Politics

Democrat Mark Pryor Thinks $200K Is Middle Class [VIDEO]

Alex Griswold Media Reporter
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Expect to see this gaffe get plenty of playtime in attack ads and on cable news: Arkansas Democratic Senator Mark Pryor apparently thinks that the middle class makes $200,000 annually.

Pryor made the comment during Tuesday night’s Arkansas Senate debate when asked to define the middle class. “Well you know, under the law there’s a lot of different definitions of middle-class, but when I think of the middle class I think of most of Arkansas, and maybe that goes up to $150,000, $200,000, there’s different ways to judge it.”

Later, he was asked to give a precise figure, and Pryor still whiffed. “Well again, I’d say probably up to $200,000, there’s different definitions but that’s my working definition.” (RELATED: Mark Pryor Botches Reporter’s Simple Question)

The second time, Pryor’s Republican challenger Representative Tom Cotton pounced. “Sen. Pryor must be the one who’s hanging out with out-of-state billionaires if he thinks $200,000 in Arkansas is the middle class,” he responded.

Cotton also managed to almost exactly nail the correct figure. “When I think about a typical household in Arkansas it makes $40,000 a year.” According to The Hill, the median household income in Arkansas is $40,531.

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