Roby Brock/ Talk Business & Politics

Dr. Joe Thompson, CEO of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement and a former state surgeon general, says the data is still incomplete to shape policy over two of the biggest health insurance programs in Arkansas.

Appearing on this week’s edition of Talk Business & Politics, Thompson discussed the state’s Medicaid expansion program, known as Arkansas Works. Thompson helped craft its predecessor, the private option.

The nation’s 41st president died late Friday (Nov. 30) at the age of 94 after a series of health complications.

George Herbert Walker (H.W.) Bush was elected president in 1988 and served one term. He was vice-president for two terms under his predecessor, President Ronald Reagan. He was also the father of the 43rd president, George W. Bush.

The race for the Arkansas Supreme Court looks largely undecided two weeks before Election Day. And, an amendment proposal to expand casinos in Arkansas has been improving its odds for passage.

A new survey of likely Republican party primary voters in Arkansas shows that Gov. Asa Hutchinson has a nearly two-to-one lead over challenger Jan Morgan.

The latest Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll of 676 GOP voters puts Hutchinson with 57.5% support compared to Morgan’s 30.5%. Twelve percent (12%) are undecided. The poll was conducted on April 17-19 and has a margin of error of +/-3.8%.

UA Walton College of Business economist Mervin Jebaraj said the strong population growth in Arkansas metropolitan areas is a welcome trend, but he warns that a downside is the struggle to find affordable housing.

Former exploratory candidate Jan Morgan said she will challenge Gov. Asa Hutchinson in the GOP primary in May. Morgan, a gun range owner and Second Amendment advocate, said she is formally entering the race in a New Year’s Eve event in Hot Springs, according to a press release.

Former State Rep. Jay Martin is considering a run for Arkansas governor on the Democratic ticket.

Martin confirmed to Talk Business & Politics that he is “certainly headed in that direction.”

“I feel a sense of calling and duty,” Martin said in a phone interview on Tuesday, Nov. 28. He said he is working with a team to make an announcement, but no timeline has been set.

U.S. Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., says in theory he’s okay with Jared Kushner’s possible communications with Russian officials and with President Trump’s signals to the Middle East and Europe, but he questions the sources that are leaking information to the media.

In the last two months, President Donald Trump has seen erosion in his job approval numbers from Arkansas voters, while Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s performance seems to have risen over the course of the Arkansas legislative session.

New polling from Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College shows a seven-point decline for Trump and a three-point rise for Hutchinson. In the survey, taken Tuesday, April 4, 2017, 550 Arkansas voters expressed their views.

Arkansas voters remain firmly committed to the death penalty despite an upcoming quick execution schedule, advances made in DNA testing, and a national trend towards ending the practice.

In a new survey, Arkansas voters made it clear they prefer the implementation of medical marijuana to allow for smoking cannabis and not waiting for federal law to allow for statewide usage.

A new Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College poll asked 440 Arkansas voters for their preferences on two debates occurring at the state legislature regarding medical marijuana’s implementation. Voters approved the measure last November by a 53-47% margin. In the latest survey conducted Tuesday, Feb. 14, voters were asked:

President Donald Trump’s popularity in Arkansas has not diminished since the November election despite national polling that suggests voter attitude shifts. Meanwhile, Arkansas voters still solidly approve of the job Gov. Asa Hutchinson is doing a little more than halfway through his first term.

U. S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, says having a Southerner as Agriculture Secretary will be good for Arkansas. He also says don’t look for a singular piece of legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act.

Crawford, who appeared on Talk Business & Politics this week, said former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, who has been nominated by President Trump as Agriculture Secretary, will be good for Arkansas farmers.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said that contradictions between state and federal law regarding medical marijuana usage will ultimately be a decision that federal prosecutors must reconcile. In the interim, Rutledge is advising state lawmakers to follow through with their duties to incorporate a voter-approved amendment into Arkansas code.

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., gave no hints on a possible role in the upcoming Donald Trump administration in an interview that covered Trump’s potential conflicts of business interests, Iran sanctions, the lame-duck Congress, and repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Two legislatively-referred constitutional amendments have found traction with voters although both have a sizable number of undecided opinions.

GOP Presidential nominee Donald Trump hasn’t seen his poll numbers slide any in the last month, despite controversies and lackluster debate performances. As a matter of fact, the Republican standard-bearer slightly grew his lead over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the former First Lady of Arkansas’ one-time home state.

In the U.S. Senate race, the contest has tightened between incumbent Republican Sen. John Boozman and Democratic challenger Conner Eldridge, but Boozman still maintains a comfortable 18-point lead.

A new Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College survey shows that opposition remains stronger than support for two medical marijuana proposals that will be on the November ballot.

The poll, conducted statewide among 463 likely Arkansas voters on October 21, 2016, has a margin of error of 4.6%.