Stanley Reed is in; Sanders to be Campaign Manager
In telephone interview with David Sanders, he confirms that Stanley Reed will run for U.S. Senate as a Republican and that he will serve as his campaign manager.
Roby Brock, who was first to break the story, spoke with Reed who told him he planned to file immediately and start raising money. “We’ll put on a full court press before the end of the year,” Reed tells Brock. As the former director of Arkansas Farm Bureau and member of the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees, Reed will not have any trouble raising money quickly. Long time friend Jim Lindsey, real estate investor, will no doubt assist with this.
Conrad Reynolds’ instant press release statement campaign manager Ryan James tells me, “Stanley Reed is a valued servant of Arkansas and an important voice in this race. I welcome him wholeheartedly.” He goes on to argue that due to Reed’s fundraising potential “the argument about supporting the candidate who can raise the most money is no longer applicable.” I find that a bit of a stretch; rather, in my opinion, it means Reynolds now faces at least two well funded campaigns.
Gilbert Baker’s campaign consult, Clint Reed, wasted no time calling foul on columnist David Sanders heading up Stanley Reed’s campaign tweeting, “a little disingenuous to attack a candidate in an article for a newspaper one day and go run a campaign the next.” He also welcomes Stanley Reed to the Republican Party, implying he previously was not a Republican.
This will be a theme in the primary especially from the Baker camp. One Baker consultant boldly declared to me yesterday, “Stanley Reed is not a Republican!” Look for them to quickly point to Reed’s contribution to Sen. Lincoln’s campaign as early as last year.
In my opinion, this can be overcome. The real challenge for Reed will be to persuade eastern Arkansas farmers to vote in a Republican Primary for perhaps the first time in their lives. In Lee County where Reed lives, the Democratic Primary attracts over 99% of the turnout where almost all the local elections are settled.
David Sanders said this line of attack is expected but he is not concerned. “Stanley Reed is a conservative Republican,” said Sanders. “He is pro-life, pro-marriage, and anti-tax.” As for his previous support of Lincoln, Sanders says that Reed is “not unlike a lot of Arkansans who are feed up with what is going on in Washington.”
Side note – one commenter asked if fellow blogger and former press secretary for Asa Hutchinson’s campaign for governor David Kinkade will go work for Reed with Sanders. I asked. He is not. I would give his exact quote but this is a PG rated blog.
Tags: 2010 Candidates
December 10th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Way to make it into the Friday paper guys. Guess it’s better than the Saturday news cycle.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Please Mr Reed, Stay out! We do not need another candidate! We have a Great Conservative, a Moderate and a Liberal running for the GOP nod, we dont need you.
If you want to serve your country, this is not the way to do it. Run for Governor or wait to run against pryor.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
I am very shocked by this news! I have no problem with Stanley Reed and will support him if he wins the nomination but I am suprised that David who I have known for years is going to manage the campaign of someone who is not a part of the right wing.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
What will Dave Kinkaid go to work for Reed?
And is the other Reed, Clint Reed, having a heart attack right now?
December 10th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
W: the Sanders thing was a bit of a suprise to this GOP follower as well. Thought it was going to be Keith Emis.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
W, I’d say you don’t know David very well….he is not a right winger.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
When democrats can’t win as democrats they run as republicans. That is what gives republicans such a bad reputation. There wasn’t a liberal or moderate in the race until today. Unlike w i won’t vote for staney reed in november. His nomination would be proof the republican party has not been punished enough. Go gilbert go reynolds go coleman hell even go holt for that matter. But reed is the last person republicans need.
Tolbert note – Kim – I edited this for you but please don’t post in all caps. Thanks.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Richard, I am wondering who the liberal is I guess I have missed that? It seems to me that everyone but Gilbert Baker and Curtis Coleman need to get out and Jim Holt needs to stay out for sure.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
I know David very well he was my first boss in politics and I will admit he is not as right wing as he once was. Wish I could say that for more Republicans in this state they are killing the party.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Kim,
I will not be happy to vote for Reed but would vote for him long before Holt. Holt represents all that is wrong with the party today. To say that a Dem would run as a republican is so far out. Even Republicans cant win as Republicans in this state because the party cannot agree on anything.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Kim,
Try going to Lee County and vote in a Republican primary. Oh wait, the only way to win most any race there is if you are a Democrat. If you are going to have a say in who is elected you had best vote in the Dem primary.
December 10th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Reed is a fantastic candidate! Just wrong race. For the good of the party Reed needs to wait, or run for something else.
He can’t win this primary either.
December 10th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Did Clint Reed give any indication when Baker would be joining the Republican Party? And will he stay in once elected this time?
December 10th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
If what I here is true that Stanley Reed has contributed money to Bill Clinton and Blanche Lincoln there is no way that I will vote for him in the primary or the general election if he wins the primary.
