Video: Princella Smith Discusses if She Will Run for Congress
I sat down with Princella Smith this weekend when she was in Little Rock to discuss her consideration of a run for Congress as a Republican in the First Congressional District. The race is now for an open seat after incumbent Rep. Marion Berry announced that he will not be seeking re-election.
“I am excited about the political climate in this country,” said Smith. “I think Arkansas is no different from anywhere else in the country in the sense that the people here are very concerned about the economy, about the state of education, about health care, about national security, and overall about having a better place to live work and raise their family.”
“The longer I was in Washington, they more I realized that the leaders there don’t understand small town America,” explained Smith. “And so with the sitting Congressman deciding not the run again, I thought this would be a good opportunity to get a true fighter in Congress who would represent the best interest of the district and would bring a fresh bold new solutions oriented agenda to Washington which is very much needed right now.”
As for why Smith feels she is the most qualified candidate, she said the she brings “a deep understanding of the core issue that will be fundamentally important to the people all across the state and all across the country.” She also went on the say that “if you put my energy next to someone else, it is not matchable.”
I also asked Smith about her views on the health care bill passed last fall by the House. She worked at the time for Rep. Joseph Cao from New Orleans who was the only Republican to vote for the bill.
“I disagreed with his vote. I believe fundamentally that that health bill is not what is best for America. I don’t believe that an employer mandated burden should be put on our small businesses. I don’t believe there should be cuts to Medicare.” She also expressed concerns by the lack of pro-life protections in the Senate version of the bill.
She said that she will be traveling the district over the next couple weeks and will be making a final decision after that. If she gets in the race, then she will face Republican Rick Crawford and possible State Sen. Johnny Key in the primary. Former State Sen. Tim Wooldridge and Rep. Berry’s Chief of Staff Chad Causey are likely to square off in the Democratic Primary.