Las Vegas — Lt. Gov. Bill Halter said in an interview that his one-time primary rival embattled Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln can win reelection this fall, and believes she can frame it as a “classic” Republican v. Democrat race on the Arkansas ballot.
Can she win? “Yes, I think yes,” Halter told TPM in an interview Thursday afternoon from the Rio Casino’s Starbucks. Of course, he also believes he would have won the primary if he’d had more time. “Winning a primary against an incumbent senator is one of the hardest things to do in American politics,” Halter said.
“Obviously it’s a difficult year and everybody knows what the current polls show,” Halter said. “I don’t think there’s any question that it’s a tough year.”
Lincoln this week released an internal poll showing she’s just 9 points down, in part to deflect away from new public polls showing her badly trailing Rep. John Boozman (R-AR) for the general election. The TPM Poll Average of this race has Boozman 56.0% to Lincoln 32.6%.
Halter announced at a recent state party dinner that he’s endorsed Lincoln and he thinks the Democrats will unify in time for the general election. “I believe that base Democratic voters are going to pull the Democratic switch,” he said.
It’s too early to know if Lincoln can win over the progressive Arkansans who favored Halter this spring, but he thinks there’s a “misunderstanding” of the state’s “ideological dimension.” Arkansas’ top statewide officials are Democrats, including both senators. But it’s been deeply red in national races since Bill Clinton left office and President Obama’s popularity is lower there than almost anywhere else in the country.
Halter, who is in the last six months of his term as lieutenant governor, wouldn’t say whether he’ll dabble in politics again. “I’m getting that question a lot,” Halter said.
He is chairman of the Lieutenant Governor’s Association and said he’d keep the next 100-plus days focused on that group and Democratic candidates on the ballot. But he’s built a progressive coalition — many who thanked him at a panel here titled “Primaries Matter” — that might unite behind him once more.
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