Former President Bill Clinton pushed back on Republican attempts to tie Arkansas Democrats to President Barack Obama on Monday, telling voters in his home state that the campaign tactic is “a pretty good scam.”
“You cannot afford to do what their opponents want. They want you to make this a protest vote,” Clinton told supporters at the University of Central Arkansas.
“It’s a pretty good scam isn't it? Give me a six year job for a two year protest, that’s Mark Pryor’s opponent’s message,” he added.
The winner of the hotly contested race between incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor and Republican Tom Cotton could decide which party controls the Senate come 2015. Throughout the race Cotton has worked to link Pryor with the president, who remains unpopular in Arkansas.
Clinton, however, is still tremendously popular in the state where he once served as governor. An NBC News/ Wall Street Journal/Annenberg poll released Sunday found the former president is Democrats most valuable surrogate.
-- Andrew Rafferty