Tag: Oklahoma

July in Oklahoma heats up, especially in election years.

With the primary election four days away, Andrew Rice’s campaign is getting more intense.  We took it to the next level on Monday by launching our first TV ad, called “Leader.”  This 30-second ad has received great feedback from all corners of Oklahoma.

Here’s the ad; more on the heat below the fold.

The ad demonstrates one thing clearly: Sen. Rice is a unique candidate in a unique election year.  He is gaining ground on Jim Inhofe by fighting the insurance industry to improve patients’ rights, opposing the War in Iraq, promoting ways to break America’s addiction to oil, and guaranteeing that he will not trample on the privacy rights of American citizens.

Though his background and message are catching on among voters, the biggest obstacle in our race right now is name ID.  From Kos’ baseline poll in mid-June:

So what is keeping Rice down? Name ID.

 Do you have a favorable or un favorable opinion of Andrew Rice?

 Not sure: 52

Less than half of Oklahoma voters know who Rice is, but over 50 percent will consider voting for someone not named Inhoffe.

From the feedback we’ve gotten, the ad is effectively introducing voters to Sen. Rice – and they’re buying into the campaign.

Right now is a critical moment in our campaign to defeat Jim Inhofe and to send Andrew Rice to the Senate. We’re building name ID and building excitement for our race by going up on TV.  We’re going to have a tremendous showing at the polls on Tuesday, and we’re going to build from that victory to a great win in November.

We’re trying to raise $35,000 to stay on the air a week longer than planned.  Can you help us out?  A few dollars toward TV now can make this race competetive in fall.  Our internal polls show that once people know Andrew and his message, he beats Inhofe by a wide margin.

So please help us raise $35K to raise Andrew’s name ID.  July’s hot, but the next few months will only get hotter in this campaign.  We’re building toward victory on November 4th, but we need resources now to keep it up.

Best,

Karina Henderson

Rice for US Senate

State Senator Andrew Rice raised 451k for the 2nd quarter, and now has an impressive (for Oklahoma) 748k COH.

He has raised $1.4 Million for the overall campaign.

Info. from here:

http://andrewforoklahoma.com/n…

Inhofe will be in a dogfight once Rice goes on TV.

website:

http://andrewforoklahoma.com/

Andrew Rice, state senator from Oklahoma and Jim Inhofe’s sole opponent for U.S. Senate this year, will be on Daily Kos today at 4:30 pm Central (5:30 Eastern/2:30 Pacific) to liveblog about his US Senate race.  He’ll focus on the problems created by a combination of record gas prices and record oil company profits, but all questions will be welcome!

Check here at 4:30 Central today to speak with Sen. Rice:

http://senator-andrew-rice.dai…

Thanks –

Karina Henderson

Rice for US Senate

PS – If you want to find out more about Andrew, go to http://www.andrewforoklahoma.com.  And if you’d like to make a contribution now (so you’re not having to nav away from the liveblog later), how about donating to our “Turn Oklahoma Green” page on ActBlue?  Click here – http://www.actblue.com/page/tu…

UPDATE [4/30 @ 5:00pm Central]: Sen. Rice is liveblogging now – go to http://www.dailykos.com/story/…

In his 35 years, Andrew Rice has accomplished a lot.

He represents a diverse Oklahoma City district in the state senate, where he has established himself as a consensus-builder and a strong advocate for children and families.  As a freshman senator, he has already built an impressive legislative record that includes cosponsoring and helping pass the “All Kids Act” – legislation similar to SCHIP – and forming a bipartisan coalition to create the Hunger Task Force, in order to find solutions to Oklahoma’s hunger crisis.

Before his election to the state senate, he received a master’s degree in theology, worked with the Texas Freedom Network, founded the Progressive Alliance Foundation, and performed other humanitarian work abroad.  After his brother, David, was killed on 9/11 in the World Trade Center, Andrew became heavily involved in the push for the creation of the 9/11 Commission and worked with victims’ family groups in opposing the Iraq War, citing it as a distraction from the fight to destroy the terrorist networks that killed his brother.

Not bad for someone turning 35 today.

(more below)

By contrast, Rice’s U.S. Senate opponent, Jim Inhofe, has been in politics for 40 years and has best served the special interests that back him.

His voting record has earned him the label of a “hard-core conservative” in an analysis by ontheissues.org, which also states that Inhofe, among other things, “Opposes” federal efforts to expand health care access, and “Strongly Opposes” finding alternatives to coal and oil for our energy needs.

His campaign contributors are described in his own words (from a 2006 Senate floor speech):

“I am reminded of a question the media often asks me about how much I have received in campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry. My unapologetic answer is ‘Not Enough'[.]”

