Free The States releases ads supporting Abortion Abolition bill

Free The States is an organization that was originally formed to support Dan Fisher's campaign for Governor in 2018. They have turned their focus on supporting State Senator Joseph Silk's Senate Bill 13, the "Abolition of Abortion in Oklahoma Act".

FTS has posted two brief videos in recent days in support of SB 13, and plans a rally at the State Capitol on Tuesday, February 12th.



They also answer the question, "What about exceptions for rape?"

OCPAC, Meadows, Blair urge Fisher voters to support Stitt

In the latest email from the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee, three prominent members in the organization called for conservatives of all stripes, but supporters of Dan Fisher in particular, to vote for Kevin Stitt in the gubernatorial runoff.

New OCPAC President Bob Linn, former president Charlie Meadows, and Pastor Paul Blair all wrote in support of Stitt. Their comments are posted below:

NOTE TO OKLAHOMA ACTIVISTS, Bob Linn (OCPAC President)

The state of the Church is a matter of concern and requires our continued prayer and involvement.  A weak Church does not, however, relieve us of the very responsibilities we have been urging God’s people to assume for more than a year now.  I write this today to respond to a group of “Christian activists” who have indicated they will be inactive this Tuesday when the opportunity to vote for Kevin Stitt presents itself.  Yet, Governor Stitt represents the conservative political leadership that will mean our best chance for an open door at the very top of Oklahoma government.  OCPAC and Oklahoma’s other conservative groups will never have the ear of Mick Cornett.  We have that possibility with Kevin Stitt.  I urge all our readers and the 36,000 Dan Fisher voters to help place a potential friend in the Governor’s seat on Tuesday!

Pastor Paul Blair's Take on the Republican Runoff Election

In 2016, I decided to support Ted Cruz for President.  While none of the candidates checked every box, he was the one with whom I was most comfortable.  As we know, Donald Trump won the nomination.  In the general election, I crossed my fingers and voted against Hillary and voted for Trump.  Although there are days I shake my head, by and large, I have been pleased with the majority of President Trump's decisions.

In 2018, I was a strong supporter of my dear friend Dan Fisher.  Dan was a known commodity.  We knew exactly what we'd get with Dan.  Unfortunately, money matters in campaigns and we didn't have the money to gain the necessary name ID for Dan to win.

So here we are.  Either Drew Edmondson, Mick Cornett or Kevin Stitt will be our next Governor.

I cannot support Edmondson.  He is honest in his campaign, but he honestly supports things I don't - higher taxes, government control,  abortion on demand, LGBT agenda, etc.

I like Mick personally.  I remember his days as a sportscaster.  However, Mick was wrong in leading OKC in creating a special "protected class" for LGBT personnel.  LGBT is not a race or gender; it is behavior that the Bible classifies as sinful.  He intentionally betrayed Oklahomans who still believe the Bible is God's Word.  At best, Mick is a moderate Republican along the lines of a John Kasich.

Much like Trump, Kevin Stitt is an unknown.  However, I have had the opportunity to visit with him on several occasions since the primary and two things impress me.  1) He is a successful businessman who understands a balance sheet and demands accountability.  That is something we must have as our current state government is a circus.  2)  He recognizes areas in which he does not have great depth and needs help.   A good leader doesn't have to have all the answers, but must surround himself with counselors that are experts in their fields and do have the answers.

I am hopeful that Governor Stitt will surround himself with "our people" - small government, freedom loving, abortion hating, state sovereignty minded counselors.  If we support him and he trusts us, we will have that opportunity.  If we attack him and alienate him, why would he trust us?

Is Stitt a sure thing?  Nope.  But consider all the "sure things" who conned OCPAC during the interview process and currently hold office at 23rd and Lincoln.  The only sure things for Governor had the last names of Brogdon and Fisher, but I know what we'll get with Edmondson or Cornett.

I will be voting for Kevin Stitt for Governor.  Mary turned out to be Oklahoma's biggest disappointment.  I am hopeful that Stitt will be Oklahoma's most pleasant surprise. 

Charlie Meadows in North Pole, Alaska   

This in from North Pole, Alaska:  Charlie says, “If you don’t vote for Kevin Stitt this Tuesday, Santa Clause will not visit your house this Christmas!”

