It wasn’t all that long ago that the Democrats were a force to be reckoned with in Arkansas politics. But we’ve come a long way from the Man From Hope days and this disaster conveys the complete ineptness of the lost cause that Dems have become without favorable demographics.

Josh Mahony has announced his Democratic bid to challenge U.S. Senator Tom Cotton in the 2020 election.

Mahony announced on Twitter Wednesday morning, asking people to join him “in standing up to Tom Cotton.”

“I’m going to beat Tom Cotton, and I’m going to look out for the people of this state; not sell them out the second I get inside the beltway,” Mahony said.

That was in May. Then, two hours after the filing deadline, Mahony dropped out.

Democratic Candidate Joshua Mahony announced Tuesday, Nov. 12 he is officially exiting the race for U.S. Senate.

Mahony was set to challenge Senator Tom Cotton in the 2020 election.

He announced his exit from the race just two hours after the filing period ended in Arkansas, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported.

According to the release, he is no longer able to devote the time and energy necessary to run a campaign due to health concerns within his family.

There’s good reason to be suspicious of the family health story. And Mahony seemed to have exited the race with the perfect timing to kneecap the Democrats who can no longer field a candidate against Senator Tom Cotton.

Clearly frustrated by a lack of information, Democratic Party of Arkansas (DPA) chairman Michael John Gray closed the door on his party fielding a candidate to challenge Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., in 2020 after Josh Mahony’s sudden and unexpected departure from the race two weeks ago.

Gray said that Mahony had confirmed he would participate in a Monday, Nov. 18 meeting with Democratic Party officials to provide more insight into his reason for withdrawal. Late Friday, Nov. 15, the party said it received a letter from Fayetteville attorney Mark Henry, who said he represented Mahony and that future communications should be directed to him.

“It is unfortunate that Mahony has chosen to cease communications with the DPA. In order for the DPA to proceed with fielding a candidate for the U.S. Senate race, Mahony’s cooperation is essential,” Gray said.

Specifically, if the Dems were to substitute a candidate, they need Mahony to provide them with a good excuse. Instead of doing that, he lawyered up. And the Dems are not even going to bother trying to run a candidate in this hopeless race anyway.

Whatever happened here, the real story is a broken and dysfunctional party that is no longer able to even function when it comes to putting forward a Senate candidate. There are GOP parties in blue states that are just as broken. But no amount of ActBlue money will fix Arkansas Dems.