Natural State News

Arkansas State Sen. Jim Hendren recently announced that he’s left the Republican Party to become an independent with no party affiliation, citing extreme partisanship as his reason for leaving.

Hendren said his decision to leave the Republican Party was “one of the hardest decisions he’s ever made in his life,” but he was leaving because his commitment to Arkansas and the U.S. is greater than loyalty to any political party. He said that party politics has become “winner take all game” that leaves too many people losing and that he couldn’t serve all of the people of Arkansas if he was only listening to a smaller base.

"I see a hunger for people to come back to the middle, to stop the nationalization of our state politics and a return to bipartisanship," Hendren said in an interview with MSNBC. "When I joined the legislature in the late 90's, it was not like it is like it is today. We've seen an incredible increase in partisanship and and I just think people are ready for something different."

Hendren said “the final straw” that led to this decision was the actions of his fellow Republicans and former President Donald Trump as they worked for months to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election culminating in the violent Jan. 6 capital riot that left five people dead.

The senator said that he believes that the best politics to serve the people happen when parties collaborate to find a “middle way” that has lead to the greatest achievements in Arkansas.

To advance these efforts, Hendren announced that he was forming Common Ground Arkansas, an organization committed to supporting and encouraging leaders to find common ground between the parties to work together and to move forward.