Federal Offices Move Toward General Election
Senator Tom Coburn's unexpected decision to leave the Congress two years early has created the unusual situation of Oklahoma voters choosing two U.S. Senators on the November ballot, as the seat held by Senator Jim Inhofe was already up for election in 2014. Because Coburn's seat was not up until 2016, the special election for his post will be for a "short term" of just two years, while Inhofe's post is for a full six-year term.
Senator Jim Inhofe, won the GOP nomination with 88% of the vote over four challengers. Evelyn Rogers, 61, is a college librarian and perennial candidate. She ran for the the U.S. Senate seat in 2008. This was her seventh run for federal office and she finished second with 4.5% of the vote. Erick Wyatt, 35, of Norman, is a retired U.S. Army sergeant who served in Iraq followed with 4.4%. Rob Moye, 58, of Yukon came in at 1.8%. D. Jean McBride-Samuels, 59, of Jenks finished last with 1.5%.
Inhofe, 79, has been a conservative leader since his days in the Oklahoma Legislature, as Mayor of Tulsa, his time in Congress, and while in the U.S. Senate. Inhofe was first elected to the Senate in a special election in1994, and reelected with ease since then. He will face Independent candidates Ray Woods, 78, of Fairview; Joan Farr, 48, of Broken Arrow; and Aaron De Lozier, 30. Matt Silverstein, 33, of Bixby is the only Democrat in the race.
The "open seat" created by Coburn's early exit drew a much more spirited battle, attracting some strong candidates. With seven candidates running for the Republican nomination, a runoff had been expected.
Congressman James Lankford, 46, of Edmond was the first major candidate to enter the race, established as the early favorite and won the nomination with 57% of the primary vote. Finishing second with 34% was former Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon, 36, of Lawton. Shannon was the most conservative Speaker in modern times, with a Conservative Index cumulative score of 74%.
Many conservatives were disappointed in the 5% third place showing by Randy Brogdon who was the most conservative candidate in the race, based on his 93% Conservative Index score while serving in the state Senate. Brogdon, 60, of Owasso regularly scored 100% on the Conservative Index, and was the first to garner a perfect score in the Senate since 1979, the first year of the Index. Four years ago, Brogdon gave up his seat in the Oklahoma Senate to run for governor, finishing second to Mary Fallin. In the senate race, Brogdon was never able to raise the funds to wage a significant campaign and was excluded from the only debate carried on television.
The four other candidates each received about one percent: Andy Craig, 41, Kevin Crow, 46, Eric McCray, 33, and Jason Weger, 31.
After many years in church youth camp work, political novice Lankford surprised many observers with his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. He has again surprised pundits with his win of the Republican nomination in the senate race.
State Senator Connie Johnson, 61, of Forest Park (12% Conservative Index) finished first in the June 24 Democrat Primary with 44% of the vote. To secure the Democrat nomination she will need to beat second place finisher Jim Rogers in the August 26 Runoff Primary. Jim Rogers, 79, of Midwest City received 35%. He is a retired teacher and a frequent candidate. This is his fifth run for the U.S. Senate, and he has run for other offices as well. Patrick Michael Hayes, 39, of Anadarko received 21%.
There will also be an Independent candidate on the November ballot. Jark Beard, 54, is from Oklahoma City.
Candidates for four of Oklahoma's five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were on the ballot in the June 24 Primary Election. Only First District (Tulsa area), incumbent Republican Jim Bridenstine, 38, was unopposed for reelection.
Markwayne Mullin, 36, of the Second District (Eastern Oklahoma, from the Kansas border to the Red River)drew a primary opponent, Darrel Robertson, 64, of Jay. In the June 24 election Mullin won nomination for a second term, wining 80% of the vote. In the Democrat Primary, Earl Everett, 80, of Fort Gibson won with 63% of the vote over Joshua Harris-Till, 24, of Tahlequah. Mullin and Everett will join Independent Jon Douthitt, 74, of Claremore in November General Election.
Long-time Third District Congressman Frank Lucas, 54, who was first elected in a special election in 1994, drew two Republican primary challengers but won renomination with 83% of the vote. Rancher and small business owner Robert Hubbard, 69, of Yukon won 12%. Hubbard had been a candidate for governor four years ago. The third Republican was Timothy Ray Murray of Moore who finished last with 5%. Murray ran for the seat in 2012 as a Democrat. He won the primary, but lost to Lucas in the general election.
