In 1990, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton faced a threat to his political career with the possibility of losing the governorship and ending his aspirations to become president in 1992. The National Republican Party hatched a plan led by Chairman Lee Atwater to recruit U.S. Rep. Tommy Robinson to switch parties and run for Arkansas governor as a Republican. However, Clinton’s team thwarted this plan by encouraging Democrat voters to vote for businessman Edward Sheffield Nelson in the Republican primary, resulting in Nelson’s victory over Robinson.
This event marked a significant shift in Arkansas politics, which had been predominantly Democratic for decades. The state was once controlled by prominent Democrats known as “The Big Three” – Clinton, Dale Bumpers, and David Pryor. However, with the emergence of Republicans Mike Huckabee, Tim Hutchinson, and later Asa Hutchinson, the political landscape began to change.
In 2010, Arkansas experienced a dramatic shift towards the Republican Party, with a wave election bringing in a host of Republican lawmakers and signaling the end of the era of “The Big Three.” Independent voters started shifting towards the GOP, leading to the party’s eventual control of the state in 2014, with Asa Hutchinson becoming governor.
This transition marked one of the most significant political shifts in the country, as Arkansas embraced a two-party system after decades of Democratic dominance. The state’s history of populist and centrist leadership was challenged with the election of conservative Sarah Sanders, signaling a potential change in the state’s political landscape.
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