My cover story this week details the underdog challenges from a couple of upstart Democrats running for the legislature, including Tyler Pearson, taking on Sen. Jason Rapert. The Log-Cabin Democrat has a good roundup of a debate between the two this week at the True Holiness Saints Center in Conway. 

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Pearson was critical of Rapert’s comments about abolishing parole immediately after realtor Beverly Carter was found murdered. Pearson said ending parole “would create a state of chaos in the state prison system, because there would be no way to encourage good behavior in prisons” and “would likely bankrupt our state.” (Rapert spoke with me at length about these issues when his comments were first published on his Facebook page).

I’m afraid Rapert demagogued the issue: “Mr. Pearson, I’d like you to ask Mrs. Carter’s family today if she wished that that man who should have been in prison was there was there when he killed her.”

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