Arkansas Democrat Says Tom Cotton Is Skipping Debate Amid 65-to-1 Ad Gap

Hallie Shoffner, the Democratic nominee challenging Republican Senator Tom Cotton in Arkansas, said on MS NOW's Morning Joe that national Republicans have spent $13.5 million against her and that Cotton is "still" not showing up, so she will be on next week's debate stage alone.

The first-time candidate and farmer is running in a state Donald Trump carried by 31 points in 2024. Shoffner also said the National Republican Party is paying more attention to the race than the National Democratic Party.

"They've spent 13 and a half million dollars in Arkansas against a farmer and a first time candidate. And Tom Cotton still isn't showing up," Shoffner told the host. "I mean, we're having a debate next week and I will be standing on stage without him."

Arkansas Senate Debate Will Go On Without Tom Cotton

On the debate, the record supports her. Arkansas TV, the state's public broadcaster, has scheduled its Senate debate for Monday, Oct. 12, in Conway. Shoffner and Libertarian Jeff Wadlin will take part, and Cotton will not. Cotton is also missing from an Oct. 22 debate on ASU-TV, Arkansas State University's student-run station in Jonesboro.

Cotton is not refusing every debate. He and Shoffner have both accepted invitations to a debate hosted by Salem Media, the conservative Christian broadcaster, though no date had been set when Arkansas TV released its lineup.

What the $13.5 Million Covers

Shoffner's number roughly matches the reported spending figures. But it is not all national party money, as she described it. Cotton and the groups backing him have spent about $13.6 million on advertising this cycle, compared with $208,703 for Shoffner and her allies, according to figures reported by Punchbowl News. That is a 65-to-1 gap.

More than $3 million of that total came from two super PACs, America One and Arkansans for Democracy and Justice. Much of the early spending came from a nonprofit allied with Cotton, Punchbowl reported.

Cotton's ads feature Shoffner's recorded statements on immigration. Cotton campaign spokesman James Arnold told Newsweek that "she said she would trade five Americans for just one illegal alien."

"The Cotton campaign believes her personal statements on immigration are so extreme that every Arkansan in the state should see the videos for themselves, and we are delighted to have the resources to make sure they do," the campaign told Newsweek.

The ads draw on her recorded remarks, including a remark about trading five Americans for one undocumented worker and a June statement that she would vote to defund ICE as it currently exists. She has since said she wants the agency reformed rather than defunded. Shoffner did not address the immigration ads in the Morning Joe interview.

Fundraising Gap and the Democrats' Absence

The money behind each campaign is just as lopsided. Shoffner raised about $678,000 in the second quarter, the most of any Arkansas congressional candidate. She ended June with roughly $864,000 in cash on hand. Cotton ended the same period with $9.9 million.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee had not spent in the race as of Sept. 29. That fits Shoffner's complaint that Republicans are paying more attention to her race than Democrats are.

Arkansas Senate Polling

The polls disagree on how close the race is. A Hendrix College/Talk Business & Politics survey released in August found Shoffner at 47.4 percent and Cotton at 44 percent. A J.L. Partners poll had Cotton ahead 51 percent to 35 percent. PolitiKool's polling average puts Cotton ahead 47.7 percent to 40.9 percent, a margin of 6.8 points.

In 2020, Cotton won a second term by 33 points against Libertarian Ricky Dale Harrington Jr.

Trump's Daylight Saving Time Feud

The Morning Joe host opened the interview by asking about Trump's feud with Cotton. In a late-night Truth Social post, the president accused Cotton of holding up the Sunshine Protection Act, a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent. Cotton has argued that the change would mean darker winter mornings for children and workers.

Shoffner dismissed the feud. "I'll tell you, over the 450 days that I've been on the campaign trail, not once have I been asked about daylight savings time," she said. Arkansans, she added, are "talking about gas prices and grocery prices. They're talking about healthcare."

She also said she hears every day from "Republican farmers" and others who plan to vote for her, which she credited to "showing them that they matter in a way that Tom Cotton hasn't and never will."

Whether Cotton agrees to more debates than the Salem Media event is unclear, and so is whether national Democrats will spend on the race before Nov. 3.