Lucas will face Democrat Frankie Robbins, 68, of Medford in the general election. Robbins lost to Lucas in 2008 and 2010. He also ran in 2012, but lost the primary election to Murray. Robbins is a Civil Engineer, and is retired from the U.S. Forest Service. The third district covers most of the western and northern parts of the state.
Fourth District Congressman Tom Cole, 64, was challenged for the Republican nomination by Anna Flatt, 46, of Ardmore. Flatt is the chairman of the Carter County Republican Party and while considered one of the "liberty" Republicans brought into the party by the presidential candidacy of Congressman Ron Paul in 2012, Flatt has been an activist Republican for many years before the congressional race. Cole won renomination with 84% of the vote. Bert Smith, 66, of Moore was the winner of the Democrat contest wih 82% of the vote over software engineer Tae Si, 27, of Norman. Smith ran for the 5th Congressional District three times (2004, 2006, 2008), then moved to Moore and ran for the 4th District in 2012, losing in the Democrat primary. Independent Dennis B. Johnson, 74, of Norman will also be on the ballot in November.
With the decision of Fifth District Congressman James Lankford to run for the open U.S. Senate post, the seat he won in 2010 is now open, and attracted many candidates including six Republicans, three Democrats, and three Independents. Neither of the two parties selected their nominee in the June 24 Primary Election. The top two candidates of each party will compete in the August 26 Runoff Primary.
Finishing first in the Republican Primary was former state Senator Steve Russell with 27% of the vote. Following close behind was Corporation Commissioner Patrice Douglas with 24%. State Senator Clark Jolley, 43, of Edmond finished third with 17%. Finishing up his first term in the Oklahoma House is State Representative Mike Turner, 27, of Edmond who came in 14%. Former State Representative Shane Jett, 39, was in fifth place receiving just under 14% is in the race. He was also a candidate for the GOP nomination in 2010 when Lankford was elected. Harvey Sparks, 37, of Oklahoma City is a former aide to staunchly conservative Congressman Jim Bridenstine. He joined the race late and was never able to catch up. He finished last with 5%.
Russell, 50, of Oklahoma City earned a 74% cumulative Conservative Index score during his tenure in the Legislature and has won the endorsement of the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee (OCPAC) in his run for Congress. Russell, 50, of Oklahoma City has been a staunch defender of the Second Amendment and the protection of the unborn. Russell, a military officer during the Iraq War, was in charge of the unit that found dictator Saddam Hussein, and that publicity propelled Russell to election to the state Senate.
Douglas, 51, is the former Mayor of Edmond and was appointed by Governor Mary Fallin as an interim replacement for Corporation Commissioner Jeff Cloud who resigned before the end of his term. Since Cloud's term was not up until 2014, there was an election scheduled in 2012 to fill the remaining two years of his term. Douglas was the only candidate to file so she was automatically elected. She decided to make the race for Congress this year rather than run for reelection for a full term on the Commission.
Democrats are hoping to take back the central Oklahoma district that has been Republican since John Jarman switched from Democrat back in 1975. Three Democrats file for the seat and none received more than 50 percent of the vote. Tom Guild finished in first place with 42% of the vote, followed by state Senator Al McAffrey who received 31%. The two will compete in the August 26 Runoff Election. The third Democrat in the race was Leona Leonard, 43, of Seminole received 27%.
Tom Guild, 59, of Edmond was the only Democrat to file for the seat in 2012. He ran for the seat two years earlier, losing in the primary. Guild taught political science and legal studies at the University of Central Oklahoma for 27 years and for three years at Oklahoma City University. Years ago, when he was a registered Republican, Guild made three races for a seat on the Corporation Commission, but lost in the Republican primary the last two times. He even went so far as to put the word "Reagan" on his campaign signs, and claimed to be a conservative Republican. He now calls himself a Progressive Democrat.
State Senator Al McAffrey, 65, of Oklahoma City was first elected to the Oklahoma House in 2006, and reelected in 2008 and 2010. He won a special election to the state Senate in 2012. McAffrey has a cumulative average score of 14% on the Oklahoma Conservative Index.
There will also be three Independents in the general election, Buddy Ray , 70, of Edmond; Tom Boggs, 51, of Thailand; and Robert Murphy, a perennial candidate from Norman (you don't have to live in the district). Murphy, 66, also ran for the seat in 2012 and has run for various offices in the past. He has previously run as a Libertarian and as an Independent.
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