JONESBORO, Ark. After a long day crisscrossing Arkansas in a motorhome, Tom Cotton receives a rock stars welcome when he walks into the Craighead County Republican Headquarters in northeast Arkansas. He is there to thank volunteers who have been doggedly working the phones to get voters out to the polls.
"I've largely played the part I can play," he tells the crowd."Now, it's up to you."
The work Cotton has done since he declared he would challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor has him going into Election Day with a head of steam. The latest Real Clear Politics average has him up 7 points, a lead outside the margin of error.
Arkansans are ready for a change in Washington, Rep. Cotton told Fox News. They know that Senator Pryor has been supporting the Obama agenda 93 percent of the time and that doesnt reflect [Arkansas'] conservative values.
Cotton has relentlessly pushed the point that a vote for Pryor is a vote to continue the agenda of President Obama. The president is very unpopular in Arkansas. Mitt Romney won this state in 2012 by 24 points.
Throughout the race, Pryor has kept his distance from the president, never asking him to come and campaign for him. At the same time, Pryor was happy to welcome native son Bill Clinton to the Arkansas campaign trail.
In recent days, Pryor has gone farther than he ever has to put daylight between himself and the president, telling Fox News that the biggest liability in his re-election bid is Obama.
Well, you know, he has been a drag.I mean, I am just going to be honest about that, Pryor said.People here know that I have had my fair share of disagreements with him. You can look at gun control issues, Keystone pipeline. I have never supported one of his budgets.
To Cotton, Pryors conversion is too little, too late.He wonders why the senator wasnt distancing himself from the presidents agenda for the past six years.
Senator Pryor can talk about being an independent, but hes voted with Barack Obama 93 percent of the time, Cotton told Fox News.
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Republican holds momentum in Arkansas Senate race, Dem acknowledges Obama a 'drag'