Charlie filled in at North Pole’s Santa’s House for a few minutes on Saturday where he also made himself available for political commentary.  Unconfirmed rumors have been overheard that he actually granted the youngest of Kevin Stitt’s six children their Christmas wish that daddy would be our next governor!

Charlie continued to say, “In all seriousness, it is time for us to vote for the better of the two Republicans.  That is clearly Kevin Stitt.  We know who Mick Cornett is.  He has a track record.  He is not a conservative.  Kevin’s core values are conservative.  We have a much better chance of him governing according to the principles of good government.  Members of OCPAC and other grass roots conservatives have a far better opportunity to share conservative values with Kevin Stitt than we do with Mick Cornett.  Mick Cornett is squarely in the lap of 'the tall building crowd' and will govern according to their wishes.

To refuse to vote for anyone who does not carry the Fisher banner to abolish abortion and re-establish state sovereignty sounds very principled.  Dan did an excellent job of articulating with clarity the importance of these twin issues.  However, last June 26, 92% of all Republicans chose a candidate with a different message.  To force Stitt to commit to the Fisher message would only guarantee his defeat.  Stitt has said nothing, that I am aware of, which would keep him from supporting either of these lofty goals sometime in the future.  We need to help him, as only a Stitt victory will give us a governor who is not committed to establishment funding."

Election Results Map: GOP Gubernatorial Primary

For the latest installment in my Election Results Maps series, we now take a look at the GOP primary for Governor. As is my custom, I try to match primary results map colors to campaign logos when possible, although sometimes I have to differentiate for contrast.

As with every other Republican statewide race with three or more candidates, this one is going to the August runoff. I have maps further detailing the top-3 finishes for the top five vote-getting candidates, which we'll get into right now.

Mick Cornett took the top spot with 29.34%, on the strength of his 45.28% percentage in Oklahoma County; the second highest percentage in the primary (the top went to Todd Lamb in Marshall County at 45.49%). Cornett was over 40% in Cleveland and Payne counties as well. He took "gold" in 24 counties, grabbed "silver" in 14 counties, got "bronze" in 21 counties, and finished fourth or worse in 18 counties (unique among the top three candidates).

Cornett's worst showing was in Choctaw County, where he finished in sixth-place, one vote ahead of Blake "Cowboy" Stephens.

Kevin Stitt edged into the runoff with 24.41% of the vote, a mere 2,494 votes ahead of Todd Lamb. Stitt's top percentage came in Okmulgee, where he won with 34.34%. Tulsa County was his second-highest, with 32.6%. He took gold in 13 counties, silver in 34 counties, and bronze in the remaining 30 counties.

Stitt's worst showing was in Jefferson County, where he was a very distant second with 13.14%.

Todd Lamb came in third with 23.86% of the vote, just 1.3 votes per precinct from getting into the runoff. His top percentage was in Marshall County at 45.49% (top in the race), and Lamb was over 40% in Love, Jefferson, Harper and Dewey counties as well. Lamb won gold in a majority (39) of Oklahoma's 77 counties, garnering silver in 24 counties, and bronze in the remaining 14 counties.

Lamb's worst showing was third-place in Payne County at 18.5%, with three counties (Oklahoma, Logan and Cleveland) at 19%.

Two other candidates won "medals" in the gubernatorial primary: Dan Fisher and Gary Jones.

Fisher won McCurtain County with 26.99% of the vote, took silver in 4 counties, and bronze in 7 more counties. Other than Cimarron County in the Panhandle, all of Fisher's top counties were in southern or southeastern Oklahoma. He had over 10% of the vote in 23 counties. Fisher's worst showing was 3.74% in Harmon County.

Jones got 23.17% and silver in Comanche County, and took bronze in 5 more counties. Jones had over 10% of the vote in eight counties. His worst showing was 1.63% in Harper County.

Of note, Gary Richardson failed to crack the top three in any county, breaking the 10% line in just four counties (Muskogee, Sequoyah, Ottawa, and Cherokee). His top county was Muskogee at 11.73% (fourth-place), while his worst was 1.09% in Major County (seventh-place). Richardson finished behind Blake Stephens in 19 counties.

