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Walker's daughter, wife, Demetria, and cousin, Andrew, keep the restaurant running, and in this bad economy, times are tough. Health care coverage is out of the question.

"It's too expensive right now," Walker said. "We are having trouble keeping our head above water. ... We had it at one time, but it was so expensive that we finally dropped it."

With a smile, Walker continues: "I get lots of grief from my wife about it - that we don't have health care."

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Republican attorney Tim Griffin is running for Congress in Arkansas.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Tim Griffin, the former U.S. Attorney and Karl Rove aide now running for Congress in Arkansas, has "scaled back" his relationship with his own political consulting firm because of his campaign, according to an aide.

But Griffin has not completely cut his ties with the firm, which has recently taken in tens of thousands of dollars from at least one other Republican office-seeker.

The Bush administration veteran, who was once described by the late columnist Robert Novak as "a leading practitioner of opposition research," founded his Little Rock-based firm in 2007 after resigning his post as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Griffin's tenure with the Justice Department was rocky - questions surfaced as to whether Rove urged the dismissal of Griffin's predecessor and other U.S. Attorneys for political reasons.

Griffin, who also has a law firm in Little Rock, announced his bid to challenge Democrat Rep. Vic Snyder last month. Before jumping into the race, his firm, Griffin Public Affairs LLC, took in three payments totaling more than $30,000 from the campaign of Gresham Barrett, the South Carolina GOP congressman now running for governor in that state.

Emily Wood, a spokesman for Griffin, said the Republican "still has Griffin Public Affairs, LLC, but has scaled back his work because of his congressional campaign." She said the firm "generally provides communications and policy services," but does not disclose details of its work for clients.

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A Republican Arkansas state senator has announced his bid to challenge the state's incumben Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln, pictured.

(CNN) - The former chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party said Tuesday he's planning to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln.

"I have decided that during this important time in our nation's history, one should not be a political spectator," Arkansas State Sen. Gilbert Baker said in a statement announcing his primary bid for the 2010 nomination, pledging to help provide "checks and balances on the policies being pushed by President Obama and the D.C. leadership."

Lincoln has long been a top 2010 Republican target. Amber Wilkerson, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, praised Baker's move Tuesday, calling it "another indication that Blanche Lincoln is facing an uphill battle in her quest for re-election in 2010."

A campaign spokesman for Lincoln had no comment on Baker or other potential GOP challengers - but the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee signaled a tough fight ahead for the challenger if he captures the Republican nod. "As Baker's record comes under close examination, the people of Arkansas will find a Little Rock insider who repeatedly puts his own self-interest above those he has pledged to serve," said Eric Schultz, the DSCC's communications director.

The only two medical doctors currently in the Senate, both Republicans, are using the August congressional recess to take their two-month old, twice weekly health care reform Webcast on the road.

(CNN) - The only two medical doctors currently in the Senate, both Republicans, are using the August congressional recess to take their two-month old, twice weekly health care reform Webcast on the road across America's heartland - an itinerary that appears designed to pressure on some of their more moderate Democratic Senate colleagues from Nebraska, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

"I think we may bring a little bit more judgment and credibility to what's really going on in this debate and the problems in health care," Oklahoma Sen. and family practice physician Tom Coburn told CNN.

Along with Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, an orthopedic surgeon, Coburn launched "The Senate Doctors Show" in early July. Twice a week, the two doctors sit down and film a roughly 20-minute segment where they answer questions about health care reform submitted by the public via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, and through "man-on-the-street" video interviews of Capitol Hill visitors.

This week, the two men hit the road. Wednesday, Coburn and Barrasso were in Omaha, Nebraska where they visited an intensive care unit and taped an episode of their Webcast with a live audience. Thursday, the two men split the day between a morning town hall in Bentonville, Arkansas and two afternoon events in northern Mississippi - another taping of their production with a live audience and a hospital visit. Friday, the two doctors are set to join fellow Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana and three House Republicans from the state at a town hall meeting in Kenner, Louisiana. Vitter will also join Coburn and Barrasso on a tour of a New Orleans medical facility.

