As we all wait and whether Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter decides to primary loathsome incumbent Democrat Sen. Blanche Lincoln, her standing at home is certainly crumbling. She's already lost labor and the environmental groups. Now, it looks like African American leaders in Arkansas are abandoning her:
Just days before she files for the toughest race of her political career, Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln has been working to smooth over frayed relations with some African-American leaders in Arkansas over the prickly issue of federal court appointments.
But it appears those efforts have fallen flat in recent days.
Lincoln already faces an uphill battle to win a third term this fall, and if her support lags among black voters — who have historically been one of her most loyal constituencies — her re-election prospects could be further in peril.
But a more immediate concern for Lincoln could be the state’s May primary, since national progressive groups are hard at work trying to entice Lt. Gov. Bill Halter to challenge the moderate senator. Black voters account for a sizable chunk of the primary electorate in a state where the overall black population is 15.5 percent, and it appears Halter may be courting the support of key community leaders.
Black leaders are angry that neither Lincoln nor Pryor have been particularly interested in nominating African Americans for federal judgeships. A meeting to discuss the issue last week didn't assuage any of that anger.
But Dale Charles, president of the state NAACP, said he thinks the issue has the potential to dog Lincoln this cycle.
“Certainly I would think the voters would remember the fact that we were denied an opportunity to get any more African-American judges,” he said.
Austin Porter Jr., a civil rights lawyer in Little Rock who attended last week’s meeting with Lincoln, said he left feeling “offended” by the lack of response to his concerns.
“In some ways [Lincoln and Pryor] have taken the black community for granted and that means we have to look at more viable candidates, and if Halter is that person we will give him a look,” Porter said.
A Halter run would be heavily backed by organized labor, environmental groups, and the netroots. Adding African Americans to that coalition would give Lincoln little breathing room. The Republicans she likes to court by opposing anything Democratic are going to be busy voting in the Republican primary.
Encourage Bill Halter to primary Lincoln, either by signing the petition at Draft Halter, or signing the MoveOn petition.