December 10th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
This is a great day for Arkansas. GOP Primary voters have an opportunity to nominate a good and decent man who can forever change the perception of what is means to be an Arkansas Republican. Stanley Reed is a conservative farmer from East Arkansas. Mr. Reed is also the former… Chair of the U of A Board of Trustees and former President of Arkansas Farm Bureau. Best of all Stanley Reed is a committed Christian who possesses the leadership skills that our nation desperately needs. He would by far be the toughest opponent for Blanche because he can cut into her support in East and South Arkansas. I 100% endorse Stanley Reed for US Senate! Run Stanley Run!
December 10th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
I think some of you are acting very childish. I don’t like it that he used to give to democrats but my gosh, we all used to be democrats. Ronald Reagan, Frank White, Sheffield Nelson, Tommy Robinson, Jay Dickey, etc… all used to be democrats. Our party has been built by former democrats. I frankly don’t think the life long Republicans have acted very conservative. I want to hear what he believes before I make up my mind.
I would recommend that some of you “experts” refrain from judging someone until you have at least heard him talk one time. Is that too much to ask?
December 10th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Him donating to Blanche as early as a year a go is enough for me to not vote for him! What a joke! I really don’t see how this effects anything? The people who would vote for him won’t even come to vote in the primary, there ALL DEMOCRATS over in eastern arkansas and there gonna be busy voting for Blanche or Bill Halter.
I say everyone drop out except for Baker, Coleman, and Conrad Reynolds. I’d kinda like to see Fred Ramey stay in, he’s very nice and i can see him doing something in a few years and this would be good experience for him. Hendron should run for Lt. Governor or Secretary of State, but not U.S. Senate. I loved his one liner though from the straw poll “Spending…. STOP IT!”
The runoff is going to kill finances though in this race. I just hope the NRC pours in the money they need to to beat Blanche.
December 11th, 2009 at 12:01 am
No conservative Republican that I know would give money to Liberal Democrats such as Bill Clinton or Blanche Lincoln. No true conservative donates money to politicians that support abortion. Is Stanley Reed Pro-Life?
December 11th, 2009 at 2:27 am
I’m waiting for it…
“I was for Blanche Lincoln, before I was against her…”
Combine giving to libs and Eastern Arkansas, he’d be better off running in the Democratic Primary against Blanche than running as a Rino..
December 11th, 2009 at 3:09 am
Stanley Reed may be a good candidate but his choice in campaign staff from the get go is very poor. Sanders is a blow hard who hasn’t run a campaign before, doesn’t know that much about politics (except for repeating in writing some talking points from the talking heads on TV from the night before but acts as though he is the last great hope for political insight, and frankly has me wondering what the heck Reed is thinking.
December 11th, 2009 at 5:09 am
[...] Here’s more from conservative blogger Jason Tolbert. And David Kinkade (who?) is baiting John Brummett . . . again. [...]
December 11th, 2009 at 8:56 am
I will say that my parents gave to Bill Clinton long, long ago. But they learned their lesson and are as conservative as ever. Does that mean they’re really dems in republican clothing? No. It means they woke up and realized some things.
People in this state who want to throw mud at someone simply for the sake of throwing mud are up there with the Holtites in my book. When are we going to learn that a closed party borken into a million factions are what will continue to keep us the minority party here in AR?
December 11th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Wasn’t Reed a Democrat up to a few months ago? How is he going to convince Republicans he has truly seen the light? A pro-life Democrat does not a Republican make.
December 11th, 2009 at 9:37 am
I like Sanders. I disagree with his candidate choice. Is Reed going to take a stand against farm welfare and work toward weaning our farmers off subsidies? Reed is a big government pro-life democrat… I thought as Republicans we wanted to reduce the size of government.
December 11th, 2009 at 10:44 am
He is not a Republican or pro-life, go search his donations to Pro-Abortion democrats in just the last few years. Of course he is going to say he is Pro-Life, but he doesn’t seem to mind when his money goes to support Pro-Abortion politicians. I think Mr. Reed’s campaign is dead before it even started. Something about it, just doesn’t seem right, something else is behind this.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Last Saturday while attending the straw poll in Hot Springs, I stopped by the press area to say hello to folks in the media that I had spoken with over the phone and to introduce myself in person. Mr. Sanders would not acknowledge my presence. It is now clear why. And then just yesterday, in his column, he had the audacity to suggest that I get in a different race. We’re here to stay. It’s going to be interesting!
December 11th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Has anybody seen ZooLander the movie with Ben Stiller? I am guessing from the picture above that this is David Sander’s “Blue Steel” look.
