State Rep. Clarke Tucker, a Little Rock Democrat, distributed a news release this morning announcing that he’s entering the race for 2nd District Congress, a seat held by second-term Republican Rep. French Hill.

Paul Spencer of Scott and Gwen Combs of Little Rock announced earlier as Democratic candidates.


Tucker, who raised $228,000 to win his first state legislative race against Republican Stacy Hurst four years ago, has demonstrated the connections to make a strong financial showing. Spencer has done well so far as a grassroots candidate refusing to take PAC money, raising some $150,000 from 2,000 small donors. Combs, who was lead organizer of last year’s Women’s March, has developed a strong social media campaign.

Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will face a wealthy banker loaded with cash from corporate sources and PACs. Hill had more than $1 million on hand at the end of 2017, with about $250,000 of his money from the securities industry and bankers, particularly the Stephens Group.


Tucker, 37, is a lawyer — a graduate of Harvard and the University of Arkansas School of Law. He’s been an energetic legislator, with some success joining forces with Republicans on legislation (maternal leave and health care, to name two), though Republicans, seeing him as a rising Democratic figure, have often opposed his legislation simply to prevent him from adding to his resume.

Here’s his House biography.


Independent polling in this race has shown Tucker trailing Hill by a margin in the single digits, the margin narrowed by questions aimed at testing Hill’s vulnerability on various issues.

I’d expect to hear something this race about Hill’s opposition to the Affordable Care Act, for example. It is popular now, particularly among the 300,000 who gained coverage from it. I doubt you’ll hear Donald Trump as a campaign theme, though some of his legislation and Hill’s voting record will figure. The strategy for any Democratic candidate to win has to be to carry Pulaski County by a big margin and try to close the usual Republican gap in the surrounding counties of the district — Saline, White, Faulkner, Yell, Conway, Perry and Van Buren. Some splintering of suburban voters has helped Democratic candidates in other states, but the outlying population centers — Benton, Bryant, Conway and Searcy are not overly promising except perhaps the college town of Conway.

There are Trump-tinged issues that will hold value for any Democratic candidate — the Dreamers, education, the failure of Republicans to move with infrastructure projects. The question is whether these issues move voters as well as, say, the fear of Muslims or resentment of black football players who kneel for the National Anthem. French HIll’s voting record presents an opportunity with his support for the worst possible version of everything offered — such as a House tax cut bill wholly designed for the wealthy that was improved (bad as it still is) in the Senate and Republican House strategy to use children’s health insurance as a hostage to punitive legislation.

Hill beat a well-funded campaign by former North Little Rock Mayor Pat Hays, 52-44, in 2014. He widened the margin to 58-37 in 2016 against Diane Curry, who had little name recognition and virtually no money. She still carried Pulaski County, Hill’s home. She’s black and black voters make up a significant portion of the vote in Pulaski County.


This year, there’s some hope that a lively race for Little Rock mayor might help boost turnout and work in the Democratic candidate’s favor.

Tucker’s entry into the congressional race raises the question about his now-open seat in the state House. Some names going around on the Democratic side: Andrew Collins, Jennifer Belt, Jesse Gibson, Chad Causey, Jordan Johson, Tyler Denton. Will Stacy Hurst leave a six-figure job as the figurehead atop the Department of Arkansas Heritage to try again as a Republican?

Here’s Tucker’s announcement release. It focuses on his Arkansas roots (seven generations, though Hill claims nine) and emphasizes a need for “new leadership that will “reach across the aisle.” His prepared statement:

I am excited to announce my candidacy to represent the honorable, decent, hardworking families of Central Arkansas in Congress. Throughout my life, my own family has taught me the values of hard work, opportunity, integrity, loyalty, and a duty to serve. I’ve worked to uphold those values in my public service, and I teach them to my two children every day,” said Clarke. “But my life changed last year. As I lived through and beat cancer, I watched as Congress voted to make our healthcare more expensive, undo good programs like Arkansas Works, and strip away health care for Arkansans with pre-existing conditions. I have watched as politicians used children’s health insurance as a bargaining chip, placing greater loyalty to their political party than to our state and country, and I decided I could no longer stand by and watch.”

Paul Spencer responded to the announcement:

“I want to welcome State Representative Clarke Tucker into this race and reaffirm my belief that a vigorous, policy-focused debate between competing campaigns is always healthy for our democracy. The Democratic Party has always fostered multiple points of view, and we believe Arkansans will be well-served by the strong and differing policy positions we represent. The people of Arkansas, and Americans across the nation, are seeking solutions that the political establishment and D. C. consultants have failed to offer in recent years. They are tired of tepid incremental policies that fail to address the systemic underlying problem of the ever-widening inequality that defines American life in the 21st century. It is no longer acceptable simply to play defense in response to the dystopian legislative agenda of the modern Republican party and Representative French Hill. If Democrats want to win back House Districts like the Second, we must no longer be afraid of making bold, progressive demands on the issues that matter most to average Americans, such as Medicare For All, a $15/ hour minimum wage, paid maternity leave, automatic voter registration, fair tax reform for workers, rural broadband access, debt-free higher education, and comprehensive campaign finance reform that addresses the special interest control of Washington D.C. I look forward to discussing these and other issues in the primary campaign and to continuing to reach out and visit with the voters in every community of the Second District.”

Gwen Combs welcomed Tucker, too, but took a dig at him for a privileged background similar to Hill’s and said, “I’m in it to win it.” Her statement: