State House leader seeks recruits

FAYETTEVILLE -- The new leader of the Democrats in the state House wants converts, but he won't turn away allies if that's what it takes to be effective.

Rep. David Whitaker, D-Fayetteville, leads a delegation that is outnumbered three to one. With 24 members of a 100-member body, Democrats in the House cannot stop a budget bill requiring a three-quarters vote by themselves.

Whitaker detailed his plans to cope with these long odds. The first step is to increase the size of the delegation at every opportunity, he said. Recruiting candidates is already a top priority even though the next election is a year and five months away.

Jay Barth, a political science professor at Hendrix College in Conway and author of the latest update of the book Arkansas Politics and Government, said Democrats must be able to win legislative seats in growing Northwest Arkansas outside of the liberal stronghold of Fayetteville.

Read more: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2017/jun/26/state-house-leader-seeks-recruits-20170/?f=news-politics