A variety of politically related items have floated in this morning.
* FOURTH DISTRICT CASH: Tommy Moll, this year’s nominee by outside conservative moneybags to rent the 4th District congressional seat they rented for Tom Cotton, reports that he raised $142,000 in the fourth quarter of 2013 and has $358,000 on hand in his primary race against Rep. Bruce Westerman. Moll emphasizes that a majority of the money came from Arkansas. Stephenses and associates, Murphy money and Walton money stood out. UPDATE: Westerman raised $107,000, has much less on hand. In the 2nd District, Republican French Hill raised $568,000 and has $534,000 to spend. 2nd District Democrat Pat Hays raised $230,000. Republican Ann Clemmer raised $103,000.
* STATE REPRESENTATIVE CASH: Stacy Hurst, running as a Republican for the House seat held by term-limited Democrat John Edwards, sayss he has already raised $100,000, though the report isn’t on file yet. Having the Stephens empire in your corner will help swell your treasury. Also being a member of the Little Rock Board of Directors helps. I’m guessing that based on fund-raiser invites you’ll find a couple of Airport Commission appointees — Bob East and Tom Schueck — on her tally along with people like developers John Flake and former Mayor Jim Dailey and also City Director Dean Kumpuris. Jodie Mahony has announced as a Democrat for the seat. Other developments in this race may be forthcoming.
* CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE CRASH: The campaign of Conrad Reynolds, the Tea Party Republican running for 2nd District Congress, has distributed a news release announcing he’d received a “Life Saver Citation” from Secretary of State Mark Martin for stopping at the scene of a wreck Jan. 18 near Beebe and helping a woman out of a smoking, overturned car. I didn’t know the secretary of state issued Life Saver Citations. I’ve asked the office for others issued during Martin’s tenure. At least Martin is in office, unless like Linda Collins-Smith, who just presented a citation to an American Legion Post though she hasn’t been in the legislature since the end of 2012. She ginned out a certificate Dec. 31 and just the other day got snapped by a Pocahontas newspaper delivering the goods as a new Senate candidate. Hmmmm I think there might be some commercial possibilities in the certificate-awarding game.