Within Reach

Though the Democrats have controlled the Arkansas statehouse for 92 straight years, the odds today are no better than 50-50 that they can round out a full century in office. The first serious threat to one-party rule came in 1964, when Republican Winthrop Rockefeller polled 43% of the vote against Governor Orval Faubus. G.O.P. hopes soared higher still last spring, when after nearly twelve years in office the still-formidable Governor decided to step down at year's end to rest and--some suspect--to mount a campaign against Democratic Senator J. William Fulbright in 1968. Last week's gubernatorial primaries gave the G.O.P. its most propitious omen yet. While Rancher Rockefeller easily captured his party's nomination, the Democrats showed themselves deeply divided when it came to choosing a successor to Faubus.

None of the seven Democratic contenders came even close to winning a majority. The two top vote getters, former State Supreme Court Justices Jim Johnson, 41, and J. Frank Holt, 55, were forced into a runoff, to be held next week, that promises further internecine bloodletting.

"Gang of Parasites." Johnson, the front runner with 25.2% of the Demo cratic vote, campaigned as a segregationist, even though Arkansas voters have shown signs of increasing moderation. A founder of the state's White Citizens Council, he identified himself with Alabama's George Wallace, refused to shake hands with Negroes, fulminated against President Johnson and "that gang of parasites in Washington." His showing in the primary was due mainly to the fact that he was the only avowed segregationist in the running, thus had the racist vote all to himself.

Holt, a personable but bland moderate backed by the Faubus organization, has run a lackluster campaign, lauding the state's progress under the Governor and invoking his own record as a former county prosecutor and state attorney general. Apart from a pledge of $500-a-year raises for teachers and a new traffic-safety program, he has offered little in the way of change.

Either candidate will face a determined opponent in Rockefeller, 54, who has rejuvenated the Arkansas G.O.P. almost singlehanded since moving into the state in 1953. The younger brother of New York's Governor attracted new industries--and 90,000 new jobs--as the Faubus-appointed chairman of the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission from 1955 to 1964. He has since concentrated on finding and financing promising G.O.P. candidates. Encouraged by Rockefeller's showing against Faubus, Republicans have put up a record 516 candidates for state and local offices this year (v. 165 in 1964), and are confident that Arkansas' top job is within reach at last.

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