I am only going to say something positive about yesterday's Democratic Party of Arkansas convention. While some Democrats just wanted to hear frilly speeches and leave by 3 pm, a full third in attendance voted down the platform. It wasn't enough of course, but it was inspiring to see such a large group speak up for something more, even if 2/3 of the party was quick to dismiss them-----I see hope. Not for the future of our party, but for the future of our state. Words matter. And what's in the platform matters.
Bill Bradshaw
From what I saw, it was mostly young people voting for more debate at the convention, or against the platform. But from Montgomery County, everyone is over forty, and no one voted for the platform in the current form. The attendance was great. More folks than four years ago for the presidential election convention.
Two hours for debate might have been enough, but twenty minutes was totally inadequate for a platform debate of such importance.
The proposed functional platform is a great start for two years hence. Let's be ready for the next time.
It had enough support that I would see it as an addendum to the platform from the young democrats -progressive populist,- socialist caucuses of the Democratic Party of Arkansas.
I appreciate the efforts and time put into this revision of the platform. I am keeping my copy and going to edit and add to it.
Again, thanks to everyone who was there and some people who were not. I'm very encouraged by what I saw yesterday.
Stay calm and carry on. We have come a long way.
Here is a link to Google Docs of the Proposed Functional DPA Platform.
If you scroll down to the place where it turns green, you will see the changes made by the Young Dems and the progressive caucus. Kinda long but worth the read.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iAHwOPFJ58STOTy0rRCn-VFc8J4-EiRszeo3EeQzn2g/edit?usp=drivesdk
This morning at the Arkansas Democrats State Convention, I am hoping we will suspend the rules and open discussion around a platform that speaks more directly to working people in Arkansas --- healthcare, wages, housing, labor rights, infrastructure, and public investment.
I think a lot of people are hungry for something more materially grounded than the same recycled “big tent” messaging.
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Update from after Convention:
The motion to suspend the rules to allow a fuller platform discussion and submissions of amendments ultimately failed, with around 120 in favor and a little over 200 against.
A lot of the discussion framed the effort as being against coalition building, a “purity test,” or choosing moral victories over electoral victories. But from my perspective as an organizer here in central Arkansas this was never about symbolic politics or narrowing the coalition. It was ALWAYS about whether the Democratic Party in Arkansas is willing to have a deeper conversation about the conditions people are actually living through. To me, wanting a more robust and materially grounded platform strengthens coalition building, not weakens it. A broad coalition only works if people can actually recognize their lives and struggles reflected in what the party is prioritizing.
Honestly, it was disappointing to see resistance to even having an extended platform discussion at the convention. The suspension would have guaranteed delegates time to debate and discuss the platform in depth, and I believe that’s something a healthy democratic party should be willing to do. I also think it’s important to note that organizations like Arkansas Abortion Support Network had a comment of concerns they had about the platform’s abortion language and restrictions before final passage.
Even with this outcome, I still see it as a starting point. There are clearly people inside and outside the party who want a more materially grounded, working-class-focused Democratic Party in Arkansas. The work continues
The only insight I have worth sharing about today’s Democratic Party of Arkansas State Convention is that the old guard truly doesn’t understand the game they think they’re playing. The most indicative comment of that problem was when someone said, “You want to see your target audience, go read the RPA platform,” and I’ve spent hours thinking about that.
They truly think our target audience is literal republicans. We literally passed a platform that was tailored for literal republicans. We passed a platform that only gave lip service to exceptions to the total abortion ban; the chair was sure to mention rape, incest, and emergency exceptions, but there’s literally no explicit endorsement of the legalization of elective abortion up to 24 weeks (the Roe standard) or even 12 weeks for medication abortion. The Democratic Party of Arkansas completely de-platformed elective abortion today in the name of capturing the votes of republicans, our target audience.
