Free Republic

(Jefferson City) -- Missouri's streak of picking presidents appears to be over. John McCain leads Barack Obama in the state by about six-thousand votes with all precincts reporting. The last time Missouri voters didn't side with the eventual winner was 1956. Before that, you have to go back to 1900 for the "Show-Me State" to be on the wrong side of the presidential election.

A group that supports the false philosophy of separation of church and state has filed action against another pastor for having his say about politics. Bishop Robert E. Smith is senior pastor at Word of Outreach and Christian Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas. Americans United for Separation of Church and State has lodged a complaint against him for endorsing John McCain for president from the pulpit on October 12. "Bishop Smith knowingly and flagrantly violated the law and has even dared the IRS to investigate him for it," says Americans United leader Barry Lynn in a press release. "I hope...

A small number of early voters interviewed this week outside the Washington County Courthouse preferred Democratic nominee U. S. Sen. Barack Obama to be president. But this appears to be the minority preference in the Natural State. While national polling results appear to give Obama an edge in the presidential race, voters in Arkansas prefer U. S. Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, to Obama - 49 percent to 36 percent, according to the 10 th annual Arkansas Poll, which was released earlier this week. "Barring a really significant turn of events, I don't think there will be any surprises...

JONESBORO, ARKANSAS -- Bill Clinton, as most close observers know, is left-handed. It seems appropriate, then, that on his weekend barnstorming tour in Arkansas for Barack Obama, the fellow Democrat who defeated his wife Hillary in a bitter and grueling primary season, the former president offered support that was...well, left-handed. Appearing in Jonesboro on Saturday, as the star attraction of an all-star cast of Arkansas Democrats who were concluding a two-day campaign tour of the state, Clinton was short on encomiums for Obama per se, and, for that matter, did little finger-wagging at the expense of Republican nominee John McCain....

Poll: Race Hurts Obama In State Friday, October 24, 2008 8:43 AM CDT By Doug Thompson The Morning News • dthompson@nwaonline.net FAYETTEVILLE — Loyalty to Hillary Clinton, race issues and perceptions about religion leave Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama lagging behind Republican John McCain in Arkansas according to the 10th annual Arkansas Poll. -snip- In the presidential race, 54 percent of those polled would vote for Hillary Clinton if she were on the ballot, results said. Instead, Republican nominee John McCain leads Obama 49 percent to 36 percent in the results with 15 percent of Arkansans remaining undecided. Obama, D-Ill.,...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - In a predominantly black church in a city known for its past racial strife, Bishop Robert Smith is taking sides. His targets: Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and federal restrictions barring Smith's endorsement of Republican John McCain. At the end of a recent sermon, Smith told about 50 worshippers at his Word of Outreach Christian Center: "I will be voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin." Smith, who is black, said neighbors and friends have questioned why he isn't backing Obama, the first black presidential nominee from a major party. "I just tell them it's not...

(AP) A proposal aimed at effectively banning gays and lesbians from becoming foster or adoptive parents was cleared Monday to appear on this fall's ballot in Arkansas. The measure would prohibit unmarried couples living together from fostering or adopting children, and Arkansas doesn't allow gays to marry or recognize gay marriages conducted elsewhere. Secretary of State Charlie Daniels certified the proposed initiated act for the Nov. 4 ballot after verifying that the Arkansas Family Council Action Committee had submitted 85,389 valid signatures of registered voters. Supporters needed to turn in at least 61,974 valid signatures. "Arkansas needs to affirm the...

A ban against unmarried couples becoming foster or adoptive parents is scheduled to appear on Arkansas ballots this fall – and some say the measure is geared at denying homosexuals the chance to raise children. The Arkansas Family Council Action Committee submitted 85,389 of the required 61,974 voter's signatures to place the proposal on the Nov. 4 ballot, according to Associated Press reports. Family Council President Jerry Cox said getting the proposed act on the ballot is a significant step for families. "Arkansas needs to affirm the importance of married mothers and fathers," he said. "We need to publicly affirm...

A proposal aimed at effectively banning gays and lesbians from becoming foster or adoptive parents was cleared Monday to appear on this fall's ballot in Arkansas. The measure would prohibit unmarried couples living together from fostering or adopting children....

