During my time in Congress, I served with three women, two Republicans and one Democrat, who were widows. Their husbands died while in office, and they ran for the seat.
These women always seemed a bit different from the rest of us: they were normal and decent people. They had not, as the old joke about senators goes, woke up every morning for the past ten years, looked in the mirror, and said, “Good morning, Madame President.”
In our Arkansas history we pride ourselves on the remarkable leadership that we delivered to Washington: McClellan, Fulbright, Mills, Bumpers, Pryor, Clinton. They had similar backgrounds: well-educated, male, lawyers, a life-long interest in politics and governing.
This year there is an abundance of good candidates running for Congress, particularly on the Democratic side, but two stand out for me: Adam Hamilton in Kansas and our own Hallie Shoffner. They seem normal, decent, and though without a life-long interest in law or elected office, there is something about them that hints at talent and leadership we desperately need.
My wife, a recently retired Methodist minister, knows Hamilton from her annual attendance at the Leadership Institute his church puts on in Kansas. In fact, he graciously provided a brief blurb for the back of her book on pet ministry titled “New Tricks.”
I talked with an Arkansan recently who had read one of Hamilton’s numerous books, called his church office in Kansas, and left a message. Hamilton returned the call, and they had a good conversation. Normal and decent.
For me there is mystery about our normal and decent Shoffner.
She has nothing similar to the Clinton/Bumpers/Pryor preparation for high office; but her skills as a communicator, her ability to connect the challenges facing Arkansas families to what should happen in Washington, and the sense I get that she will not allow anything to separate her from the needs and hopes of three million Arkansans gives me some urgency in my hope that she will pull off the upset.
I watched one of her videos last night. She talked of farmers who “bet the future on the fields.” I shared it with Betsy, my wife, and she thought it had biblical overtones and sent me text from the Book of Jeremiah. OK, that confused me. But here’s my hope: Shoffner wins, and we give her time to sort out our challenges here and in Washington. The mystery I sense is potential for leadership, a style of leadership we have not seen before, leadership that will grow with time if she’s given a chance.
On Tuesday I will bet the future on Hallie’s fields.