Meanwhile, Andrew Rice keeps working toward our future.  But Andrew sees more that he can do in his lifetime of service.  He’s running for U.S. Senate to continue his life’s work of fighting for everyday people, of listening to their hopes and concerns, and taking action to address the issues that affect them most.

Will you wish Andrew a happy birthday by buying a piece of his campaign?  It seems fitting to ask that you send him $35 today.  Give him the gift that keeps on giving, and the gift that gives back to all of us – because if Andrew Rice is elected to the U.S. Senate, we’ll all be better off.

Best,

Karina Henderson

Rice for US Senate

andrewforoklahoma.com

http://actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18228

Democracy for America today announced their endorsement of Oklahoma State Sen. Andrew Rice in his campaign for U.S. Senate.

From DFA’s website:

We can make this Sen. Inhofe’s last year in office.

Andrew Rice has a proven record in the Oklahoma Legislature having worked on issues like health care, veteran’s rights, and the environment.  Andrew will bring his experience to Washington to fight to end the War in Iraq, provide access to health care for all Americans, and solve the crisis of global warming.

(more below)

The DFA understands that it’s not just that Jim Inhofe is so bad for Oklahoma and the rest of the nation, but that Andrew Rice would be an incredible addition to the U.S. Senate.

For some examples, take a look at Andrew’s piece posted last night on Huffington Post:

Life is precious. The families of those 4,000 brave soldiers who died in combat should always know that their loved ones represent the best our nation has to offer and did everything that was asked of them. The American soldiers who have served in Iraq are heroes. However, their orders should have remained to find and eliminate Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have taken our eye off the ball for the last five years, allowing the terrorists who attacked us to regenerate after American troops routed the Taliban in Afghanistan. As a result, we are no safer today than prior to 9/11, when my older brother, David, was killed in the World Trade Center.

Thank the DFA for this endorsement by answering their call to give $25 to Andrew Rice’s campaign via their ActBlue page, http://www.actblue.com/page/su… .

Best,

Karina Henderson

Rice for U.S. Senate

http://andrewforoklahoma.com

http://www.actblue.com/page/su…

– or – http://www.actblue.com/page/5k…

(Cross-posted from the AFL-CIO Now Blog.)

 

The fight for a pro-working family government doesn’t end with the race for the White House. Around the country, union members in key states are looking to elect new members of Congress who will help turn around America.

 

The Kentucky AFL-CIO has announced endorsements in key races for U.S. Congress and Kentucky AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan says these candidates, and the issues they’ll fight for, will help mobilize union members to win this fall.

[We] endorsed on the basis of their of support for the issues of critical importance to Kentucky’s hard working men and women: good jobs, the right to organize, health care for all, retirement security and education and training opportunities.

Topping the list of the Kentucky endorsees is Bruce Lunsford, who’s running for U.S. Senate against Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader who’s led the fight against working family-friendly policies like a real economic stimulus bill and children’s health insurance.

McConnell is behind the strategy of obstruction that has allowed a minority of senators to block important legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act. He consistently has voted for Bush nominees for key federal agencies, including the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MHSA) and the Department of Labor (headed by his wife, the worker-unfriendly Elaine Chao). In short, McConnell is the Senate’s key enabler of the anti-worker agenda. Lunsford has pledged to support the Employee Free Choice Act and to work with union members as they fight to ditch Mitch.

In addition to supporting Lunsford, Kentucky unions gave their strong endorsement to two incumbent House members and a challenger. Endorsements went to Democratic Reps. John Yarmuth of the 3^rd District and Ben Chandler of the 6^th District, as well as to Democratic state Sen. David Boswell, who’s running for the 2^nd District seat left open by retiring Republican Ron Lewis.

Union members were crucial to the stunning 18-point victory for Gov. Steve Beshear last November, and the Kentucky AFL-CIO is looking to build on its success with these endorsements for the U.S. House and Senate.

In addition to working to elect Lunsford and Boswell and re-elect Chandler and Yarmuth, Londrigan says the Kentucky AFL-CIO will focus on exposing the record of Sen. John McCain.

In Oklahoma, state Sen. Andrew Rice is running against Sen. Jim Inhofe, another Republican who regularly votes against working family-friendly policies on health care, wages and the freedom to form unions. Rice, who Oklahoma AFL-CIO President Jimmy Curry called “a good friend of working men and women,” won the endorsement of the Oklahoma AFL-CIO on Tuesday.

