Dem Senate nominee distances herself from Kamala Harris ahead of visit: 'Will not be attending'

close

Video

Democratic Senate candidate in Arkansas charts her own course away from mainstream party figures

Hallie Shoffner says she did not invite Kamala Harris to campaign with her ahead of the former vice president’s upcoming appearance in Little Rock.

The Democratic nominee for a Senate seat in Arkansas is trying to distance herself from messaging ties to the mainstream Democratic Party, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, as she wages an uphill bid to flip a Republican Senate seat.

"Arkansas is a very independent state. In fact, if you look at our voting history, we are often split-ticket voters," Hallie Shoffner told Fox News Digital.

"I feel that both of the parties just walked away from rural America — Democrats included," Shoffner, who is pushing back on claims that she invited Harris to campaign with her, added.

Her comments come as Harris plans to deliver keynote remarks at the Arkansas Shackelford Dinner in Little Rock later this month — the first campaign event she has headlined since she lost the 2024 presidential election.

STEVE DAINES' HANDPICKED SENATE SUCCESSOR KURT ALME VOWS TO KEEP MONTANA IN REPUBLICAN HANDS IN 2026

Hallie Shoffner, left, pictured alongside former Vice President Kamala Harris, right (Fox News Digital; Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Shoffner strongly denied she had any intention of campaigning with Harris at her upcoming appearance.

"We had nothing to do with bringing the former vice president here. She’s speaking at a Democratic Party of Arkansas event, an event I will not be attending," Shoffner said.

"This woman is coming, and she’s going to be here for all of two hours," she said.

Shoffner believes the party should focus on its future, rather than highlighting high-profile names of the past. She blasted Republican attempts to link Harris’ appearance to her Senate bid.

"The Republican Party of Arkansas is talking like I’m the one who’s responsible. Why? Tom Cotton and the Republican Party, why are we relitigating the 2024 election right now?" Shoffner said, referring to her political opponent, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.

Instead, Shoffner said she is trying to emulate different Democrats who have used middle-of-the-road platforms to attract rural voters.

"If I were Hallie Shoffner, I’d pretend like I didn’t know Kamala Harris either," Joseph Wood, the chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas, said in a fiery response to Shoffner's comments. "But Shoffner can’t hide two very important things: her 25 donations to Harris, or that Harris is coming to Arkansas to raise money that will be used to try and help her failing campaign." 

10 SENATE RACES THAT COULD DECIDE CONTROL OF THE CHAMBER IN THE 2026 MIDTERMS

The U.S. Capitol is seen, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

SUSAN COLLINS SHRUGS OFF ATTACKS BY DEMOCRATS AND TRUMP, SAYS MAINE VOTERS ‘DON’T VOTE PARTY LINE’

She mentioned former Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who was defeated in 2024, as one such example.

"One of the things I really like about Senator Tester is he takes the same approach when he's going into diverse political communities in Montana," Shoffner said.

"We're all Arkansans. We're all Montanans. You know, we want to be able to buy our groceries. We want to put gas in our car. We want to know that our job is going to be there the next day," Shoffner said.

Tester represented Montana as a senator from 2007 to 2025. He lost his reelection bid to newcomer Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont.

Despite asserting confidence in charting her own course, Shoffner faces an uphill race against incumbent Sen. Cotton, the current chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Cotton, who was originally hand-picked by former Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to run for the Senate in 2014, has come to the defense of President Donald Trump's military engagement against Iran.

REPUBLICAN MAJORITY AT RISK? A LOOK AT THE 6 GOP SENATE SEATS MOST IN JEOPARDY IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., argued that the war with Iran would continue for weeks not days as the U.S. continues to kneecap their offensive abilities.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Shoffner believes that’s a weakness she can exploit.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

"Does it work for the people of Arkansas? That's the point of Congress. That there should have been an Arkansan up there in D.C. who said, ‘Now, wait a minute, they need diesel and fertilizer prices to be low.’ That is when a senator or a representative from a state is supposed to step in and say, ‘My people at home will be affected,’" Shoffner said.

Shoffner will face off against Cotton in the state’s general election on Nov. 3.