People aren’t looking for us to explain how we’re the same as the Republican Party, because people say that both parties are the same. The solution to that is to not prove them right by ratcheting your party further right and setting it back by 50 years. It’s to offer new ideas and explain how you’re different. The same thing goes for offering platitudes about how bad healthcare is, but never offering an alternative to private subsidies. Show us how you’ll get us to a public option. Our audience isn’t Republicans, it’s the people of Arkansas. We’re not meant to be pandering to anyone; we’re meant to be offering a vision for a better future.
I’ve had a day to sit with my thoughts after attending the Arkansas Democratic Party State Convention yesterday as my county party co-chair and as a delegate. I need to be honest with y’all: I’m deeply disappointed.
The platform that was voted on yesterday is, at best, uninspiring and at worst, a signal that the Arkansas Democratic Party has learned absolutely nothing from our losses. We are hemorrhaging voters and our response is to inch further right and offer the blandest, most cautious version of ourselves possible?
Where is the fire? Where is the boldness? Arkansans are struggling with healthcare costs, unplanned pregnancies with NO legal abortion access, poverty, and a government that actively works against them and we gave them carefully worded hedges and safe language.
As a Delegate, I appreciate all of the work that continues in making our Party better. Thank you. I had an hour conversation with Rhone a few days before the Convention and told him I thought many would support revisions to the 2026-2028 Platform if they had been engaged and presented as part of the process and rules bylaws. Asking delegates at the Convention to interrupt the Agenda for a minimum of 2 hours when so much work had already been done, with speakers from the National DNC, and to accommodate candidate schedules, I thought was unreasonable. I told Rhone I would give careful consideration to changes as part of the process for 2028.
Yes, I want us to be encouraging younger members, continue being the “Big Tent” that we are, appealing to new voters, registering more voters, and electing Democrats.
Count me as a supporter for all voices to be heard. That is what makes our Democracy work - or not…
“RUSS” James Richard Russell III
Due to scheduling, I was not able to speak at this past weekend's Democratic State Convention. I want to make something perfectly clear - this was NOT the fault of the Democratic Party of Arkansas in any way, shape, or form. They offered me every opportunity to do so in advance, and I declined because I genuinely did not think that my travel and campaigning plans for that day would permit me the time. They did graciously reach out to me, asking for a brief statement to send out to everyone. Below is a copy of that statement for anyone who might not otherwise see it. Special thanks to Micah Wallace for her diligence and patience with me during the entire process.
My fellow Democrats,
I am honored to serve as your nominee for Arkansas’s fourth congressional district in the 2026 midterm elections. The fight for a more perfect union is eternal and is one that we must all engage in together.
The fight for equal rights and opportunities under the law, healthcare as a human right, women's full bodily autonomy, and protections for our BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities.
The fight to prevent the corporatization of our democracy, to root out the corrupting influence of would-be oligarchs over our elected officials.
The fight to protect our natural resources from exploitation, and to protect the rights of every working class family to living wages, affordable necessities like groceries, utilities, and fuel; and the ability engage in collective bargaining.
The fight to live in a world where peaceful resolutions are once again sought in earnest and military action is used solely as a final resort.
And, most importantly, the fight against the rising tide of fascist authoritarianism that threatens the freedoms of every man, woman, and child today and in the future.
We must face these challenges together shoulder to shoulder. We must be willing to disagree without undermining these larger objectives. We must be willing to have the hard discussions with our neighbors with whom we may not agree, but with whom we must live and whose rights we must defend with equal vigor. We are a state and a nation of many who are one. Let us never feel alone or unequal to the task at hand. We WILL prevail. We MUST prevail. We SHALL persist.
Again, I am honored and privileged to serve as your nominee for Congress. As you may have heard me say in person, "Now, let's do this thing."
Yours in love and justice,
James "Rus" Russell,
Democratic nominee, AR 4th Congressional District, 2026
Malcom Kenyatta, DNC Vice Chair, speaking at the DPA convention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0yMSNoPvZg&t=162s
Hallie Shoffner at the convention!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVpBs87lSio