In Idaho, where Republican Sen. Larry Craig won’t be returning to the Senate, former Democratic Rep. Larry LaRocco has won the endorsement of the Idaho AFL-CIO. Idaho AFL-CIO President David Whaley says members of the Idaho AFL-CIO’s Executive Board were impressed by LaRocco’s commitment to working family issues and his visits to work sites around the state.

The working families of Idaho are struggling to raise families, pay their taxes, support education, care for their aging parents and cope with the continued increase in health care costs. Larry LaRocco has been working in jobs all across Idaho and has heard first-hand about the challenges they face in their lives. When he is elected he will continue to work alongside these same families and make sure their voices are heard through his expressed support of the Employee Free Choice Act. We are proud to endorse him for the U.S. Senate.

The effort to elect more working family-friendly members of the House and Senate is an essential part of this year’s unprecedented mobilization of millions of union members.

(Reposted from MyDD)

Ever since the New York Times suggested earlier this month that Oklahoma could be the critical 60th Democratic seat in the U.S. Senate, evidence backing up that statement has been pouring in.

First, Andrew Rice – an Oklahoma state Senator and the only challenger to incumbent/entrenched Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe – became the first U.S. Senate candidate to pick up the endorsement of the Sierra Club.

Earlier this week, we added Oklahoma’s AFL-CIO to Andew’s endorsement list. And Andrew was picked as one of seven top U.S. Senate challengers in Sen. Russ Feingold’s “Pick a Progressive Patriot” vote.

(more below)

Not surprisingly, even though things are changing around him, Jim Inhofe isn’t changing his ways. He’s continuing to vote with a small minority of his party against things like health care funding for pregnant women, better enforcement of product safety regulations (such as lead paint levels in toys), and a budget that would help middle-class families and veterans.

But conventional wisdom is changing, and this week, you can keep the momentum going. Voting for Andrew Rice as the next Progressive Patriot would chip away at the naysayers.  It would put Jim Inhofe on notice that it’s time to retire. And it would help replace Inhofe with someone who listens to the people of Oklahoma and puts the good of the nation ahead of moneyed special interests.

This race is moving into a small set of key races for 2008.  Inhofe is vulnerable – his polling numbers look like those of Conrad Burns and George Allen in 2006.  Andrew Rice is gaining momentum – his recent endorsements and other high-profile groups highlighting this as a key race are starting to break this race open.

Help Andrew this week by voting for him to be the next Progressive Patriot.  We have an excellent opportunity to raise Andrew’s profile on a national level, convince more people that we have a great chance to win this seat, and raise $5,000 from the Progressive Patriots fund – but, between now and Monday, we need your help to do it.

Best,

Karina Henderson

Rice for U.S. Senate

Ala the BURN BUSH campaign that helped raise $$ for Darcy Burner–

Online bloggers in support of Andrew Rice against Jim Inhofe have started the HUNT TERRORISTS, NOT DOVES campaign.

from actblue:

The country and world have turned against President George Bush’s Iraq occupation, but U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) remains one of the occupation’s most ardent supporters.

Inhofe is even holding his annual Oklahoma Dove Hunt at Quartz Mountain Lodge September 7-8 as the gruesome occupation drags on. He, along with his invited guest, the ultra-conservative John Cornyn (R-Texas), will be hunting dove, the international symbol of peace, as more American soldiers and innocent Iraqis die.

We need to send these two Bush lapdogs and Washington insiders into retirement. State Sen. Andrew Rice, a progressive Democratic from Oklahoma City, is running against Inhofe in the 2008 election. Rice, whose brother, David, died in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, believes Inhofe took his “eye off the ball” after the attacks and, instead of going after terrorists, blindly followed Bush into the Iraq debacle.

Inhofe should hunt terrorists, not doves. But while Inhofe is killing doves, you can help send him into retirement. Become a Rice Dove today by contributing to Andrew’s campaign.

give what you can: HUNT TERRORISTS, NOT DOVES

One of the most Republican areas of Oklahoma is the north Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond. State Senator Andrew Rice is making waves in a political climate where people, even Republicans, are wanting a change.

see below

The editorial gets the heart of what makes this race so intruiging:

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, a prominent Oklahoma City attorney, Hugh Rice, received a phone call from his oldest son, David Rice, who was an executive for a company in the World Trade Center in New York City. David advised his Dad that a plane had crashed into the side of the World Trade Center, but it was on the other side of the building from where his office was located, and he did not want his parents to be worried about him.

Shortly after the phone conversation was concluded another plane crashed into the other side of the World Trade Center and David Rice died when the building collapsed. The devastated Rice family came together in Oklahoma City to bury David and attempted to deal with the enormity of their loss.

