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WASHINGTON - Former Congressman Asa Hutchinson disputed reports Wednesday that he seeks to oppose Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas in the November 2004 election for the U.S. Senate. Hutchinson said he had previously ignored the rumor that depicted him as a potential candidate, but then Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Capitol Hill, reported that Hutchinson had signaled to the White House that he would run for the Senate if asked to do so by the president. "That story is flat wrong. Since joining the administration, I have not expressed any interest in a campaign for the United...

ASA HUTCHINSON SAYS NO RUN FOR SENATE PLANNED The former Republican congressman says a Roll Call newspaper report that he would run against Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln was inaccurate. The Roll Call story cited Republican sources as saying Hutchinson would run if the White House asked. He twice declined to answer the question today, saying his commitment is to his current Homeland Security job. State Republican Party Director Marty Ryall said last week that Hutchinson is still "on the short list," along with Governor Huckabee, to challenge Lincoln. Huckabee has said he is tied up with work on state...

Chuck Todd reported on C-SPAN Friday that Drug Enforcement Administrator and former Rep. Asa Hutchinson, R-AR, is considering a challenge to Sen. Blanche Lambert-Lincoln in the 2004 general election. Hutchinson has just under $200,000 in a political fund from his tenure in Congress (1997-2001), which he can divert to a Senate race. Hutchinson has opened a political account and reported the development to the Federal Election Commission. It is not clear when he will step down from the DEA to make the race, or if he will follow through. In 1986, Hutchinson, then 35, was soundly defeated in a Senate...

Former Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.), the undersecretary of Homeland Security for border and transportation security, is scheduled to make a handful of appearances in the Razorback State over the next month, fueling speculation that he may be weighing a challenge to Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D).

Century-old Hutchinson High School chant abolished Topeka Capital JournalPrincipal: Ronn Roehm HUTCHINSON -- A 102-year-old Hutchinson High School chant made up of apparent nonsense words was yanked after the school board deemed it potentially offensive. The school board voted unanimously Monday night to do away with the chant after Superintendent Wynona Winn said that at least one phrase -- "hoe potatoer" -- could be considered offensive. The 28-line chant of apparent nonsense words was created by two students in 1901. It became an issue at the Dec. 9 school board meeting, when parent Lorie Norris noted that at one...

There have been the usual number of year-end threads, some vanity, some taken from the media, regarding the events, and people of 2002..but it's time for your nominations for THE BEST THREAD OF 2002......

In the AR general election of Nov. 5, 56,429 persons who supported the reelection of Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee (a 53 percent winner) did not vote for Republican Sen. Tim Hutchinson (a 46 percent loser). Huckabee polled 427,082 votes, compared to Hutchinson's 370,653. It is believed that many of these 56,429 persons were Christian conservatives who objected to Hutchinson's divorce and remarriage to a young staffer. Their actions enabled the Democrat senatorial candidate, Attorney General Mark Pryor to unseat Hutchinson and resume the Pryor family dynasty in AR. While Hutchinson was strongly prolife, Pryor is expected to support abortion on...

Jim Robinson and fellow Freepers, I felt it necessary to set up a big post to follow developing news about the 2004 Senate races. Although we lost in Louisiana, I'm still reasonably ecstatic over our chances in 2004. Please post any developing news on this thread, such as candidates and polls. Thanks.

Tim Hutchinson said his campaign had nothing to do with the allegation, although Chad Colby (State GOP) said a woman answering the telephone at Hutchinson headquarters Sunday took detailed notes from an anonymous caller and passed the information along to the GOP committee, which contacted news organizations Sunday.

Posted at: 11:45 p.m. CDT, November 3, 2002 Updated at: 5:00 p.m. CDT, November 4, 2002 JONESBORO, Ark. -- Attorney General Mark Pryor blasted the state Republican Party, claiming the engaged in dirty politics with the release of information that Pryor had hired a Mexican immigrant to perform housekeeping duties. The controversy began with a report on the the Drudge Report Web site of Internet gossip columnist Matt Drudge. The item said Pryor's campaign ``has been hit with claims he employed an illegal immigrant,'' attributing the information to unnamed sources. The report said the woman ``claims she worked for Pryor...

