The Democratic Party of Arkansas has officially ended its quixotic bid to find a candidate to challenge U.S. Senator Tom Cotton’s 2020 campaign.
Next year will be the Arkansas Republican’s first reelection campaign in the Senate. (Washington Free Beacon)
Party leaders spent the past two weeks scrambling to find a way to replace Joshua Mahony, who announced that he was ending his campaign just two hours after the official filing deadline to run for office. Mahony cited a “family health concern” in his surprise announcement, leaving party officials flatfooted.
In a Monday press conference, party chairman Michael John Gray said Mahony was a no-show for a meeting he had scheduled with the party to explain his situation, and that a legal representative for Mahony refused to elaborate beyond his initial statement on quitting the race.
Without cooperation from Mahony, Gray said the party had no way to get a candidate on the ballot, according to video of the press conference posted by a local news website.
“After exhaustive and careful examination with our legal counsel and our party leaders and without additional information from Mr. Mahony, the Democratic Party of Arkansas will not be able to field a candidate for the United States Senate,” Gray said.
Mahony ran for federal office in ruby red Arkansas last year – losing by over 30 points.