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- A man barged into the Arkansas Democratic headquarters and opened fire Wednesday, fatally shooting the state party chairman before speeding off in his pickup. Police later shot and killed the suspect after a 30-mile chase. Police said they don't know the motive for the 51-year-old suspect, whose name has not been released. However, they said moments after the shooting, he pointed a handgun at the building manager at the nearby the Arkansas Baptist headquarters. He told the manager "I lost my job," said Dan Jordan, a Baptist convention official. Chairman Bill Gwatney died four hour...

The Presidential race in Arkansas has remained relatively steady over the past month. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Natural State finds John McCain leading Barack Obama 47% to 37%. When “leaners” are included, the GOP is ahead 52% to 39%.

In Arkansas, John McCain leads Barack Obama by twenty-four percentage points. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows McCain attracting 57% of the vote while Obama earns 33%. McCain build this margin by winning 92% of the Republican vote, 38% support from Democrats, and leading Obama by twenty-four percentage points among unaffiliated voters. McCain is viewed favorably by 57% of Arkansas voters, Obama by 38%. In March, McCain had a twenty-nine percentage point lead over Obama. Rasmussen Markets shows that Republicans are currently given a 73.0 % chance of winning the Six Electoral College Votes from Arkansas...

In the state where she served as First Lady in the 1980s, Hillary Clinton trails John McCain by seven percentage points in a hypothetical general election match-up. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows McCain attracting 50% of the vote while Clinton earns 43%. However, when Barack Obama is presented as the Democratic option, McCain leads 59% to 30% in Arkansas. Clinton is viewed favorably by 50% of voters in her former home state while 47% have an unfavorable view. As with all polling on the Democratic hopeful, there is a significant gender gap. She earns favorably...

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) reiterated Friday that he will not run against Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.). The filing period began March 3, the day before Huckabee withdrew from the presidential race, and ends Monday. In an interview with The Hill, Huckabee said he is still “decompressing” from his presidential campaign, and reaffirmed past statements that indicated he had no interest in challenging Pryor or serving in the Senate.

Neither am I, but the incumbent’s vulnerable, we’re desperate for seats, and Huck’s national profile is now sufficiently high that he could march home and put Pryor back on his heels quick-like. Brian Faughnan makes a compelling case, particularly re: Huck using four years in the Senate to pound the table about border enforcement and winning the war to shore up his conservative cred for another presidential run 2012. Even if you think it’d be insincere (as I do), we could do worse than having a media darling with preternatural communication skills on TV every other day arguing our position....

This is an interview with Huckabee Campaign Chairman Ed Rollins from Sunday February 24, 2008 @ 1:35 P.M. on Fox News. Rollins is asked about a Senate run against the Democratic Senator from Arkansas. Rollins says this is not the plan and that there are no plans to run for the senate but points out that Governor Huckabee started as a Senate Candidate and that if he chose to run for the Senate, that Huckabee would be the strongest candidate.

Former congressman Asa Hutchinson, whose brother and former U.S. Sen. Tim Hutchinson is a top Huckabee supporter, said Thursday he's no longer backing Huckabee's presidential campaign and endorsed presumptive GOP nominee John McCain. Hutchinson said he endorsed McCain because it's virtually impossible for Huckabee to gain the 1,191 delegates needed to clinch the Republican nomination. Huckabee's campaign had announced in November that the Hutchinson brothers were among high profile Arkansas Republicans backing the former governor's bid. "I was delighted to support Gov. Huckabee whenever there was a possibility he could garner the delegates necessary to win," Hutchinson told The Associated...

25 minutes ago WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic primaries in Arkansas and Tennessee. Mike Huckabee has won the GOP primary in Arkansas.

The week in pictures: Hillary Clinton reacts as "Belvis the Black Elvis", Dwayne Turner, performs for her at the Kitchen Express Restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas.

by Dr. Patrick Briney, ARRA President: Mitt Romney received the endorsement by the conservative ARRA board of directors yesterday. The board was polled to determine whether to endorse a candidate, how to conduct such an endorsement, and then which candidate to endorse. The Florida primary results, the delegate count, candidate attrition, and national polls show that the Republican primary has come down to a two man contest between Mitt Romney and John McCain. As of January 29, 2008, the delegate count for the remaining Republican candidates is: John McCain 98, Mitt Romney 61, Mike Huckabee 26, and Ron Paul 8....