Three of the four states for this week's tour don't appear to be coincidental.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Tea Party movement appears to have produced its first official candidate for national office.

Tom Cox, the founder and chairman of the Arkansas Tea Party organization, announced at a rally on Monday that he will seek the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Blanche Lincoln.

Cox, who owns Aloha Pontoon Boats in North Little Rock, has never sought elected office before. But after organizing a large Tea Party protest against the administration's fiscal policies in April, Cox said a number of local activists approached him about entering the 2010 race.

"I just believe there is a growing movement across the United States to find candidates that are different, that are more business-minded and so forth because they are tired of our tax dollars beying wasted," he told CNN in a phone interview.

Cox brushed aside doubts about whether Tea Party fervor can be successfully harnessed by a political campaign. He said that unlike in other states, the Arkansas Tea Party effort is "very organized" and "not just anti-Obama." He also argued that because the Tea Party movement is "center of the road" on social issues and is primarily concerned with fiscal responsibility, his campaign will be primed to appeal to Democrats and independents.

"I'm sure I will be considered a long shot and a fringe candidate, but I can tell you, my family business has been in business for approximately 50 years," he said. "We will outwork anybody from Washington, D.C., and we will beat them at the grassroots effort in this state."

Before Cox can face Lincoln, he'll have to survive a Republican primary: State Sen. Kim Hendren has already declared he will seek the GOP nomination.

(CNN) - Hillary Clinton’s campaign is pointing to her victories in the Republican-heavy states of Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma as proof she can win in areas far from the coasts. “With these first two victories, Hillary Clinton has demonstrated that she can compete and win in red states,” read a Tuesday night campaign statement.

The Obama campaign has pointed to its major endorsement haul from Democratic elected officials in majority-Republican states.

Sen. Clinton spent many years as Arkansas’ first lady. Tennessee allows Democrats, Republicans and Independents to vote in its Democratic primary, but according to CNN’s exit poll, Obama actually scored marginally higher than Clinton among independents who chose to vote in the Tennessee primary (CNN did not poll Republican voters in the Democratic primary).

Oklahoma, for its part, has a “closed” Democratic primary, meaning that only registered Democrats can vote; so there’s no way to know what choice Oklahoma’s registered Republicans would make.

– CNN Political Producer Alan Isenberg

Some polling places in Tennessee and Arkansas were forced to close early due to tornadoes

NEW YORK (CNN) – The Arkansas and Tennessee secretaries of state were forced to close some polling places earlier than expected Tuesday after several destructive tornadoes tracked through both states.

Tennessee State Elections Director Brook Thompson told CNN that "a couple of precincts" were closed early after "local authorities told us to relocate our workers" to safety. Polling places in McNairy, Tipton, Fayette and Dyer counties were closed around 6:30 p.m. CT (7:30 p.m. ET), Thompson said.

"I don't think this affected a large number of voters," he said. "I think everyone was trying to get home."

Thompson said there is no plan to reopen the polling places, which were scheduled to close at 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET).

Natasha Naragon, spokeswoman for the Arkansas secretary of state, told CNN that polling places closed early in Baxter and Craighead counties, while they “have heard reports of several closing in northern Conway County.”

Naragon said that they have not heard any reports of people unable to vote. Polls in Arkansas were scheduled to close at 7:30 p.m. CT (8:30 p.m. ET).

CNN projects that Hillary Clinton won the Arkansas and Tennessee primaries, while Mike Huckabee captured the Arkansas primary.

Related: Watch the tornado touch down in Tennessee

(updated at 9 p.m. with additional reporting)

– CNN Political Editor Mark Preston

To track the Arkansas primary results county-by-county, click here: Arkansas

To track the Arkansas primary results county-by-county, click here: Arkansas