The Tolbert Report

The national Capital Hill blog Roll Call takes a look at the upcoming Senate race in Arkansas. (A hat tip to Max Brantley for pointing me to the article.)  The article is mainly a restatement of information you have seen here but there was a couple new facts to glen from the article.

First, the story states that the 2010 Arkansas Senate race is one of the eight key states that National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn says Republicans may have “unexpected opportunities.”  This is good news for Republicans in Arkansas not only because of the optimistic outlook but since national groups like the National Republican Senatorial Committee are watching Arkansas, this will likely translated into additional funding for the campaign.

The second tidbit is a new name to add to the mix of potential GOP challengers.  Included with the familiar names of Gilbert Baker, Tim Griffin, and French Hill is Rogers Mayor Steve Womack.  Womack has been mayor of Rogers since 1998 when he unseated 17 year incumbent John Sampier.  He has made a name for himself both in his effective management of the cities finances which finished last year with a $15 million budget reserve and his tough city policies for dealing with Roger’s illegal immigration problems.

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UPDATE - I asked Mayor Womack this morning if this report was accurate and if he was considering a Senate run.  He told me that he is focusing on the job of mayor of Rogers, which he considers to be “one of the best jobs in politics” but that he has had several people approach him about running for Senate.  He said that he is considering the possibility and will make a decision later this year. 

Womack stated, “If I believed I could make a difference at the national level-perhaps it would be important to me to make a run.”