Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), perhaps the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the 2014 election cycle, said Thursday that he’s against President Obama’s call to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.
“I know $10.10 still isn’t a whole lot of money, but I think it’s too much, too fast,” Pryor told Bloomberg. “I’m not supportive of that.”
Pryor’s bid for a third term this year might be the biggest test for Democrats as they try to retain their majority in the Senate. A survey from conservative pollster Rasmussen earlier this week showed Pryor trailing his Republican challenger, Rep. Tom Cotton, 45 percent to 40 percent.
Pryor’s opposition to the minimum wage hike could be driven by the presence of Wal-Mart’s headquarters in Arkansas. As Bloomberg noted, Wal-Mart has been one of Pryor’s biggest donors and the mega retailer has yet to take a public position on the current minimum wage debate.
Pryor said late last year that he supports an Arkansas ballot initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage to $8.50 per hour by by 2017.
