Democrats take another hit in Arkansas

by Paul Mirengoff

While I was away seeking (and finding) global warmth in the Dominican Republic, voters in Northeast Arkansas sent an ominous message to Democrats by overwhelmingly electing a Republican in a special State Senate election. The Republican, John Cooper, captured 57 percent of the vote to win a seat (District 21) that has never been held by a member of his party.

The race centered on the issue of whether to continue the Arkansas’ “private option” plan to expand Medicaid. Under a plan approved by the state legislature (Republicans were split, Democrats were in favor) and signed by Democratic governor Mike Beebe, Arkansas uses federal money to purchase private insurance for thousands of low-income residents now eligible for Medicaid thanks to Obamacare. Cooper, the Republican in the race, opposes the “private option;” his Democratic opponent Steve Rockwell supports it.

Cooper’s resounding win in a traditionally Democratic corner of the state is good news for Tom Cotton and bad news for Mark Pryor. It speaks not only to the dramatically declining fortunes of Democrats in Arkansas, but also to the unpopularity of anything related to Obamacare. Without Pryor’s vote, Obamacare would not have been enacted.

Read more at Powerline
See Also: The Daily Caller: Why an obscure Arkansas state senate race has national implications