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Presidential prospects to headline party fundraisers in July Tuesday, Jun 27, 2006 Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Three potential presidential contenders, one of them homegrown and another with Arkansas connections, are scheduled to make high-profile appearances at party fundraisers in the state next month. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is to join Gov. Mike Huckabee - both are testing the waters for possible presidential bids in 2008 - July 6 at the annual Governor's Dinner of the Republican Party of Arkansas. Romney will be the keynote speaker at the $100-per-plate event benefiting the state GOP. Party leaders expect more than 400 for the dinner. Prior to the dinner, Romney is to host a $500 per-plate fundraising reception for Asa Hutchinson, the Republican candidate for Arkansas governor. "Gov. Romney has a distinguished career as an entrepreneur and public servant. He also shares our vision and commitment of growing our party by electing Asa Hutchinson as the next governor of our great state," said state Sen. Gilbert Baker, R-Conway, the state GOP chairman. Then on July 15, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, will be the featured speaker at a $100-per-plate luncheon at the Arkansas Federation of Democratic Women state convention in Rogers. A $500-per-plate reception featuring the former Arkansas and U.S. first lady will precede her appearance before the state Democratic Party's oldest auxiliary. "Sen. Clinton has long been an inspiration for women everywhere," AFDW President Renee Bullock said Monday in a release. "She's a tireless fighter for women and women's rights, and we're excited to welcome her back home to Arkansas to share her wisdom." Huckabee, chairman of the National Governors Association, and Romney, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, made a secretive visit together to the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay in April. Less than a month later, Romney made a surprise visit to Iraq under the auspices of the U.S. Defense Department. Huckabee visited Arkansas troops during Defense Department tours of Afghanistan and Iraq in January. Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton, is seeking re-election to a second term this year and is widely viewed as the leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. Recently, the New York senator riled some Democrats in Congress with her opposition to setting a date for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. |
