Oklahoma Congressional Candidates Speak Out on Health Care Ruling
Some candidates seeking seats in the next Congress released statements on Thursday following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold most of the health care law.
In the 5th District, currently represented by Rep. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, Democrat Tom Guild, of Edmond, said: “I am very pleased that the United States Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act. The fact that Republican and Bush Appointee Chief Justice Roberts cast the deciding vote to uphold the law is an important signal that the country needs to come together in a bipartisan fashion and create jobs and support education, pass the highway bill, and stop college student loans rates from doubling in two days.…
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Rep. John Sullivan Loses to Jim Bridenstine
WASHINGTON — Rep. John Sullivan became the first Oklahoma congressman ousted in 18 years on Tuesday, as political newcomer Jim Bridenstine staged a Republican primary upset in the Tulsa-area district Sullivan has represented for a decade.
Bridenstine, a U.S. Navy Reserve pilot, led throughout the night and beat Sullivan with 53 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Oklahoma Election Board. Sullivan has consistently fended off primary and general election challenges, but Bridenstine mounted a hard-hitting campaign and, though outspent by Sullivan, had the resources to get his message across.…
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Rep. John Sullivan is Looking Like He’s in Big Trouble
With nearly 30 percent of the vote counted, Jim Bridenstine is leading with 53 percent. …
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Did Precinct Workers Wind Up With a Lot of Extra “I Voted Today” Stickers?
According to the Oklahoma Election Board results, nearly half of the precincts have reported in the 2nd Congressional District, and only about 4,300 votes were counted, two-thirds coming in the Democratic primary. This is going to make for a very expensive election per vote for some of these candidates.
In 2010, there were interesting statewide primaries, including ones for governor. Still only about 24,000 people voted in the Republican primary for Congress that year. There are no statewide races to draw voters this year.…
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Rob Wallace Winning Several Counties Early
Democrat Rob Wallace is beating Wayne Herriman and Earl Everett in most of the counties reporting in the 2nd congressional district, but Everett, despite not having near the campaign of the other two, is polling 13 percent. If he gets that much when all the votes are counted, it would be hard for Wallace or Herriman to win outright.…
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An All-Republican Congressional Delegation
Some are speculating about the possibility of the Oklahoma congressional delegation going all Republican, if, and it’s still a big if, Republicans can pick up retiring Rep. Dan Boren’s seat in the 2nd District.
It has happened before, in 1996, when Wes Watkins changed parties and won his old seat back as a Republican, replacing retiring Rep. Bill Brewster, a Democrat.
The all-GOP delegation didn’t last long. Then-Rep. Tom Coburn fulfilled his term limits pledge and retired in 2000, and Democrat Brad Carson won the seat.…
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4th District Democrats
It will be interesting to see who wins the Democratic primary between Bert Smith, of Moore, and Donna Marie Bebo, of Fletcher. They have both taken on a tough chore in Oklahoma _ giving voice to Democratic priorities in a congressional race. And, of course, they have done it will little financial support. Smith, a military veteran who retired in 2009 from teaching school in Oklahoma City, has run for Congress twice before, in the 5th District, when he lived in Oklahoma City.…
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Where are the Republicans in the 2nd Congressional District?
The six candidates running for the Republican nomination to replace Rep. Dan Boren in Congress have been all over the sprawling 2nd District that runs from the northeastern part of Oklahoma to the southeastern border looking for people who can vote for them. There are not a lot in some of the southern counties in the Little Dixie area known for yellow dog Democrats.
Of the 26 counties in the district, there is only one in which registered Republicans outnumber Democrats _ Rogers County, in the northern part of the district.…
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It’s Been Awhile Since …
… a sitting Oklahoma congressman was knocked off in a primary, but it happened twice in consecutive election cycles in the 1990s. In 1994, the late Mike Synar, a Democrat from Muskogee, was defeated by retired school teacher Virgil Cooper in a run-off primary in the 2nd District; Cooper was beaten by Republican Tom Coburn in the general election.
In 1992, Republican Rep. Mickey Edwards, who represented a gerrymandered district that went from Oklahoma City to Bartlesville, was ousted in the primary by Ernest Istook and Bill Price; Istook won the run-off and then the general election.…
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On Election Day: A Tale of Two Campaign Warchests
In less than two weeks, Rep. John Sullivan collected $113,500 for his primary campaign against Naval Reserve pilot Jim Bridenstine, raising money the congressional incumbent way _ from groups with interests before Congress and from friends in Congress, who got their money from groups with interests before Congress.
In the two-week window in which candidates were required to report all contributions of $1,000 or more within 48 hours, Sullivan reported 60 contributions. Of those, 38 were from the Washington area (which includes towns in nearby Virginia and Maryland) and another 17 were from other states.…
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