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Arkansas Primary Challenges Emerge On The Last Day Of Filing

David Monteith
/
KUAR

The deadline for political candidates to file with their respective parties for the 2016 elections ended at noon Monday. Among the 25 hopefuls filing on the last day were Republican Curtis Coleman, Democrat Dianne Curry, and Republican Brock Olree. Coleman, who will challenge Senator John Boozman for his seat in the U.S. Congress, argued that his opponent is not conservative enough.

“The seven votes to raise the debt ceiling for which John voted increased the nation’s indebtedness by 6.3 trillion dollars. That’s not a conservative Republican vote and there are others. We’ll develop those as the campaign goes,” said Coleman.

Doyle Webb, the chairman of Arkansas’ Republican Party, was encouraged by the competition.

“Certainly with Senator Boozman now having a primary opponent in Curtis Coleman we’ll have a vigorous primary. We’ve had all 13 of our presidential candidates to file in Arkansas except for Gilmore and Patake,” said Webb.

The winner of the Coleman Boozman primary will face Democrat Conner Eldridge and Libertarian Frank Gilbert.

Democrat Dianne Curry hopes to become the first African American woman to hold the office of U.S. Representative from Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional district. She will challenge incumbent Republican French Hill.

“Of course I’m very concerned with the defunding of the Planned Parenthood piece,” said Curry. She added “and of course I’m about women’s issues and about reentry prison area that we can do better about people that are in prison and making it better for their lives coming out.”

Hill faces competition from within his party too. Republican Brock Olree of Searcy also filed declaring his intention to challenge Hill in the March 1st primary. The winner of the primary will face Curry and Libertarian Chris Hayes.

David Monteith worked as a reporter for KUAR News between 2015 and July 2022.