Sen. Mark Pryor's (D-Ark.) re-election campaign blasted challenger Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Wednesday for touting disaster aid for Arkansas farmers affected by floods, even though Cotton voted against the 2014 and 2013 Farm Bills.
"I appreciate Secretary Vilsack's quick approval of Governor Beebe's disaster declaration request for the 23 impacted counties," Cotton said in a joint press release with the Arkansas congressional delegation. "I have heard from many farmers about the impact of the recent flooding, and I look forward to working with our friends in Arkansas to make sure farmers are able to access the emergency funds they need."
Cotton has previously defended his 2014 vote by saying that the bill "was a bad bill for farmers, it was a bad bill for taxpayers, it was a bad bill for Arkansas." He specifically expressed concerns with the food stamp program, saying that "a millionaire can receive food stamps in America today ... there are a lot of people who do a lot of fraudulent schemes against the federal government."
The Pryor campaign nonetheless argued that Cotton owes farmers an apology.
"It takes a special kind of arrogance for Congressman Cotton to take credit for disaster relief funds that he consistently and recklessly opposed," Pryor campaign spokesman Erik Dorey said.
"If Congressman Cotton wants credit for disaster recovery programs he voted against, he first needs to admit he was wrong when he opposed the Farm Bill and apologize to Arkansas’s farmers and ranchers for siding with his out-of-state billionaire buddies against our state’s rural economy," Dorey added.
The battle between Pryor and Cotton has been especially ugly, with one notable instance being the back-and-forth between the two men over their Christian faith.
The Pryor-Cotton race is thought of as one that could help determine whether or not Democrats keep control of the Senate.
HuffPost Pollster has Cotton leading Pryor ahead of the November general election: