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U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton will be the keynote speaker at the Marion County Republican Committee’s annual picnic dinner next month in Bull Shoals.
The event is set for Friday, Sept. 18, at VFW Post 1341, 1206 Central Blvd. A meet and greet begins at 4:30 p.m., with the program starting at 5:30 p.m.
The committee is billing this year’s dinner as a celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday under the theme “Happy 250th Birthday U.S.A.”
Tickets are $60 per person or $360 for a table of six. They can be purchased by mail or online through the committee’s website at marioncountyarrepublicans.org.
State Rep. Jason Nazarenko, who represents District 4, will serve as master of ceremonies.
Organizers say the evening will include trivia, a 50/50 drawing and ticket sales for several gift baskets, including what the committee calls its prized barbecue basket. Dress is casual, and the invitation tells guests that jeans and boots are more than acceptable.
Proceeds support Republican candidates and scholarships awarded by the Republican Women of Marion County. That group gave two $750 scholarships last year to graduates of Flippin High School and Yellville-Summit High School.
Businesses and individuals can buy advertising space in the event program. A full page costs $100 and a half page costs $50. Ads are handled through Enterprise Printing in Bull Shoals, and the deadline is Friday, Aug. 21.
The committee asks attendees to RSVP by Tuesday, Sept. 1, to Karen Carter at 870-404-2065 or [email protected].
Cotton is on the ballot this fall. The Dardanelle Republican is seeking a third term and won the March 3 primary with 81.6% of the vote statewide, defeating challengers Micah Ashby and Jeb Little. He carried Baxter County with 83.1%.
He will face Democrat Hallie Shoffner, a farmer from Newport, and Libertarian Jeff Wadlin in the Nov. 3 general election. Shoffner won her party’s primary with 78.2%.
Cotton has served in the Senate since 2015. He chairs the Senate Republican Conference, making him the third-ranking Republican in the chamber, and also chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
He has spent much of this year appearing at county party fundraisers around the state, including events in Miller County in February and Garland County in May.
Marion County has been reliably Republican in recent elections. The county is home to about 17,000 people, with Yellville as the county seat and Bull Shoals as its largest city.
The dinner is a fundraiser for the county party rather than a public forum, and admission requires a ticket.
The committee can be reached at P.O. Box 937, Yellville, AR 72687, or by email at [email protected].
