David Holt from the Republican Convention NewsOK.com Blogging Community

Sometime around 11 p.m., National Committeeman Lynn Windel and Senator Jim Inhofe cast Oklahoma’s votes.  They were expected to be 39 for John McCain and 2 for Ron Paul, but ended up being 41 for McCain (more on that in a minute).   Lynn is retiring this week from his position, and Senator Inhofe is Oklahoma’s senior Senator, and he’s up for re-election.

Mick Cornett was standing next to Senator Inhofe and made sure he said “the home of the Oklahoma City Thunder” during the traditional “brag” portion of the vote casting.

The two votes that were expected for Ron Paul were from delegates that had been allocated to Mike Huckabee, and those folks could now legally vote for whoever they wanted.  (See more explanation of delegates here.)

The first time Senator Inhofe got the floor, he passed, as all states at this point were trying to allow Arizona to put McCain over the top.  The second time he got the floor, after McCain had been nominated (noted with “green” confetti on the big screen), Senator Inhofe was mistakenly cut off by the chairwoman, who announced all 41 votes for McCain.   My understanding is that that’s the way it stayed.

Here’s the view from behind Senator Inhofe and company.

The repercussions of Monday’s cancellation are continuing to be felt.  Mayor Cornett became the third Oklahoman to lose his Convention speaking slot today, joining previous cancellations for Congressman Cole and Senator Coburn. 

This has evolved into kind of a bummer of a week for the Oklahoman delegation, after the pre-Convention hype of getting to see four Oklahomans on the dais.  Only one is now left – Mary Fallin.  I assume at this point we won’t know her status until tomorrow morning.

The disappoinment is greatest for Oklahoma City, because Mayor Cornett was going to have the opportunity to brag on us a little bit, and the accomplishment of being the only sitting Mayor on the agenda was historic for OKC.  But, it is what it  is. 

This afternoon at the Landmark Center, a block from the Xcel Center, Mayor Cornett, who serves as President of Republican Mayors and Local Officials (RMLO), joined the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), the National Association of County Officials (NACO) and the National League of Cities (NLC) in hosting members from all those organizations for a reception.   Additionally, Mayor Cornett invited the Oklahoma delegation to be his guests at the reception, and they were probably half the people there, whoopin’ and hollerin’ when Mayor Cornett was introduced. 

Mayor Elizabeth Kautz of Burnsville, MN, representing the USCM, made very complimentary remarks regarding the Mayor and mentioned how excited she was to attend the 2010 U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting in Oklahoma City.

Former Texas Congressman Henry Bonilla made some remarks on behalf of the McCain campaign.

Apparently, some attendees experienced delays getting in because of a suspicious package on the street, but it didn’t affect the proceedings inside.

Afterwards, most members of the Oklahoma delegation headed over to a reception for Oklahomans hosted by BNSF at the Hill Library.

Even while Oklahomans are making history in St. Paul, Oklahomans back home are doing what we do best – helping others.  1,700+ Louisiana evacuees are staying temporarily inside the old Lucent building, and Mayor Mick Cornett continues to stay in close contact with City staff coordinating the efforts.

Also, this morning, Mayor Cornett and other mayors on the Gulf Coast and in evacuee cities got together on a conference call, where Mayor Cornett spoke to Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans about the Louisiana evacuees in OKC.

This morning, we had breakfast again at the hotel.  We had two speakers, Ron Kessler and Congressman Tom Cole.

Ron came at my invitation.  He’s a friend of mine who has authored numerous bestselling books and is a featured writer for Newsmax Magazine.  He spoke about how effectively President Bush has kept America safe since 9/11, and he talked about the contrasting approaches McCain and Obama have towards the War on Terror.

Tom delivered wide-ranging remarks in his usual eloquence, and echoed some of Ron’s statements about the value of the President’s leadership in the War on Terror.  He kicked up the red meat a notch, pointing out that if Obama is qualified to be President after being a state senator just four years ago that a sitting governor is certainly OVERqualified to be Vice President.

The delegation, hospitable as always, greeted both speakers with standing ovations. 

Ron arranged for everyone to receive a complimentary copy of the latest edition of Newsmax. 

Today, the delegates are wearing their blue blazers with an Oklahoma patch, khaki pants and white shirts.

The delegates are now off to various different functions, including a Vets for Freedom event this afternoon in St. Paul featuring newly-elected Oklahoma State Senator Steve Russell.  The event is at 1:30 p.m. at the St. Paul Union Depot.

This afternoon at 3:30 p.m., most of the delegates will also be off to a party hosted by Mayor Cornett for American mayors and local officials at the Landmark Center in St. Paul.

And finally, RNC leaders just announced that the show will go on tonight, with slight adjustments. 

Mayor Cornett is still scheduled to address the Convention Wednesday night at approximately 6:30 p.m. 

Today, we had rehearsals in the bowels of the Xcel Center.  Here are some pictures.

A quick errand to downtown Minneapolis just brought delegate Mayor Cornett and I face to face with Mary Tyler Moore. 

Says the 20-year TV veteran: “You’d be surprised how often we quoted ‘Mary Tyler Moore.’”