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Obama supporters look to Hillary Clinton to energize Arkansas voters Friday, Oct 10, 2008 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Democratic leaders in Arkansas are looking to today's visit by Hillary Clinton to boost support for Barack Obama in a state where Republican John McCain has held a consistent lead in voter polls. The New York senator and former Arkansas first lady is scheduled to appear at a 5 p.m. rally on the steps of the state Capitol. U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Gov. Mike Beebe and state Democratic Party Chairman David Pryor are expected to appear with Clinton, according to Darinda Sharp, spokeswoman for the state party. Clinton also is scheduled to attend a fundraiser after the rally at the home of Kaki Hockersmith and Max Mehlberger. "She's here to encourage people to vote for Sen. Barack Obama to become the next president and to support the entire Democratic ticket," Sharp said. "We want to get people energized about the election, get them to turn out and vote for the Democrats." Polls conducted in Arkansas early in the year typically showed McCain leading Obama by 15 points or more in hypothetical match-ups. A poll by the University of Central Arkansas in March showed McCain with 43 percent and Obama with 27 percent. In May, a Rasmussen poll showed McCain with 57 percent and Obama with 39 percent. A June Rasmussen poll showed McCain with a nine-point lead over Obama in the state , with 48 percent to the Illinois senator's 39 percent. A July Rasmussen poll showed McCain with a 10-point lead, and a September poll by American Research Group gave McCain a 12-point advantage. In an interview last week, U.S. Rep. Marion Berry, D-Gillett, said the polling data predates recent events that may have changed the way some people view McCain. "The events of the last two weeks I think have changed a lot of minds. I know a lot of people that I have talked to, and I've talked to a lot in the last two weeks ... you're hearing an awful lot of people that have seen the light," Berry said. On Sept. 24, McCain announced he was suspending his campaign and going to Washington to take part in Wall Street bailout negotiations. He asked for cancellation of the first scheduled debate with Obama on Sept. 26 but ended up participating. "I know that on Capitol Hill it was not well received, what he did, and I don't think it was by the American people. I don't think he demonstrated any stability or the kind of actions that we need right now," Berry said. Gov. Mike Beebe said he has not talked to anyone personally who has switched to supporting Obama, but he said national polls show growing support for the Democratic nominee, and that likely means some in Arkansas are shifting to Obama as well. "It's Wall Street and all of those things that have been going on, whether it's (ailing bank) Wachovia, whether it's any of the buyouts or bailouts in the credit markets or in the financial community. I think it's just one hit after another that's got people concerned," Beebe said. Dennis Milligan, chairman of the state Republican Party, said Thursday the GOP has done unpublished polling within the last two weeks that shows McCain still holding a comfortable two-digit lead in Arkansas. "McCain is obviously more in touch with Arkansas than Obama, and that will surely be evident at the ballot box in November regardless of a visit by Hillary Clinton," he said. Milligan said the suggestion that McCain showed instability in connection with the economic crisis is "nonsensical." "He said to all of us, 'I am putting my country first, and this is not about me being elected president.' I think that's just an example of his true leadership - not instability, but in fact stability," Milligan said. |