Arkansas US Senate Race Pryor Denies Claim of Employing Illegal Alien November 3, 2002 Posted at: 11:45 p.m. CDT November 4, 2002 Updated at: 11:25 a.m. CDT ASSOCIATED PRESS LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The Democratic candidate for a U.S. Senate seat from Arkansas, Mark Pryor, denied Sunday that he had ever employed an illegal immigrant, and accused his Republican opponent of dirty politics. Pryor, who is also the state's attorney general, issued a statement responding to an item on the Drudge Report Web site of Internet gossip columnist Matt Drudge. The item said Pryor's campaign ``has been hit with claims...

We have just returned to Budge's house to do the FReep report because there is a lot of information to report. In attendance were Budge, Travelgirl, The Battman, parsifal, Don Frivoinai, sweetliberty, and another FReeper who, for reasons you will come to understand shortly, needs to remain anonymous until after the election. We arrived at Budge's around noon to get everything set up for the maiden FReep of the Arkansas Hog Wild FReepers and the FReepmobile. We got to the site around quarter after 1 and finished up some signs and headed over to the convention center to await the...

Poll question: If proven true, will the allegation that Attorney General Mark Pryor hired an illegal immigrant to perform housekeeping duties cause you to vote for his opponent Sen. Tim Hutchinson? Yes No Undecided

Arkansas residents will today and tomorrow witness what the rest of the country never got a chance to see: a political contest between George Bush Jr and Bill Clinton. On the stump at Ouachita Baptist University, deep in rural Arkansas, the Republican senator Tim Hutchinson is standing in front of a cardboard cut-out of the President of the United States. "I have a personal relationship with George W. Bush," he tells an audience of 300 students. "He is a good friend of mine. And President Bush will be here on Monday to push us over the finish line in the...

(Washington, D.C.) -- The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today reacted with outrage to reports that a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) executive has been forced to resign amidst allegations that she attempted to manipulate postal service resources to punish a candidate for the U.S. Senate who had been critical of the mismanaged government mail system. "There has long been much to criticize at the USPS, from financial losses and taxpayer subsidies to regular price increases amidst poor service and low productivity," CCAGW Vice President Leslie Paige said. "But this is a new level of corruption and mismanagement. Taxpayers...

No Southern Comfort for GOP In This Year's Election Races Several Races in Arkansas Highlight Democrats' Fresh Foothold in Region By DAVID ROGERS Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- It has come to this for the Arkansas GOP: paid radio spots urging listeners to let Gov. Mike Huckabee "know you are praying for him." On Election Day next Tuesday, the embattled governor and his Republican ticket mate, Sen. Tim Hutchinson, will need votes even more than prayers. The two baby-boomer Baptist ministers are fighting for survival in what has become a cautionary tale for the...

Pryor Ahead But Lead Narrows Over Hutchinson By David Robinson Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK — Sen. Tim Hutchinson has closed the gap from 10 points to five in his re-election bid against challenger Mark Pryor, a new poll shows. Pryor, a Democrat, leads Hutchinson, a Republican, 48 percent to 43 percent in a third and final poll commissioned by the Arkansas News Bureau and Stephens Media Group before the Nov. 5 election. "Obviously Pryor still holds the lead, but I don't think he has a cushion anymore," said Ernie Oakleaf of Opinion Research Associates of Little Rock, which conducted...

Tonight at 7 pm, just about now, will be a debate between Hutchinson and Pryor for the US Senate, it will be shown on CSPAN and AETN (the Arkansas affiliate of pBS). Republican Hutchinson is trying to keep his seat in the US Senate so that the Republicans can retake the Senate. The race is very close.

Incumbent Republican Sen. Tim Hutchinson (news, bio, voting record) and Democratic challenger Mark Pryor are in a dead heat in their Senate race, according to a poll commissioned by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The newspaper reported Sunday that Hutchinson garnered support from 45.2 percent of those polled and Pryor, the state's attorney general, received 45.4 percent. Zogby International of Utica, N.Y., conducted the telephone survey of 500 randomly selected, registered, likely voters. The poll was taken Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. A Democrat-Gazette poll conducted about a month ago showed Pryor...

Pryor Keeps Big Lead, 'Well Positioned To Win,' Pollster Says By David Robinson Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK — Mark Pryor continues to hold a double-digit lead over incumbent Tim Hutchinson in the U.S. Senate race, a second independent poll for the Arkansas News Bureau and Stephens Media Group shows. Pryor leads Hutchinson 50 percent to 40 percent, according to Opinion Research Associates of Little Rock. The poll of 504 people likely to vote in the Nov. 5 election was conducted from Sept. 16 through Friday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. "Basically...