Blake "Cowboy" Stephens reached 11.84% and fourth-place in Mayes County. Stephens finished ahead of Jones in about eight counties, and ahead of Richardson (as mentioned above) in 19. Other than Mayes County, he had a fifth-place showing in Harper County, but elsewhere was sixth or seventh.

None of the remaining three candidates broke out of the bottom three.

My pick and take on the GOP gubernatorial primary

I have struggled with who to vote for in the 2018 GOP gubernatorial primary more than with any other top-level race since registering to vote when I turned eighteen. Of the top six candidates, Mick Cornett is the only one that I absolutely could not put up with. He is the clear liberal in the race, even supported by a Super PAC funded by a Hilary Clinton bundler. Richard Engle penned a great column on the evidence of Cornett's liberal leanings. I would never vote for Mick Cornett under any circumstance.

There are aspects to each of the remaining five candidates that I find appealing, and certain issues that I have disagreements with.

I started off the primary season leaning between State Auditor Gary Jones and Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, the individuals I am most closely acquainted with and have interacted with, although I was open to hearing from Richardson, Fisher and Stitt.

I consider Gary Jones to have been by far the best statewide elected official in Oklahoma for the past eight years. His work at the Auditor's office has been stellar, and if it weren't for a Governor and legislative leadership that was unreasonably hostile to him, he would have been able to uncover even more fraud and waste than he did. The way that Fallin, Doerflinger and legislative leadership tried to hamstring and cripple Jones and his office is a serious travesty. If we could make Gary Jones Auditor-for-Life, I'd be all in favor of it, and Oklahoma would benefit greatly.

I appreciated how Todd Lamb surrounded himself with serious conservatives, particularly with OCPA policies and former OCPA employees. That was an important sign that his direction could be greatly different than Mary Fallin's. I also appreciated how Lamb would go out of his way to assist local candidates and county parties on events and fundraising, while other elected officials (Scott Pruitt in particular) would take advantage of candidates and county parties, even to the point of using them for their own fundraising and depriving those monies of being used locally. Lamb was genuine in his support for the party, while others were more mercenary.

Dan Fisher garnished a solid reputation as a diehard conservative in the Legislature, gaining a lifetime Conservative Index score of 94. Across the board, ideologically, I might match up better with him than with the rest of the candidates. As for Stitt, some people I know and respect are supportive of him and have good things to say about him personally.

The events of the last few months in particular changed my view of the race and the candidates.

My biggest disappointment was when Gary Jones began advocating for tax increases. It seemed so out of character when compared to the great work he has done in the Auditor's office. I feel that Gary fell into the trap of trying to appease the leftist unions that dominate the education field in Oklahoma, who only really seek to advance the Democratic agenda and candidates. While I am disappointed with his choice there, I feel very strongly that the next Governor should utilize Gary Jones in a high position on the budget and fiscal matters. He'd be infinitely better than his longtime adversaries Preston Doerflinger and Denise Northrup.

While flat-out refusing to answer the question when I directly asked him, Dan Fisher has indicated that when it comes to landmark pro-life legislation (such as the new "heartbeat" bill in Iowa), he would be no different than Brad Henry or Mary Fallin and would veto such measures. As such, I cannot in good conscience vote for him. While I agree with him on practically everything, and have the same desire to see abortion abolished, I just don't have a peace about supporting someone who would veto pro-life measures.

While he rightfully and very publicly stood against Mary Fallin's disastrous proposal to hike the state sales tax by $2.6B, Todd Lamb frustrated me by not being very vocal in supporting conservatives who fought against the massive tax hikes during the special sessions and 2018 legislative session. In his survey, Lamb said that he adamantly and publicly opposed tax increases that were passed this past session, but it must not have been public enough for me to catch, because I don't recall him being vocal on it. In some cases, his support has been almost after-the-fact, too-little-too-late.

Kevin Stitt is a blank slate, touting his political outsider credentials as a positive. It may well be, but I am hesitant to place novices into such great positions of power when they have no track record to base their trajectory off of. His apathetic voting record and lame excuse for it also leads me to question his dedication to the conservative cause, as the only time he has ever voted in a primary -- when conservative candidates can best be chosen -- was in the 2004 primary.

