The Cuban refugee crisis was heavily politicized during the gubernatorial campaigns of Frank White and Bill Clinton in Arkansas. In 1980, Frank White ran for governor against Bill Clinton who was seeking reelection. At the time, Clinton was under heavy fire over the handling of the Cuban refugee crisis and for raising the price on automobile licenses. White took these two issues and hit Clinton heavily in campaign ads with “Cubans and car tags” as his main attacking points. White also argued that the issues at Fort Chaffee were because Clinton failed to stand up to President Jimmy Carter. The 1980 gubernatorial election ended with White defeating Clinton 435,684 to 403,242.