Bill Clinton, a Blanche Lincoln supporter, shares his thoughts on the heated primary race between Lincoln and Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in this MSNBC interview that aired Monday.

Lt. Gov. Bill Halter today called on some friends — including a descendant of Franklin D. Roosevelt — to help him counter a television ad that accuses him of trying to privatize Social Security while he was part of the Clinton administration.

A release from Halter’s U.S. Senate campaign quotes James Roosevelt as saying, “I’ve seen the ad, and I can tell you as a friend and a colleague of Bill Halter’s it’s a lie. My grandfather, President Roosevelt, founded Social Security — and Bill Halter has fought for that legacy. Bill Halter served under President Bill Clinton and I worked with him at the Social Security Administration to protect Social Security and fight privatization.”

Halter also was joined at a news conference in North Little Rock by members of the Alliance for Retired Americans, which represents more than 4 million retired people nationwide, about 20,000 of them in Arkansas. The alliance has endorsed Halter’s campaign.

“Bill Halter is a great friend to Social Security and Medicare,” said Barbara Easterling, president of the alliance. “He is a great friend to seniors.”

An ad paid for by the group Arkansans for Common Sense asserts that while serving as acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration under Clinton, Halter spoke in support of investing a portion of the Social Security trust fund in the stock market. The ad equates Halter’s comments with advocating privatization of Social Security.

Halter said today his comments were from a discussion of Clinton’s proposal to put a very small portion of trust fund money into the stock market.

“That’s not privatization,” he said.

Halter said he opposed efforts by the Bush administration to privatize the program.

Democrat Robbie Wills unveiled a television ad for his 2nd District congressional bid today that stresses his experience as a small business owner and state legislator.

The 30-second spot titled “Built” looks at how the House speaker from Conway remodeled an abandoned feed mill in his hometown to house his law office and mini-storage business.  It also highlights some of his legislative achievements, including his role in cutting the grocery tax and creating jobs.

The add closes with Wills saying America needs to be rebuilt, “even if it is one job at a time.”

Wills is one of five Democrats seeking the party’s nomination to succeed retiring Democratic incumbent Vic Snyder. Two Republicans are also vying for the 2nd District seat.

Garry Hoffmann, spokesman for Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, reports that he’s moving to a new job — but he’ll have the same boss.

Hoffmann says he’ll unofficially join the staff of Halter’s U.S. Senate campaign in an unpaid capacity on Friday, and on April 15 he’ll become a paid staff member. He says he’s taking vacation days on his state job until the 15th, then begin an unpaid leave of absence from that job.

The exact nature of his new position has not been defined, but Hoffmann says he assumes it will draw on his knowledge of and experience working with the media.

(Photo by Robert Shearon/Stephens Media)

Two members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wore condom costumes in Little Rock’s River Market today to urge people to spay and neuter their pets. Condoms don’t work for dogs and cats, their signs advised.

Blogger Jason Tolbert reports on a split between Mike Huckabee’s HuckPAC and Team Huck Tennessee over endorsements.

Rogers Mayor Steve Womack today unveiled a television ad for his 3rd District congressional campaign that stresses his roots in the district.

“I was born at Russellville and graduated from high school and college here in the 3rd District, so I think I have a pretty good understanding, a good feel for what drives people here in the 3rd District,” Womack says in the ad.

The ad does not mention any of Womack’s seven opponents in the GOP primary, but it could be an attempt to distinguish him from opponents who grew up outside the district.

Bernie Skoch and Steve Lowry grew up in Central Arkansas, Lowry after coming to Arkansas at age 4. State Sen. Cecile Bledsoe and Doug Matayo grew up in Georgia and Illinois, respectively.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Keet’s campaign says he’s well-positioned to defeat incumbent Democrat Mike Beebe in November, and says it has poll results to prove it.

Keet’s poll, conducted by the San Francisco-based GOP consulting firm of Dresner, Wickers & Associates, shows Beebe with a 55 percent to 21 percent edge. Pollsters attribute those numbers to Beebe’s current high popularity and superior name recognition, but they say those don’t give the whole picture.

They say the margin narrowed to 41 percent to 38 percent when respondents heard positive statements about Keet’s his personal attributes, record and policy agenda.

Using robo-calls, the firm surveyed 400 registered voters across Arkansas on March 16-18. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percent.

The pollsters note that the survey was conducted before passage of the federal health care reform law and suggest Keet’s numbers may actually stronger now because “the political environment for Democrats is even worse.”

Keet says Arkansans are angry that Beebe refused to take a stand against the health care bill until it passed and “deserve a leader who will fight for the people of Arkansas first and not cave in to the Obama-Reid-Pelosi agenda.”

Says Beebe campaign spokesman Zac Wright: “You don’t lead by opinion polls.”

Rogers Mayor Steve Womack says he has raised $150,000 for his campaign for Arkansas’ 3rd District congressional seat.

Womack is one of eight candidates for the GOP nomination for the U.S. House seat now held by John Boozman, R-Rogers. Boozman is running for the U.S. Senate.

Second District Democratic hopeful David Boling reports that his campaign has raised more than $250,000 and has more than $200,000 on hand.

The first-quarter fundraising period ended Wednesday. On the same day Boling made his announcement, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter announced his U.S. Senate campaign had raised more than $2 million.