."

House:

All four Congressional seats in Arkansas are held by Republicans.  While none of these races were extremely close in 2012, these races were not as lopsided as they are in some other states.  The closest contests were in District 1, in which the incumbent, Crawford, received 56% of the vote, and in District 2, in which the incumbent, Griffin, received 55% of the vote.

The District 3 Republican representative, Cotton, is apparently going to attempt to move onto the Senate, but he won his seat by a 60,000 plurality in 2012.  

Therefore, it is not clear if any of these four seats can be successfully contested in the red state of Arkansas. 

State Government:


News and links:

• Added Wednesday, July 31, 2013: "Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) plans to announce a Senate bid next week, challenging incumbent Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) in a state that is considered a top pick-up opportunity for Republicans, a source confirmed to POLITICO Wednesday.
  
  
  The freshman congressman, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is a star among neoconservatives and could serve as a major counterweight to the more libertarian voices of the Senate, including Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz."
  
  Read more at Politico.
  
  
  Some Senate prognosticators have now moved the Arkansas Senate race from "Safe Democrat" to a toss up.