Westerman takes GOP 4th District nomination

The Sentinel-Record/Mara Kuhn VICTORIOUS: State Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-District 22, makes his primary victory speech in the 4th Congressional District race at the Five Star Dinner Theatre on Tuesday.
The Sentinel-Record/Mara Kuhn VICTORIOUS: State Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-District 22, makes his primary victory speech in the 4th Congressional District race at the Five Star Dinner Theatre on Tuesday.

House Majority Leader Bruce Westerman, R-District 22, defeated Tommy Moll, of Hot Springs, in the Republican primary for the 4th Congressional District by a margin that was a little closer than expected Tuesday night.

According to the Arkansas secretary of state's office, Westerman won the nomination by a vote of 18,431, or 55 percent, to Moll's 15,359 votes, or 45 percent, according to unofficial final results.

After his victory speech Tuesday night, Westerman speculated that a Moll campaign television advertisement that was critical of him that aired the final two weeks of the campaign could be the reason the race was closer than expected.

"I think the negative ad with the false attacks in it did some damage, but I'm glad we just pulled it out at the end," Westerman said.

Westerman also said he knew James Lee Witt, the Democratic candidate for the 4th District Congressional seat, would be a tough opponent and that the two candidates have "philosophical" differences on various issues.

"The voters of the 4th District they agree more with my conservative values than they do with the Obama/Pelosi agenda," Westerman said. "I think there is going to be a definite difference between (Witt's) views and his views in the race. I think we'll present those in a fair way and let the voters decide."

Moll in a statement on social media said he was thankful for "the people of the 4th District of Arkansas for their support tonight and these past nine months."

"I offer my sincere congratulations to Bruce Westerman for running a successful campaign and wish him the best as he represents our party in the general election," Moll said.

Witt, in a statement Tuesday, said he looks "forward to an honest discussion of the problems facing the people who live in the 4th District and how we would help solve them."

"There are important differences between us," Witt said. "I've never been a prisoner to any party or any ideology, working my whole life with Democrats and Republicans to find real solutions in the lives of the people I'm sworn to serve. I do this by working hard, being true to my faith and values, listening to people, and confronting the truth head on."

The difference in the 4th District primary race was Garland County, which Westerman handily won with 7,007 votes to Moll's 2,681, according to the secretary of state's office.

Out of 33,790 votes in the 4th Congressional District Republican primary, Garland County had a total of 9,688 Republican voters.

"Thank you so much Garland County," Westerman said in his victory speech. "You made the difference tonight. The margins in Garland County were tremendous."

Ginna Watson, chairwoman of the Garland County Election Commission, said long lines to vote at some sites were a result of higher-than-expected turnout on Election Day and a state law that prohibits commissions from using electronic voting machines on election day that were used during early voting.

"We had every voting machine out there that we were allowed to by state law," Watson said. "We just don't have enough machines. They are very expensive and we just can't afford more."

Local on 05/22/2014

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