Fred count your blessings that he didn’t acknowledge you. Fred, you are a good and decent man and David is not. I am not surprised at his smug all knowing attitude.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:44 am
jb – Is it possible you are upset with Sanders over some critical columns he wrote on Huckabee? I don’t always agree with Sanders but I know him to be a good person.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Welcome to the big pond Mr. Reed. There are already alot of fish out there and I wonder who will be next to take the bait. It seems the alure of this race is something too strong for even RINOs to stay out of. The addition of Mr. Sanders to Mr. Reed’s mix just adds to the confusion. “Tom Cox, Fred Ramey, and Buddy Rogers should think about getting into a different pool. Republicans like them, just not in the U.S. Senate race.” This was recently printed in an article from Mr. Sanders, sounds like a conflict of interest to ask others to get out of a race that he is about to become the campaign manager. I don’t know Mr. Reed. I have never interacted with Mr. Sanders. However, I did observe Mr. Sanders flying about like a vulture testing to see what might turn up dead at the well attended RPA straw poll. Thanks for the opportunity to hear all of the candidates. I truly think it would be a shame for any of the candidates to drop out. We need a diversity of opinion to make good choices. That is part of the American process. As for Mr. Reed, I’m not sure that the addition of Mr. Sanders aids the issues that he already will have to face. Money….check, name recognition…..check, experience with people……check, campaign manager that uses his job as a means to ask other candidates to concede……big check. I ask for Mr. Coxm Mr. Ramey and Mr. Rogers to stay in as long as they can. Who knows? And yes, Mr. Ramey…..it will be interesting.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:53 am
First of all I wish that Reed had not gotten into the race,I also wish about half of you who cannot raise money would get out. If reed wins I will vote for him. I hope Gilbert Baker wins so I can vote for him. I could also vote for Curtis Coleman. I cannot vote for Hendron or Holt I held my nose and voted for Holt 4 years ago and will never do that again. This party needs to grow up. Whoever wins the US Senate seat will have to do it by winning a lot of Dem and Independent votes. Lets pick the correct candidate for once and not the one that appeals to a small right wing minority that doesnt speak for most of Arkansas. Most people here are moderates. All you have to do is look at the electoral history of the state to see that. Lets get rid of Blanche Lincoln! I am afraid we will just shoot ourselves in the foot once again.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:55 am
jb, why is anyone who does not march in lock step with you not a decent person? Reagan said we needed a big tent party, its the only way he won. You seem like you would fit in well in Iran or with the Taliban.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:55 am
I’ll back what Jason says and stand up for Sanders. He’s a good guy and plenty smart.
December 11th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
The Republican party can have a big tent, but in the primary I am going to vote for a candidate that represents my values. I will not vote for a moderate. If Reed had supported Democrats 20 years ago it would not bother me one bit, but donating money to Blanche Lincoln about a year ago makes me wonder. I will never vote for a moderate in the primary, and if Reed wins the primary I will seriously look at Trevor Drown………….and no I don’t want to go third party.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Drown supports card check. He is more liberal and pro-union than Reed. Even Reed was against card check.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I will only vote for a candidate in the primary who can mount a good campaign against Blanche. So far only one candidate, Gilbert Baker, has proven they can raise the money to do this. Reed may be able to as well. Jason could you let us know exactly how much each declared candidate has raised?
December 11th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Any Republican who worked for Asa Hutchinson in 2006 should feel like Stanley Reed has slapped them in the face. He and his wife gave thousands of dollars to Democrat candidates that year including Mike Beebe. He has given plenty of money to them in other years as well. He is not a Republican and has no place representing our party in this election.
December 11th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
I haven’t read his columns in years, I found long ago that I had already seen what he was writing the night before on the talk shows. But I have observed him many times on AETN. Let’s be honest, on the show he is rude, condescending and pretends like he knows everything about it ALL. It really has nothing to do with Huckabee, but thanks for trying to make my comments a simple grudge. Again, I think Stanley is a fine candidate, not sure if I will vote for him, Conrad, Gilbert or Coleman yet though. I would like to see how it all pans out.
December 11th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
I worked for Asa in 2006. I even raised money for Asa much of it from people who had also written checks to Beebe, its called politics. I will be voting for the winner of the Republican primary assuming it isnt Hendren or Holt. Reed isnt my first choice but if he survives the primary then I will support him. So far I like him better than Reynolds who had done nothing but negative campaigning.
December 11th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Looks like the Baker camp has taken over this thread…
December 11th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Reed is the Democrat plant….. The Trojan Horse. He is a Progessive who is getting paid to mess with the Republicans so they can call on him to further the Obama agenda Nuff said
December 11th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
My question is how is Reed suppose to win the Republican Primary in a state where 50% of that is in two counties that strongly Right Wing. (Washington and Benton) How is Reed, who has supported Senator Lincoln in the past suppose to overcome that and gain the support of the hard right in those who counties?
December 11th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Dear Bosco, I tend to agree with your thinking about the primary. If we assume that what you say is true then why are so many people worried about Reed getting in? If what you say is true then he will be defeated.