By Steve Barnes
LITTLE ROCK
Ark. (Reuters) - An Arkansas Republican official has resigned after
telling a magazine former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would
"probably get shot" if she returned to the state where she was a lawyer
and served as first lady, officials said on Thursday.
Clinton, seen as the front runner for the 2016 Democratic presidential
nomination, is set to return to Arkansas on Friday to sign copies of her
new memoir. Her husband was the state's governor for 12 years before
winning the White House in 1992.
Johnny Rhoda, who was chairman of the Republican Party in the Second
Congressional District in Arkansas, was quoted in U.S. News this week as
saying Clinton could not expect much political support in the state if
she ran for president.
"She'd probably get shot at the
state line," Rhoda, an insurance agent and the pastor of a small
congregation about 70 miles (110 kms) north of the state capital, Little
Rock, was quoted as saying by the magazine.
"Nobody has any affection for her. The majority don't," he was quoted as saying.
Rhoda complained that his remarks were taken out of context and were not intended to be threatening.
U.S. Representative Tim Griffin, a Republican who represents the
district, labeled Rhoda's comments offensive and inappropriate and
called for his resignation.
Doyle Webb, chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party, described Rhoda's
comments as "an unnecessary distraction from the important issues
before the state." On Thursday, Webb announced Rhoda's resignation in a
statement to local TV broadcaster KARK.
Rhoda was not immediately available for further comment.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Paul Simao)
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