Make a Prediction!
Ok, first: No Democratic presidential candidate has carried Oklahoma since 1964, when LBJ got 56 percent of the vote against Goldwater.
Here are the results in Oklahoma since then (I’ve left out some of the Independents):
1968: Nixon, 48 percent; Humphrey, 22 percent, George Wallace, 20 percent (!)
1972: Nixon, 74 percent; McGovern, 24 percent
1976: Ford, 50 percent; Carter, 49 percent (Didn’t realize this one was so close; about 13,000 votes)
1980: Reagan, 60.5 percent; Carter, 35 percent
1984: Reagan, 69 percent; Mondale, 31 percent
1988: Bush, 58 percent; Dukakis, 41 percent
1992: Bush, 42 percent; Clinton, 34 percent; Ross Perot, 23 percent
1996: Dole, 48 percent; Clinton, 40 percent; Perot, 11 percent
2000: Bush, 60 percent; Gore, 38 percent
2004: Bush, 66 percent; Kerry, 34 percent
So, given the state’s history in the last 44 years, how do you think McCain and Obama do on Tuesday in Oklahoma?…
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Hillary Promotes Rice
State Sen. Andrew Rice’s latest telethon-like plea for funds (Just another $15,000 to reach our goal!) includes a link to a message recorded for him by Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Rice, an Oklahoma City Democrat, is running against Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa.
What a difference six years makes! Or maybe it’s just a different type of candidate, but, in 2002, former Oklahoma Congressman Brad Carson, a Democrat, wouldn’t accept a campaign donation from Clinton’s political action committee.
“Senator Clinton is loved in many areas and very controversial in others.…
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Inhofe, Rice Comment on Ted Stevens
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, who has served with Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, since late 1994, had this to say about Stevens’ conviction on corruption charges:
“Today is a sad day for the state of Alaska, the U.S. Senate, and the United States as a whole. Ted Stevens has served Alaska for over four decades and I am disappointed to see his career end this way. I strongly believe in the jury system and the rule of law, and recognize that this is an extremely disappointing day for all Americans.”
A spokesman for Sen.…
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Working on the Railroad
Cities supporting a grass-roots effort to save the rail lines at Oklahoma City’s Union Station apparently are being bullied into changing their minds, according to advocates with Oklahomans for New Transportation Alternatives Coalition (OnTrac).
During a press conference Monday morning, officials with the group accused Department of Transportation Director Gary Ridley of issuing veiled threats to communities that want to see the Crosstown Expressway re-routed to save the tracks at Union Station. Eventually, if passenger rail service begins the station could serve as a hub.
Rep.…
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Boren Named a Top "Centrist"
People around the country are reportedly disgusted with the constant partisanship in Congress, but according to a story in politico.com, Oklahoma has one of those rare lawmakers who actually stands in the middle of the partisan divide.…
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Rice Outraises Inhofe in Critical Two-Week Stretch
Democratic state Sen. Andrew Rice, battling to stay on television and radio in the last few weeks of his campaign against incumbent Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, collected more money than Inhofe in the first two weeks of October, according to new reports at the Federal Election Commission.
Inhofe raised about $158,000. Rice collected about $213,000.
This doesn’t count the last-minute contributions that have been flowing since after the Oct. 15 reporting deadline. The campaigns for both are still dialing for dollars and sending out urgent pleas for donations.…
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Last-Minute Money Pouring In
Big donations are rolling in to Oklahoma’s incumbent members of Congress as the election nears.
Apparently mindful of a toxic political environment for Republican candidates nationwide _ and lingering bitterness over the $700 billion financial “rescue” plan _ Oklahoma’s GOP lawmakers aren’t taking anything for granted, though most have challengers with very little dough.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, raised more than $133,000 in just two weeks, from Oct. 1 through Oct. 15, and still has last-minute contributions coming in daily. His Democratic opponent, Blake Cummings, raised only $1,561 in that period, and his Independent opponent, David Joyce, hasn’t raised enough ($5,000) to trigger reporting to the Federal Election Commission.…
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Turpen Donates $ to Repub Cole
Oklahoma City attorney Mike Turpen _ friend of Bill, friend of Hillary, friend of Barack and fundraiser for all of them _ made a $250 donation this month to (drum roll, please) Republican Congressman Tom Cole!!
Turpen, a former chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, doesn’t even live in Cole’s district. And with more than half a million dollars in the bank, Cole has a mega-huge financial advantage over his opponents, including Democrat Blake Cummings, who had only $3,500 in his campaign account on Oct.…
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Inhofe's Lead Drops in One Poll
Sen. Jim Inhofe continues to maintain a double-digit lead over challenger Andrew Rice, but it has dwindled steadily in the past six weeks, according to a poll for KFOR in Oklahoma City.
According to the most recent SurveyUSA numbers, from a poll of 561 likely voters over the weekend, Inhofe, a Tulsa Republican, was favored by 51 percent. That is down from 53 percent in late September and down from 56 percent in early September.
Rice, a Democratic state senator from Oklahoma City, was at 39 percent last weekend, up from 37 percent in late September and 34 percent in early September.…
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Kelly's First Term a Dud
Looks like former Sooner Malcolm Kelly’s first season in Washington could be a wash-out.…
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