Lottie Shackelford speaks Saturday during the Democratic Party of Arkansas state convention in Little Rock. Democrats approved the party platform Saturday. ( Mitchell PE Masilun

Addressing Democratic Party of Arkansas state convention delegates Saturday, chairman Michael John Gray acknowledged that the state's minority party has plenty of room to grow.

"There are a lot of empty tables in the room today, a lot of empty seats in this room. Don't be discouraged. Don't feel defeated. But don't feel like it's OK either," Gray said, adding, "We've got a lot of work to do."

Delegates from 69 of the state's 75 counties were on hand for the morning roll call. Delegates from Boone, Lincoln, Pope, Prairie, Randolph and Scott counties were missing.

"Look at the counties that aren't here. It's not because they don't care. It's because they're tired, and we have to re-engage them," said Gray of Augusta.

Democratic activists who gathered at the Little Rock Marriott say they're eager to get busy.

They approved a party platform, certified their candidates for office and promised to give the Republicans a stiff challenge in November.

The platform, which passed without debate, received only one negative vote. It largely reflects traditional Democratic positions on education, the environment, economic development and health care.

An early draft had called for raising the minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2022. The final draft deleted a specific dollar amount, instead calling for Arkansas workers to receive "a living wage."

The platform also calls for ending criminal penalties for personal use of marijuana and seeks to ban private prisons.

Once the document was approved, a long list of candidates was invited to the platform.

Speaker after speaker promised the Democrats that better days are ahead.

"We are going to win elections in 2018. You can feel it in this room right now," said state Rep. Clarke Tucker, who is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill in the state's 2nd Congressional District.

Hayden Shamel, who is working to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman in the 4th Congressional District, also voiced optimism.

"We have such wonderful candidates this year, and I know that together we can and will turn Arkansas blue in November," she said.

Democrats, the dominant force in Arkansas politics for most of the state's history, saw large losses in the years after the 2008 election of President Barack Obama.

Over the next eight years, the party lost control of the state House and Senate; surrendered its seats in Congress; and watched its statewide constitutional offices slip away.

By early 2017, the party's vote totals and bank holdings had dwindled.

"When I started my chairmanship [in April 2017], we were roughly a quarter-million dollars in debt. The cash on hand was somewhere around $30,000. We had just come off an election cycle where the spirit of the party had suffered," Gray said in an interview.

Things are better now, he said.

"We're in good shape," he said. "We've been able to significantly increase the cash flow, fully staff the office, reduce the debt by half and be able to roll into an election cycle with a slate of candidates like we've never had before, so it's pretty exciting."

After failing to field candidates in three of the state's four congressional districts in 2016, the party has found challengers for each of the Republican incumbents.

Financially, the party reported cash on hand of nearly $260,000 in June.

Tippi McCullough, who is poised to represent District 33 in the Arkansas House of Representatives, said the party is making advances.

"I think there's been a big momentum shift in a lot of ways. I think the election in 2016 certainly woke a lot of people up," the Little Rock Democrat said.

In an interview, state Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, said there's plenty of reason for optimism.

"The good thing about it is the party's looking up, not down," she said. "We see all of these new people who have gotten involved, all of these candidates who are running for office. And the best thing about it is, it's a great mixture of younger people and seasoned people."

The recent reversals may -- in the long-run -- prove beneficial, she said. "It's a good thing, sometimes, for somebody to knock you off your blocks and get rid of your complacency and that's what has happened."

Metro on 08/05/2018