Over her trips to Arkansas for this story, Reporter PJ Huffstutter was struck by two things: "I saw how frustrated, scared and angry people are in rural parts of the state — and how hungry many of them seem to be for change."
"For a state that was once such a Democratic stronghold, it was fascinating to watch the past and present collide. Older voters still tell stories of when Bill Clinton ate so many tomatoes during a contest at the Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival that he made himself sick."
Social media reduces some of the urgency of that kind of on-the-ground campaign, political experts told Huffstutter. "What made following Shoffner so interesting, is that she is doing the old-school version: showing up and shaking hands, including in places that are staunchly Republican. I followed her to the Pink Tomato Festival, where she did get onstage and munch her way through a tomato-eating contest. Senator Tom Cotton wasn't there."
