By Dan Finkelstein
Congressional Quarterly

Electoral votes: 6

Delegates: 47

Chairman: Vaughn McQuary

Hotel: Radisson Wilshire Plaza (213) 318-7411

1996 Election:
Clinton – 54%
Dole – 37%
Perot – 8%

In no state will Vice President Al Gore have to work harder to escape the shadow of President Clinton than in Clinton's home state of Arkansas.

Though Clinton easily carried Arkansas in his two presidential victories, the Southern state's conservative leanings - and recent Republican trend - are spurring Republicans to argue that it will be in play for their nominee, Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

The result of Arkansas' May 23 primary contained some good news and some bad news for Gore.

He breezed to victory with 78 percent of the vote, claiming all 47 of the state's delegates. But with former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley, who dropped out of the race in early March, not on the Arkansas ballot, the other 22 percent went to fringe political figure Lyndon LaRouche.

Assuming that LaRouche, known for his elaborate economic proposals and international conspiracy theories, does not have all that much support, some Arkansas Democrats speculate that his showing reflects some level of dissatisfaction with Gore in comparison with charismatic Clinton.

"Clinton's such a dynamic personality, I don't know if there'll be another," state Rep. Shane Broadway told The Associated Press.

Other Democrats, however, dismiss the contention that Gore, a native of neighboring Tennessee, is losing support here.

"Al Gore was just here yesterday, and, with just a few days' notice, we had a standing-room-only crowd in the middle of the day," said Glen Hooks, executive director of the Arkansas Democratic Party, on July 12. "I'm confident that when people get to really know George W. Bush, we will win the state for Gore."

While the party's platform had not then been finalized, Hooks said he believed the Arkansas delegation would focus on many of the same issues as the national party. "A lot of people come here to retire, so we have a large elderly population. Prescription drug benefits are very important to us," he said.

Clinton, who will make a valedictory speech on the first night of the Democratic National Convention, is a member of the Arkansas delegation. But he is not expected to have any further participation at the convention to avoid interfering with Gore's moment in the sun.

The delegation includes U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas Secretary of State Sharon Preist, Arkansas Education Association President Linda Pondexter, and Ann Gilbert, an art gallery owner. African-Americans make up 15 percent of the delegation, with one Native American and one Hispanic in the mix.

The delegation is led by State Democratic Party Chairman Vaughn McQuary. It also has a candidate for the most loyally Democratic name at the convention: lawyer Harry Truman Moore.

Meanwhile, LaRouche, who has run for president as a Democrat every four years since 1976, filed suit in Pulaski County Circuit Court in June, insisting that he should have received 22 percent of the state's delegates to the Los Angeles convention based on the vote he received in the primary.

A judge dismissed the case, ruling that the Democratic Party had the right to "refuse to . . . seat delegates for Lyndon LaRouche."

ARKANSAS NOTABLES: President Clinton; Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Vaughn McQuary, the delegation chairman; state Attorney General Mark Pryor; Arkansas Secretary of State Sharon Preist; state Treasurer Jimmie Lou Fisher; state Land Commissioner Charlie Daniels; Linda Pondexter, president of the Arkansas Education Association.