Halter declares against Lincoln, in victory for liberal activists (Politico)

[jefferson_dem]

Halter declares against Lincoln
By ALEX ISENSTADT | 3/1/10 7:32 AM EST Text Size-+reset.

Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter is moving ahead with a primary challenge to Sen. Blanche Lincoln, he announced Monday.

"Washington is broken," Halter said in a video on his campaign website. "Bailing out Wall Street with no strings attached, while leaving middle-class Arkansas taxpayers with the bill; protecting insurance company profits instead of protecting patients and lowering health costs; gridlock, bickering and partisan games while unemployment is at a 25-year high. Enough's enough."

Halter's decision further complicates Lincoln's already difficult path to a third term. Polls have shown Lincoln trailing a slew of Republican opponents, including Rep. John Boozman and state Sen. Gilbert Baker, as well as more obscure candidates.

The senator's last fundraising report of 2009 showed her with more than $5 million at her disposal, as she braced for a competitive reelection fight. Some of that money is now likely to get burned away in an effort to survive a contested primary.

Halter's entry into the race marks a victory for liberal activists, who have called on him for months to challenge Lincoln over concerns about her refusal to support the Employee Free Choice Act and a government-run health insurance plan.

The lieutenant governor, a former Rhodes Scholar and former Clinton administration official first elected to state office in 2006, met with labor officials and progressive leaders in Washington in the months preceding his decision to enter the race. He also appeared on MSNBC's "Countdown" in the midst of the health care debate to promote a temporary medical clinic being organized in Little Rock to provide free care.

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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33687.html#ixzz0gvhCkFuH

[jefferson_dem]

1. Centrist Blanche Lincoln Gets A Primary Challenger From The Left

More - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/01/centrist-blanche-lincoln_n_480375.html?ref=twitter

[Bitwit1234]

2. I hope he bets her and everyone else in a landslide.

[flpoljunkie]

3. Sorry about the dupe. Here's a link to Halter's website. You can sign up there.

http://billhalter.com/