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Hutchinson raises money in Washington Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006 By Aaron Sadler Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Trailing in fundraising and in the polls, Asa Hutchinson made a campaign stop in Washington on Monday to collect money and try to gain support from Arkansas farmers. Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, Hutchinson's former boss, hosted a fundraiser for the Republican gubernatorial nominee eight days before the Nov. 7 election. Hutchinson also spent about an hour meeting with Charles Conner, deputy agriculture secretary. Hutchinson said he emphasized the state's needs regarding the 2007 Farm Bill. He said he spent the rest of his time in Washington in "private campaign events." He would not provide any other details. Hutchinson's spokesman, David Kinkade, confirmed one of those events was a fundraiser at Ridge's office. He said he did not know how much money was raised. Democrat Mike Beebe, the state's attorney general, had $1.67 million on hand at the end of September, compared to $580,764 for Hutchinson, a former congressman and Homeland Security undersecretary. A recent Arkansas News Bureau-Stephens Media poll showed Beebe with 56 percent support and Hutchinson at 38 percent. A Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday had Beebe leading 49 to 41 percent. Hutchinson said the polls were tightening and he was poised for a come-from-behind win. "It seems pretty fishy to be politicking in Washington eight days before an election in Arkansas," said Beebe spokesman Zac Wright. " ... With just about a week left, Mike Beebe is turning to Arkansans across the state for the support to pass the finish line. Asa Hutchinson is in Washington, D.C., squeezing his buddies for one more dollar to fund his negative campaign." Hutchinson defended his Washington trip, saying he just completed a 60-city bus tour and would go back to campaigning in the state when he returned to Arkansas late Monday. "I'm doing what I think I need to do to win this race and to help do something good for Arkansas farmers," he said. "You've got to raise money. You've got to campaign grassroots and I'm doing all that." The Beebe camp has criticized Hutchinson for television advertisements featuring children calling Beebe a waffler and flip-flopper, and for attempting to link Beebe with former state Sen. Nick Wilson. Beebe served in the Senate alongside Wilson, who was convicted of tax evasion and racketeering in 1999. Ridge, a former Pennsylvania governor, was appointed the nation's first homeland security secretary a month following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He resigned in late 2004 and now is a consultant and lobbyist who sits on several corporate boards. Hutchinson announced his candidacy for governor in early 2005, after being passed over by President Bush as Ridge's successor. He said his federal government experience would make him a strong voice for Arkansas in Washington if elected. Hutchinson's agriculture meeting Monday focused on what he sees as a need for expanded grant programs to pay for retention ponds and broader biofuels research and development. He said the federal government should research how best to develop ethanol from fibers other than corn, such as soybean hulls and grasses. "We've got to develop that in Arkansas based on Arkansas-based agricultural products," he said. Funding for retention ponds in eastern Arkansas would curb depletion of the region's underground water supply and help farmers with irrigation needs, he said. Hutchinson added that he supported a push for emergency disaster assistance for farmers, counter to the Bush administration's position on the issue. |
