LITTLE ROCK — LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Mike Beebe said Tuesday he plans to campaign against certain state legislators he would like to see defeated in November.
Beebe did not name names but said he believes some members of the General Assembly are too partisan.
“People in Arkansas want solutions. They don’t want a lot of partisan rhetoric,” the governor said in an interview streamed on the Talk Business website. “They don’t want us to act like Washington. Now we’ve got some folks that do, on both sides of the aisle, and it’s not healthy. It’s not healthy for Arkansas. And I think that some of those folks that do will be punished for it in this election.”
Beebe declined to identify any particular legislators but said that “I’ll be out there doing what I can to try to get rid of some of those folks that I think just vote based on whether they’ve got something beside heir name. I’m not bashful.”
Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said later he knew of no plans by the governor to campaign against any Democrats.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Democrats are in the majority in the state House and Senate, but the 2010 election saw Republicans win more seats in both chambers than they have held since Reconstruction. Beebe said Tuesday he did not think the GOP would win House and Senate majorities in November.
“Anything’s possible. Do I think they will? No, I don’t think they will. I think there’s some geographic shifts that favor the GOP because of geographic movement from traditionally Democratic areas, population-wise, into traditionally Republican areas, but in looking at the districts and races, there are really some good Democratic candidates out there that are traditional Arkansas Democrats that appeal to Arkansas voters,” he said.
“I mean, look at me. In the midst of the biggest Republican tide in the history of our state, people were really good to me.,” Beebe said.
Beebe won every one of Arkansas’ 75 counties in his 2010 re-election bid. He is prevented by term limits from seeking a third term and has said he will not run for any other office.
State Republican Party spokeswoman Katherine Vasilos said Tuesday, “Gov. Beebe talks about partisanship, yet it was his Democratic allies in the General Assembly who blocked every Republican attempt to offer a balanced budget alternative and never allowed Republican proposals which addressed our impending Medicaid shortfall to come up for a hearing.
“Republicans are fighting for hardworking Arkansas taxpayers while the governor’s party is fighting to keep their own jobs and prolong 138 years of one-party control in Arkansas by maintaining the status quo and refusing to offer the bold reforms that our party is proposing and Democrats are not,” she said.
House Republican Caucus leader Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs, said he believes the GOP will be in the majority at the Capitol next year.
“I believe we’ve got some excellent Republican candidates that appeal to the values and the desires of Arkansas voters,” he said.