I am most disappointed with Lamb and Stitt's attempt to have it both ways by saying they would have voted against or vetoed the tax increases this last session, but would not vote to repeal the taxes in the Oklahoma Taxpayers Unite! petition made it to the statewide ballot. That hypocritical stance has made me remove them from consideration in the primary.

I am looking for someone who will be a bold conservative, who won't cower under political pressure, and who will fight for conservative principles even if it will hurt them politically.

I don't always vote for the candidate who wins the primary, but the primary is when I can best vote on principle and make a statement on the direction I'd like the Republican Party to go in.

If Tom Coburn had run for Governor, I would have been all in from day one. He did not, however, and the above issues left me with one candidate remaining.

I will be casting my vote for Gary Richardson.

I have had some problems with Richardson. I disagreed with some of the attacks he has made on Todd Lamb, particularly as it relates to the power and abilities of the lieutenant governor. At times I question his judgment on particular issues. He has an unsatisfactory answer on why he ran as an Independent in the 2002 gubernatorial race, and I believe is a primary reason why Brad Henry won.

However, more so than any other gubernatorial candidate, Gary Richardson has stood up and fought against the tax increases passed by the legislature in the last eighteen months.

Gary Richardson would upend the political status quo in Oklahoma City, and I would consider that to be a very good thing. On the major issues, he is a solid conservative. He would lead the charge in chasing down wasteful spending and could be counted on to protect the interest of taxpayers.

When few would stand up alongside the conservatives in the legislature, Gary Richardson backed them up in spite of the potential for blowback on his campaign. When the Legislature passed unconstitutional tax increases in 2017, Gary Richardson filed a lawsuit to stop them. At every point during the 2017 and 2018 sessions, Gary Richardson supported conservatives who fought to protect the forgotten Oklahoma taxpayer against massive tax hikes.

He's not a perfect candidate. He's not who I envisioned I'd end up voting for. I know that he'll annoy me at times and that he is a longshot candidate. I anticipate this race to go to a runoff between Lamb and either Stitt or Cornett (and Lamb would get my vote under that scenario).

But on Tuesday, in light of my problems with the other candidates, and his consistent and firm opposition to tax increases, I'll be voting for Gary Richardson.

GOP gubernatorial candidates respond to OSC ruling

I reached out to the GOP gubernatorial candidates to get their response to the Oklahoma Supreme Court's tossing out of the HB1010XX veto referendum being circulated by Oklahoma Taxpayers Unite!. Candidates Gary Richardson and Dan Fisher are the only ones at this hour to get responses back to me, posted below in the order that I received them.

Gary Richardson: 
   “The Oklahoma Supreme Court did not contest the merits of the taxation issue addressed in the petition. This ruling was based on the fact that it didn't comply with all of the technicalities that were required. Based on the court's strict compliance rules, when it comes to filing such as this, I can understand the court's ruling.  Again, based on what the court said, it has nothing to do with the merits of the petition.

   But Oklahomans still have a number of avenues to reverse the unjustified tax hikes which passed in the last legislative session. The most expedient avenue is to elect the right Governor, one dedicated to responsible government spending, who can work with lawmakers across the political spectrum to reverse the tax hikes.

   Regardless of this ruling, I don’t see how state leaders can morally justify raising taxes when it is abundantly obvious they are mismanaging the money they already have.

   My first order of business as Governor will be to thoroughly audit state agencies with performance and/or forensic audits so we can flush out the waste, abuse and corruption. All of the data shows, once these audits are completed, the state will save more money than it would have collected through the tax increases.  The tax increases are merely covering up the problem.”

Dan Fisher:
It is my opinion that our State Supreme Court has made it far too difficult for the citizens to express their will in the past.

The Declaration of Independence declares that “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” and it is the obvious that the understanding and intent of the Founders was that government should function at the “will of the people” - not the other way around.

We have made it so difficult for the people to express their will through initiative petitions that it is practically impossible for them to “jump through all of the legal hoops” to do so.  This is certainly not the “spirit” of the laws governing the petition process.  The very right to petition our government is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  How are citizens to do this if the laws and courts make it impossible to do so?

Therefore, I disagree with our State Supreme Court and believe OTU should push forward.  Sadly, the opponents and the courts are "running out the clock” making it practically impossible for the people to succeed in having their voices heard on this important matter.

