State Rep. Martin races past Hunton
Posted on Wednesday, November 5, 2008
ANTHONY REYES Northwest Arkansas Times State Rep. Mark Martin, the Republican incumbent for District 87, left, talks with Matt Mendenhall, chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party, at the Republican watch party Tuesday at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Springdale.
State Rep. Mark Martin, R-Prairie Grove, cruised to re-election in state House District 87, defeating Democratic challenger Earl J. Hunton in both Washington and Crawford counties.
The unofficial results showed the following:
Martin 6, 442 58. 8 %
Hunton 4, 514 41. 2 %
Hunton fared better in Washington County than in Crawford County, where Martin won by a more than 2-to-1 margin.
The unofficial results from Washington County showed Martin ahead by almost 1, 000 votes:
Martin 4, 589 55. 9 %
Hunton 3, 616 44. 1 %
The unofficial final results from Crawford County showed Martin winning big:
Martin 1, 853 67. 4 %
Hunton 898 32. 6 %
Martin, a self-employed engineer, won his third and final term in the House. Martin, who will rank fourth in seniority, said his experience and seniority made him the best choice for the district.
Martin said Tuesday that he believes his experience in office, his service in the community and the hard work he put into campaigning helped him win re-election.
“ It was a good margin. I am pleased, ” Martin said.
Hunton, a farmer who has served on the Lincoln Board of Education since 1999, sought to recapture the House seat held by his father, Washington County Judge Jerry Hunton, from 1991 through 1998.
Jerry Hunton, a Democrat, was elected judge in 1998 after he was term limited in the House. The GOP has held the District 87 seat ever since.
Earl Hunton said he’ll probably try to run again in two years after Martin completes his third and final term. His father lost the first time he ran for House and won in his second try.
Hunton said that it was difficult to run against an incumbent, especially considering this is a presidential election year when Washington County went for John McCain. Both McCain and Martin got almost 56 percent of the vote in Washington County.
Martin and Hunton shared conservative philosophies. They both support a bill being drafted by the attorney general’s office making animal cruelty a felony. Both candidates said they support eliminating the sale tax on food. Martin said the state’s budget surplus is enough to make up for any budget shortfall caused by eliminating food sales tax collections. The biggest difference between the two candidates was their commitment for funding pre-kindergarten programs. Hunton supported making pre-kindergarten education available for everyone. Martin said research shows that funding universal pre-kindergarten is not cost effective but he supports pre-kindergarten for low-income children because this investment pays for itself.
Martin plans to introduce a bill that would remove the bingo tax because he said it is hurting the very nonprofit groups it was supposed to help. The bingo tax cost the American Legion post in Prairie Grove $ 6, 000 that would have been available for scholarships and other local aid, he said.
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