News Articles, Interviews & Debates: U.S. Congressional Race AR District 1
Recent Interviews, Articles and Debates:
Green and Parsons Discuss Economy, Privacy in District 1 Debate on ASU-TV - Jonesboro Right Now . The full debate is available at ON-DEMAND - U.S House of Representatives District 1 Political Debate - YouTube. Topics covered included: 1) Rural Economies; Parsons: “To genuinely support rural economies, he proposed eliminating $181 billion in annual corporate welfare, arguing that these massive federal subsidies overwhelmingly benefit large corporations and put small rural businesses at a severe disadvantage. He also called for a drastic reduction in federal regulations, explaining that while giant corporations can afford teams of specialists to navigate complex rules, small local companies cannot.” 2) Minimum Wage: Parsons argued strongly against raising the federal minimum wage, asserting that artificial wage floors trigger severe unintended consequences. Citing historical employment data, he pointed out that after a minimum wage increase in 1957, teenage unemployment—specifically Black teenage unemployment—spiked dramatically. He argued that such mandates can inadvertently allow discriminatory hiring practices to surface. 3) Inflation. Instead of raising wages, Parsons proposed combating the cost of living by “neutering the Federal Reserve” to control inflation and halting the practice of paying interest to banks, a policy he labeled a “waste of taxpayer money”. Cutting regulations (such as the 1920 Jones Act) will also reduce inflation. 4) Stock Trades: Parsons strongly agreed with the proposed stock trading ban, calling the practice by government officials “repugnant” and specifically criticizing the high volume of trades made by politicians.” 5) Privacy and Flock Cameras: Parsons, who answered first, acknowledged the role of public safety but expressed deep skepticism about current legal frameworks, noting that while some surveillance tools are deemed legal, those interpretations do not always match his own views on constitutional privacy rights. To combat potential overreach, he proposed shifting the authority over surveillance from the federal government down to local municipalities. 6) Student Loans. The American public has been sold a “bill of goods” regarding the absolute necessity of a traditional four-year liberal arts degree. He criticized federal programs that blindly entice students into taking on massive debt without a guaranteed return on their investment. To fix the system, Parsons proposed that higher education institutions need more financial accountability. … holding universities financially liable would incentivize them to steer students toward “more productive” degrees and technical certifications that ensure graduates can actually earn a living. 7) Reduce Regulations: Sugar Industry - the government dictates how much sugar each producer can make leading to sugar prices twice as high
Fuel prices, tariffs weigh heavily in east Arkansas’ US House race | Arkansas Advocate. This Oct 9 2026 article covers: 1) the war in Iran: “I want the United States to stop being the puppet of Israel,” Parsons said. “I want to end the war in Iran, and I would take any action that would try and reduce or end the war in Iran.” 2) USMCA v NAFTA “You took a mediocre trade agreement in NAFTA and you made it worse with more regulations,” Parsons said. Crawford voted for USMCA with Nancy Pelosi and was supported by AFLCIO. 3) Helping Farmers. the best way to help farmers includes ending the Iran war, stopping Trump trade wars and eliminating bureaucracy surrounding green cards and work visas. “There is a farm worker shortage right now,” Parsons said. “Whatever the size of that shortage is now, it’s going to be way worse if you continue to make it illegal to bring workers in.” 4) Healthcare Parsons said to address the rising cost of healthcare there needs to be more efforts aimed at tort reform to address the costs of litigation, an area he says the Affordable Care Act fell short.”
Incumbent, two challengers vie to represent Arkansas’ 1st District in U.S. House | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Arkansas' Best News Source This Sept 2026 article considers the positions of the 3 candidates. Parsons: “I want voters to have an option besides the hyperpartisan two-party choices that have a stranglehold on American politics." The United States has been "a puppet of Israel" "Everybody has the right to defend their borders. This is beyond defense,"
OPINION | STEVE G. PARSONS: Hit or myth? | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Arkansas' Best News Source. This 2025 article tackles misrepresentation in the original April 2025 “Liberation Day” international tariffs. Those tariffs are not designed to counter “cheating” or account for other countries tariffs - regardless of the misleading rhetoric by Trump.
2024 Articles:
Political Interview with Dr. Steve Parsons 10292024.mp4 KLEK interview October 29, 2024. This 20-minute interview covered: my background, Inflation (regulation and the 1920 Jones Act), World Police, Immigration, Health and Abortion (including a recap of calling Congressman Crawford a hypocrite), Social Security Fixes, and why people should vote for me.
Yahoo news Arkansas congressional challengers compete with incumbents’ millions through direct voter contact (yahoo.com) “… big government, hyperpartisan, march in lockstep with party leadership and regurgitating the party line — people are tired of that — you can send a signal by saying let me vote libertarian and business as usual is no longer acceptable,” Parsons said.
Congressional candidates challenge Crawford over leadership, record during debate | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Arkansas' Best News Source (arkansasonline.com) Getting 4% of total votes in next month's election, should "send a message that business as usual, big government as usual is no longer acceptable." "You can't do that by voting for Mr. Govens because it's going to be lost in the 22 to 25% of the vote that he is going to get," Parsons said. [Regarding the Crawford Pay raise lawsuit] “Parsons said he would not have signed onto the lawsuit, promising to donate his salary to philanthropic causes in the district if elected to Congress.” Parsons contended the United States does not have a constitutional authority to serve as the "world's charity" and "world's police." He further proposed eliminating FEMA, arguing the agency subsidizes people for living in areas susceptible to natural disasters.
CD1: Candidates spar over abortion, farm bill, Israel and immigration - Talk Business & Politics Parsons challenged Crawford telling the seven-term congressman that he co-sponsored anti-abortion bills even if they were never voted upon. To Crawford “I’m calling you a hypocrite,” Parsons said. Streamlining the immigration process is one step that could be taken and another would be to sign a deal with Mexico to take back those criminally convicted, Parsons said. Ending tariff wars with other countries would make their economies stronger and people would be less likely to want to move, he added.
Crawford faces 2 challengers in 1st District U.S. House election | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Arkansas' Best News Source (arkansasonline.com) "If there's a problem, it's far more likely the federal government's part of the problem and not part of the solution," he said. “The U.S. Constitution demands, in essence, the federal government is narrow in its scope and it is small."
Parsons referenced one area that needs Crawford's leadership: the repeal the Jones Act, a 1920 law limiting shipping between U.S. ports to vessels owned and managed by Americans. "This should be one that's right in his wheelhouse," Parsons said. … it's a really big one and it has a meaningful cost on the United States, …”
Arkansas Online “If you think you can run your life better than the federal government, we can send a message” he said. “If you’re tired of hyper partisan bickering, tired of pro-wrestling style political theatre, we can send a message.” he added. Parsons promised to donate his salary to philanthropic causes in the district if elected.
District 1 candidates face off in ASU-TV’s 2024 election debate – THE HERALD (astatetheherald.com) Parsons’ platform focuses on reducing inflation by eliminating trade tariffs, cutting federal regulations and lowering federal spending. He advocates for immigration reform to reduce bureaucracy and eliminate tariffs on Latin American goods and services. Parsons supports prison reform, particularly for nonviolent offenses “Parsons said it’s important to create a pathway for legal permanent residency and work permits for undocumented workers in his discussion on immigration.” The Herald Oct. 9 Edition – THE HERALD (astatetheherald.com)
Arkansas District 1 & 3 congressional candidates square off in debate, salary, FEMA, health care discussed (msn.com) “FEMA is highly political, so where the dollars go is political, … More importantly, it distorts decisions about where people live and what they do. FEMA money disproportionately goes to areas that have high wealth areas.”