Lamb, Stitt, Jones, Cornett: no response yet

Fisher touts online poll showing him in second

Dan Fisher's campaign is out with the following press release, touting his second-place showing in an online poll conducted by WesternJournal.com.

WesternJournal is a conservative news site that, to be honest, borders on "clickbait" sometimes. I saw and took this poll after seeing it advertised on Facebook, which is more along the lines of a large straw poll than a traditional scientific survey. Anyway, here's the release and figures:

Fisher Groundswell Grows

New survey shows Dan Fisher in 2nd place

(El Reno, Ok.) - A new survey of 1,101 in the Oklahoma Governor's race shows former state Rep. Dan Fisher moving into second place. The survey was released June 19th by The Western Journal ,a news and political website based in Phoenix, Arizona,

The results were as follows:

Kevin Stitt 23.5 %
Dan Fisher 14.5%
Mick Cornett 13.9%
Todd Lamb 10.7%
Gary Richardson 8.8%
Gary Jones 6%
Undecided 20.7%

With such a large number of undecided the race is very much up for grabs. If no candidate receives 50% of the vote the top two vote getters will advance to a run-off in August. However, Fisher saw the most upward movement of any candidate in the race. Fisher surpassed Todd Lamb and Mick Cornett, previously considered the front runners in the race. The details and questions of the survey can be found here: https://www.westernjournal.com/oklahoma-republican-gubernatorial-primary-election-2018/

Fisher also enjoyed a victory in the straw poll of the Tulsa Area Republican Assembly. Among the organization members  52% preferred Fisher in the Governor’s race.  No formal endorsement was issued because the organization by-laws require a two-thirds majority to endorse. The results were as follows:

Dan Fisher 52%
Gary Richardson 29%
Kevin Stitt 14%
Todd Lamb 4%

Once described by the Tulsa World as “the darkest of dark horses“ in the governor’s race, Fisher has shown strong support at the grassroots level in several recent straw polls. Fisher appears to be peaking at the right time, with the election next Tuesday

Pre-Primary Finance Reports: Governor's race

The final campaign finance reports (pre-primary) before the June 26th primary have been submitted and posted on the Oklahoma Ethics Commission website. We'll look at the gubernatorial race in this post. All figures below are campaign-to-date, and may include in-kind contributions or expenditures. A new addition for this post will be their campaign "burn rate".

REPUBLICANS

Total Raised: $11,483,354.76

Total Spent: $9,860,467.90

Total Cash-on-Hand: $1,396,825.53
Burn rate: 87.59%

Kevin Stitt

Total raised: $4,199,443.76 (includes $2,175,000 loan)

Total spent: $3,784,958.59

Total cash-on-hand: $291,158.26
Burn rate: 92.86%
* Stitt has loaned himself another $606,000 since the filing of the report, bringing his loan total up to $2,781,000

Todd Lamb
Total raised: $3,674,855.45
Total spent: $2,871,609.81
Total cash-on-hand: $771,172.10
Burn rate: 78.83%

Mick Cornett
Total raised: $1,921,719.71
Total spent: $1,619,645.47
Total cash-on-hand: $247,553.76
Burn rate: 86.74%

Gary Richardson
Total raised: $1,250,548.55 (includes $1,000,000 loan)
Total spent: $1,227,229.10
Total cash-on-hand: $17,570.67
Burn rate: 98.59%

Dan Fisher
Total raised: $331,518.81 (includes $20,000 loan)
Total spent: $276,984.18
Total cash-on-hand: $46,710.54
Burn rate: 85.57%

Gary Jones

Total raised: $88,680.48

Total spent: $67,831.91

Total cash-on-hand: $19,555.04

Burn rate: 77.62%

DEMOCRATS

Total Raised: $1,587,948.76

Total Spent: $1,156,481.92

Total Cash-on-Hand: $420,070.17
Burn rate: 85.09%

Drew Edmondson
Total raised: $1,519,555.52 (includes $60,000 loan)
Total spent: $1,093,546.04
Total cash-on-hand: $414,929.31
Burn rate: 72.49%

Connie Johnson

Total raised: $68,393.24

Total spent: $62,935.88

Total cash-on-hand: $5,140.86
Burn rate: 92.45%

LIBERTARIANS

Total Raised: $31,965.44 (~$13,100 in-kind)

