The field isn’t even firmly set on the Republican side, but the GOP begins the open seat race to replace Democratic Gov. Brad Henry in Oklahoma with a big advantage over the two announced Democratic candidates.
Public Policy Polling (5/13-17, registered voters):
Drew Edmondson (D): 38
Mary Fallin (R): 48Drew Edmondson (D): 39
J.C. Watts (R): 47Jari Askins (D): 34
Mary Fallin (R): 50Jari Askins (D): 36
J.C. Watts (R): 47
(MoE: ±3.7%)
Now, there’s still a lot of time left on the clock, but those are some pretty impressive numbers for Team Red, considering that both Askins (the sitting Lt. Governor) and AG Edmondson have been elected statewide before in their own right (Edmondson a whopping four times). While both Askins and Edmondson have some room to grow, it’s not like we’re looking at a repeat of 2002, when Henry, as a little-known state senator, stole upsets in both the primary and general elections.
SSP currently rates this race as Lean Republican.
run ads like this one and win big?
Uhhhh.
a poll on how the primary is looking on both sides of this race. I personally have always been a fan of Mary Fallin since she ran for Congress so I would like to see her get the GOP nod.
has’nt brad henry been a pretty good governor? what do the good citizens of oklahoma think they are going to get with someone like watts, good goverment?
assessment at this point. I’m a big Edmondson supporter. He’s not a perfect progressive but he’s fighter. His long tenure as AG and his family gives him extremely high name ID so a tough primary with Askins won’t help us at all.
I was really hoping for better here.
i guess i can cross oklahoma off my list of places to live if can ever manage to get the hell out of south florida.
plus the State Senate. Since then, Republicans have gained seats in the State House (now 61R-40D), taken over the State Senate and appear poised to reclaim statewide offices in 2010 (especially if both Edmondson and Askins leave their current positions).
Is this trend toward the GOP based mainly on ideology or are there any issues specific to Oklahoma that are causing it?
I think it’s clear we’ll probably lose this governorship. I don’t really think we can be competitive in the US Senate race either. What can you expect out of Oklahoma though? The only Democrat we have in Congress from that state might as well be a Republican.
PPP finds that Oklahomans think Rush Limbaugh’s vision for the country is better than Obama’s.
Is this place a state or a mental institution?