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Coon's chairmanship of the Arkansas party, which was considered quite successful overall, coincided with a heated 1990 Republican gubernatorial primary between then U.S. Representative Tommy Robinson, a controversial former Democratic [[sheriff]] known for shoot-at-the-hip remarks, and the more conventional  Sheffield Nelson, also a former Democrat and the favorite of the business establishment. The Robinson-Nelson contest was believed to have so divided the minority GOP that once again it could not compete effectively, with Nelson as the nominee in 1990 against Governor Clinton, who appeared on an Arkansas ballot for the last time as a candidate for governor. The primary even split many Republican families. Coon himself insists that he has never told anyone how he personally voted in the Robinson-Nelson contest.

Coon's chairmanship of the Arkansas party, which was considered quite successful overall, coincided with a heated 1990 Republican gubernatorial primary between then U.S. Representative Tommy Robinson, a controversial former Democratic [[sheriff]] known for shoot-at-the-hip remarks, and the more conventional  Sheffield Nelson, also a former Democrat and the favorite of the business establishment. The Robinson-Nelson contest was believed to have so divided the minority GOP that once again it could not compete effectively, with Nelson as the nominee in 1990 against Governor Clinton, who appeared on an Arkansas ballot for the last time as a candidate for governor. The primary even split many Republican families. Coon himself insists that he has never told anyone how he personally voted in the Robinson-Nelson contest.

In 1996, Coon ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for the Little Rock-based open 2nd congressional district seat, which was ultimately won by the liberal Democrat Victor F. Snyder. Later GOP efforts to topple Snyder failed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/states/AR/CQ.preview.shtml|title=ALL POLITICS: Special Election Report - Arkansas|author=Jonathan D. Salant|publisher=cnn.com|date=July 5, 1996|accessdate=October 26, 2019}}</ref> In retrospect, Coon appears to have been something of a Republican transitional figure between the governorships of Winthrop Rockefeller (1967-1971) and [[Mike Huckabee]] (1994-2007).

In 1996, Coon ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for the Little Rock-based open 2nd congressional district seat, which was ultimately won by the liberal Democrat Victor F. Snyder. Later GOP efforts to topple Snyder failed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/states/AR/CQ.preview.shtml|title=ALL POLITICS: Special Election Report - Arkansas|author=Jonathan D. Salant|publisher=cnn.com|date=July 5, 1996|accessdate=October 26, 2019}}</ref> In retrospect, Coon appears to have been something of a Republican transitional figure between the governorships of Winthrop Rockefeller (1967-1971) and [[Mike Huckabee]] (1994-2007).

 

According to his obituary, Coon "made a major contribution to the establishment of the two-party system in Arkansas. He worked tirelessly for some twenty years to build the Republican Party. ...  he understood that the Arkansas GOP would have to run credible candidates repeatedly, build gradually up to a 51 percent vote until it could win consistently. Ken understood the nature of this challenge and was willing to sacrifice in the short run for the success of a two-party state in the long run."<ref name=obit/> A month before his death, he witnessed the gubernatorial election of Mike Huckabee's daughter, [[Sarah Huckabee Sanders. On the day of his death, the GOP lost the important U.S. Senate race in [[Georgia]].

==Whitewater, David Hale, and Ken Coon==

==Whitewater, David Hale, and Ken Coon==