Ross Wins Debate by Making Distinction Clear

Press Release

In a statewide televised debate Tuesday evening, Democratic nominee for governor Mike Ross was the clear winner as he drove home his desire to continue the progress Arkansas has made over the last eight years under Governor Mike Beebe's bipartisan and fiscally responsible leadership to grow Arkansas's middle class, which stood in strong contrast to Hutchinson continuing to stand shoulder to shoulder with out-of-state interests that have spent millions in attack ads in opposition to that approach. Ross is a former small business owner, state senator and U.S. Congressman.

"Governor Beebe remains the most popular governor in America because of his cautious, fiscally responsible and bipartisan approach to growing the middle class -- an approach Congressman Hutchinson attacked in 2006 when he ran against him. Now, Congressman Hutchinson is attacking me on the very same grounds," said Ross after the debate. "Congressman Hutchinson's short-sighted and fiscally irresponsible policies threaten to unravel our state budget and undo all the progress Governor Beebe has made, which is exactly why Governor Beebe is endorsing my campaign for governor."

Ross said Hutchinson continues to attack Governor Beebe's approach because he spent too much time as a D.C. lobbyist and lost touch with his Arkansas values. Ross said it is ironic that Congressman Hutchinson tries to position himself as a champion of the middle class, yet he opposes policies that would help the middle class in Arkansas, such as pre-k, tax cuts and the private option.

"Congressman Hutchinson talks a good game about helping the middle class, but the truth is that he voted against the middle class every step of the way when he was in Congress, including voting against raising the minimum wage, trying to privatize Social Security and cutting college loan opportunities all while giving tax breaks to millionaires who didn't even need them," said Ross after the debate. "Forty percent of working Arkansans aren't rich enough to qualify for Congressman Hutchinson's tax cut plan. Congressman Hutchinson opposes pre-k for middle class families calling it the "wrong direction' for Arkansas. And, he won't say whether he'll protect the bipartisan private option that helps middle class families get private health insurance. I'm the only candidate in this race with plans that will actually help working families get ahead and grow the middle class by strengthening education, cutting taxes, ensuring equal pay for equal work and creating more and better-paying jobs."

Hutchinson continues to attack Ross' tax cut plan, the same way he attacked Gov. Beebe's 2006 proposal to gradually eliminate the sales tax on groceries in a fiscally responsible way as the state could afford it, which is exactly Ross' approach to cutting the income tax. In 2006, Hutchinson had promised to remove the entire grocery tax in year one, which would have had devastating effects on the state's economy with the 2007 recession. Just like in 2006, Hutchinson's tax cut proposals will have the same devastating effects on our state because he's proposing $100 million in tax cuts in year one, when budget projections estimate net revenue growth to only be around $50 million.

"My approach to cutting taxes is the same as Governor Beebe: we're going to balance the budget and then cut taxes gradually and responsibly," said Ross after the debate. "Each fiscal year, I'm going to balance the state's budget and then look at net revenue growth to determine how much we can cut taxes by -- that's what a fiscal conservative does. Congressman Hutchinson must be using his Washington calculator because his tax cut plan doesn't add up. It will lead to deficits, devastating cuts to public education and credit downgrades, which is exactly what we're seeing in Kansas. Congressman Hutchinson was wrong in 2006, and he is still wrong today."

Ross said he has comprehensive plans focused on growing the middle class that will continue to strengthen Arkansas's economy for everyone, particularly women in Arkansas.

"I am the only candidate in this race with a plan to strengthen Arkansas's equal pay law to reduce the gender pay gap and to ensure women get equal pay for equal work," said Ross after the debate. "My plan to strengthen education, particularly pre-k, along with my plans to cut taxes, reduce domestic violence, increase support for female veterans, and ensure equal pay will help more women have more opportunities to succeed. I've also consistently supported raising the state's minimum wage, which would benefit more than 97,400 women in Arkansas, and have consistently supported protecting the state's bipartisan private option, which helps thousands of women obtain life-saving health insurance. In fact, nearly 60 percent of those helped by the Private Option are women."

Ross said he will spend the remaining four weeks of the campaign pointing out these clear differences and talking about his "Jobs First" plan to create more and better-paying jobs in Arkansas. You can read more about all of Mike Ross' plans to move the state of Arkansas forward at MikeRoss.com.

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