Cotton, Arkansas Republicans announce $1M get-out-the-vote effort for midterm election

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton and Arkansas Republicans announced a $1 million effort to get out the vote Thursday ahead of the November election as Democrats are making a bid to unseat top GOP leaders.

The two-term Republican lawmaker announced his campaign is funding the effort in partnership with the state GOP. Cotton announced his campaign and the Cotton Majority PAC have raised more than $2 million.

“The Cotton campaign is thrilled with this record fundraising quarter, which will finance a massive get-out-the-vote campaign to help Arkansas Republicans up and down the ballot,” James Arnold, Cotton campaign spokesman, said in a news release. 

President Donald Trump’s low approval numbers have raised Democrats’ hopes for an upset in the heavily Republican state. Democrats have not won a statewide or U.S. House race in Arkansas since 2010.

State Republican Party Chairman Joseph Wood called the announcement the “most extensive turnout operation in the Arkansas Republican Party’s history.”

A poll from Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College in August showed a tight race between Cotton and Democratic challenger Hallie Shoffner. Most national political forecasters, however, have rated the Senate race as solidly Republican.

The Almanac of American Politics on Thursday moved the Senate race from safe to “likely” Republican. Shoffner on Thursday also announced two new ads that her campaign said are part of a $1.1 million buy. They include a 30-second spot featuring former Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe supporting Shoffner’s bid.

Cotton and conservative groups have heavily outspent Shoffner in the race, which also includes Libertarian Jeff Wadlin. America One, a conservative super PAC, has spent more than $4.4 million this year on the race, according to Federal Election Commission filings. 

Cotton’s absence takes center stage at debate between Arkansas’ US Senate candidates

Cotton, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, was first elected in 2014 and won reelection in 2020 against Libertarian challenger Ricky Dale Harrington Jr., who won a third of the vote. 

Democrats have also been focusing heavily on central Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District, where Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill is being challenged by Democratic nominee Chris Jones.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently added the race to its “Red to Blue” program targeting Republican-held districts the party believes it can flip. The Cook Political Report recently moved the race in Democrats’ favor, classifying it from “solid” to “likely” Republican.