Hallie Shoffner answers our burning Election Day questions

Senate candidate Hallie Shoffner has run one hell of an underdog campaign, criss-crossing Arkansas with nosy journalists in tow, garnering national media attention and pulling ahead of her opponent Tom Cotton in one late-summer poll (although later polling showed Cotton ahead, which is where plenty of political analysts think he’ll stay). Could the sixth-generation farmer unseat one of the most powerful Republicans in the country, despite his advertising blitz portraying her as a radical Democrat in a folksy farmer’s clothing? In a matter of hours, we’ll have an answer. 

We played a round of rapid-fire questions with Shoffner, asking her for her Arkansas barbecue and cheese dip picks, what song she’ll play tonight if she wins and what one-liner she never got to use against Cotton, who refused to debate her. 

AT: You’ve driven all over Arkansas campaigning. How much do you think you’ve spent on gas, and how much of that bill are you blaming on Tom Cotton?

Hallie Shoffner: Too much, and all of it.

AT:  Who’s got the best barbecue in Arkansas, best catfish, and best cheese dip? And yes, we want names.

Shoffner: Okay, so the barbecue is going to be a three-way tie: Jones (Marianna), Lindsey’s (North Little Rock) and  Whole Hog (Little Rock). Catfish, hands down, Murry’s in Hazen, Arkansas. Cheese dip? Let’s see, the best that I’ve had recently would be Stoby’s in Russellville.

AT: Cotton never agreed to debate you. What’s the best zinger you never got to deliver?

Shoffner: Glad you got your Google Maps working and you could find Arkansas again.

AT: What’s something you’re really going to miss about campaigning, and what’s one thing you can’t wait to give up?

Shoffner: So I’m going to miss traveling across the state, but I can’t wait to give up traveling. At least the brutal travel schedule that we’ve had the last about three months.

AT: What’s the most unexpected thing a Republican voter has said to you on the campaign trail?

Shoffner: I was very shocked when one actually asked me how it felt to be a traitor to my country.

AT: What did you say?

Shoffner: I said, “no, I’m a farmer and a wife and a proud Arkansan and American.” It’s just the divisiveness in our politics. It can run deep, and it sometimes even surprises those of us who’ve been doing this a long time.

AT: What’s one policy or issue you’ve changed your mind about while campaigning?

Shoffner: I don’t know that I’ve changed my mind necessarily. I think I’ve just developed a deeper understanding of how much money is in politics and how detrimental that is to our democracy. How we need to get dirty money out of out of politics

AT: And the tendency to spend $4 million on attack ads coming from certain directions [Editor’s note: I’m reference Cotton’s hefty ad spending]. 

Shoffner: I think it’s $15 million. I mean, you want to talk about dirty money? $15 million in attack ads in Arkansas. That’s what he’s hiding behind. He won’t use Google Maps. He just hides behind the $15 million.

AT: We’ve all seen them. Highly annoying. You are a national political celebrity at this point. I think it’s fair to say. What is a funny misconception you’ve had to dispel about Arkansas?

Shoffner: About Arkansas? I mean, on a national level, I have to remind people that Arkansas is the fricking home of Walmart. Like, we’re home to some of the most powerful companies on this planet. Walmart didn’t grow in a vacuum; it succeeded because of Arkansans, the grit and smarts of our workers.

AT:  If Tom Cotton loses and has to move back to Arkansas, what advice do you have for him to help him settle back in?

Shoffner: Oh, don’t move back. Stay in Virginia. We’re great. We’re good.

AT: What album or song are you going to play when you win?

Shoffner:  “I Won’t Back Down,” by Tom Petty but also the Johnny Cash version.

AT: What is the first thing you’re going to do Wednesday morning, win or lose?

Shoffner: Drink lots of coffee and keep going. Will Tom Cotton be doing this as well? [Editor’s note: We have RSVPed to the Republican Election Night Watch Party tonight, so we’ll see!]