Complex sentence: The race was seen as crucial to the Democratic Party's fortunes in Arkansas; in the 1996 elections, Republican Tim Hutchinson was elected to the Senate and Republican Mike Huckabee ascended to the governorship after Democratic Governor Jim Guy Tucker resigned due to Whitewater-related scandals.
Split into simpler sentences: The race was seen as crucial to the Democratic Party's fortunes in Arkansas. Two years prior, in the 1996 elections, Republican Tim Hutchinson was elected to the U.S. Senate and Republican Mike Huckabee ascended to the governorship after Democratic Governor Jim Guy Tucker resigned due to Whitewater-related scandals.