David’s brother Andrew, an alumnus of Colby College in Maine and Harvard Divinity School, was at that time an independent film producer who recently had completed a film about the effects of AIDS in India. But as Andrew wrestled with his grief, he decided he would memorialize his brother by returning to Oklahoma and enter public life in an effort to improve the lives of the citizenry. In accordance with that goal, Andrew Rice was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 2006 from District 46, which is in the mid-city area of Oklahoma City. By all accounts, Rice has proven to be an effective legislator who is willing to work with all of his colleagues to get legislation he believed would benefit his constituents enacted into law.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE:
http://www.edmondsun…

HELP US IN OKLAHOMA KEEP THE SUPPORT COMING FOR SEN. RICE, give what you can on ACTBLUE:
http://www.actblue.c…

And Rice’s campaign site is partially up, and they say it will be done soon
http://www.andrewforoklahoma.com

On Monday, the Run Andrew Run draft blog informed us that Oklahoma Democratic state Senator Andrew Rice was very likely to challenge crumb-bum extraordinaire Jim Inhofe in the state's 2008 U.S. Senate election:

After a few weeks on the road in Oklahoma and a whirlwind of meetings in Washington, D.C., it now seems likely State Senator Andrew Rice will soon be filing papers to challenge U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe in the 2008 election.

Since winning election to the State Senate from a diverse, inner-OKC district, Rice has already proven to be a skilled consensus builder who gets results. He offers a stark contrast to the right-wing curmudgeon, Jim Inhofe.

Rice still says he will make a formal announcement after Labor Day but fundraising prospects have surpassed his expectations and sources close to him say he may be “all in” within the next 10 days. He has received encouragement on this site and in meetings throughout the state. We also hear the DSCC now views Rice as a potential upset challenger in the style of a Jim Webb or a Jon Tester.

Rice lost a brother in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and believes that Bush and Inhofe took their eye off the ball by waging war in Iraq while Al Quaeda rebuilt its global terror network. Inhofe, who once called global warming a “hoax,” boasts of being “one of the last true conservatives left in the Senate”.

Earlier today, DailyKos diarist gypsy shared with us a letter that Rice is apparently distributing to his friends and supporters:

Andrew Rice for U.S. Senate
P.O. Box 1027
Oklahoma City, OK  73102
                                                       August 2, 2007
Dear Friends,

While I have deliberated during these past few months, I have also encouraged other, more widely-known Democrats to take up the challenge.  To date, none has done so.  I have also thoroughly discussed the pros and cons of running with my wife Apple and my family.

Today, I want you to know that I have decided to run and that I intend to win!

I want you to be assured that I will not have to vacate my State Senate seat in order to run and I will continue to make myself accessible and accountable to my constituents in Senate District 46.

I believe Oklahomans deserve a choice for U.S. Senate in 2008.

Washington is paralyzed by partisan bickering, and Jim Inhofe may be one of the most partisan Senators of all.  He even boasts of being the “most conservative” Senator.  In contrast, as a member in the evenly divided Oklahoma Senate, I have proven that I can work with both Republicans and Democrats to get results for our state.

Divisive politics is harming our country.  That’s not my style.  I have already met many Oklahomans from across the state.  They tell me that Washington no longer listens to them.

This will be a tough and expensive race.  In fact, I will need to raise several million dollars just to compete against Inhofe and the National Republicans who will stop at nothing to help him extend his 40-year career in elective politics. […]

Despite having a very lackluster approval rating for a senior senator in his third term (the last time that SUSA polled this race in November, he was at a 46% approval), more prominent names in Oklahoma’s Democratic cycles (and there are a few, including Gov. Brad Henry and four-term Attorney General Drew Edmondson) have not jumped at the chance to challenge Inhofe.  Perhaps the hesitancy stems from watching former Democratic Rep. Brad Carson’s surprisingly wide loss (42%-53%) in the 2004 open seat race against Tom Coburn–a candidate who nicely complements Inhofe’s nuttiness in the Senate.

There’s no doubt that Rice, a young progressive with a compelling biography, will face a tough climb in the state, especially in a Presidential year when Duncan Hunter carries the state by a 30-point margin (kidding).  Still, Inhofe is older, he has a tendency to say stupid shit, and the dynamic of a fresh face versus a doddery loon could be fun to watch, given a reasonable amount of funding in Rice’s campaign coffers.

With Jeff Merkley in Oregon and now Andrew Rice in Oklahoma, 2008’s Senate races are beginning to take more shape as we approach the fall.

On the web: Andrew Rice for Oklahoma (I’m assuming that this will be updated once Rice makes his official announcement)