Total Spent: $16,042.65

Total Cash-on-Hand: $2,810.01
Burn rate: 85.09

Chris Powell

Total raised: $6,332.88 (including $1,200 loan)

Total spent: $5,920.88

Total cash-on-hand: $277.65
Burn rate: 95.52%

Rex Lawhorn
Total raised: $7,814.54 (half in-kind)
Total spent: $3,799.87
Total cash-on-hand: $520.13
Burn rate: 87.96%

Joseph Maldonado

Total raised: $17,818.02 (~$9,500 in-kind)

Total spent: $6,321.90

Total cash-on-hand: $2,012.23
Burn rate: 75.86%

Money-wise, Chris Powell is far and away the leader in the Libertarian primary, having raised more cash than Rex Lawhorn and Joseph Maldonado (aka Joe Exotic) combined.

Coming this week: Gubernatorial Candidate Survey responses

Coming later this week, I will be posting the responses or non-responses of the top six GOP gubernatorial candidates. Each of them have been sent a questionnaire, which I will post below.

Questions 1-8 and 10 were the same for all candidates, and cover important issues that I believe voters will be interested in reading their response to, including some topics that I have not seen previously addressed by many of the candidates.

Question 9 was be different for everyone, with the question being tailored for each candidate specifically. I tried to make the questionnaire interesting, wide-ranging, and tough for all, but I believe the questions are still fair to each.

I am personally uncommitted still, and have attempted to use this survey for people like me who are still trying to decide how to vote on June 26th.

Here is what each of the candidates have been asked to answer:

2018 MuskogeePolitico.com GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire

1. How has your experience prepared you to serve as Governor?

2. What needs to be done to fix Oklahoma’s budget process?

3. Tax revenue has increased dramatically over the past few months to nearly-record setting levels. There may be a surplus of over one billion dollars available for budgeting next year. What would you propose be done with any budget surplus during the next legislative session?

4. Education has been a hot topic over the past few years. What is your plan to address the issues facing common and higher education in Oklahoma?

5. Under Civil Asset Forfeiture, law enforcement can seize and keep property suspected of involvement in criminal activity, even if the property owner is not found guilty of or even charged with a crime. This has resulted in high-profile cases of innocent citizens having property or funds essentially stolen from them with no justification. What is your position on Civil Asset Forfeiture?

6. How do you plan to hold state government accountable for spending, in light of the scandals we’ve seen over the past year?

7. The current Tribal-State Gaming Compact expires on January 1st, 2020. The next Governor will negotiate for the State of Oklahoma for the next 15-year tribal gaming agreement. What would you hope to achieve in your role?

8. Republicans are often characterized as being for “big business”, “crony capitalism” or “corporate welfare”, sometimes deservedly and shamefully so. Oklahoma has a history of handing out sweetheart deals to large corporations in order to entice them to move to Oklahoma. Meanwhile, small businesses, the backbone of our economy who operate without high-paid lobbyists, often get overlooked. How do you intend to promote and incentivize entrepreneurship and small business growth in Oklahoma?

9.
CORNETT: You call yourself a conservative, yet as Mayor, you pushed for large tax increases and signed a letter to Congress that opposed repealing the Affordable Care Act (aka “ObamaCare”). How are those positions conservative, and how do you defend them to conservatives, who view ObamaCare as the most damaging measure to come out of Washington in decades and who believe in lower taxes?
FISHER: Your most prominent - and unique - platform during this campaign has been Abortion Abolitionism (or, “Immediatism”). You have publicly renounced the term “pro-life”, and your campaign has attacked being “pro-life” as insufficient. In the past few months, the Governors of Mississippi and Louisiana have signed into law bills that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and Iowa’s Governor signed a measure that would ban abortions after a heartbeat is detected (as early as 6 weeks). If the Oklahoma legislature sent either of those two measures to your desk, would you sign it, or would you veto it?
JONES: During the last session and special sessions, you were perhaps the only gubernatorial candidate to openly suggest and advocate for raising taxes. You even spoke at a press conference with the House Democratic caucus to push for a budget plan that raised nearly $500M in taxes. This is despite being a former chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party, whose platform generally opposes tax increases. What do you say to those who may be concerned that you will abandon the GOP platform once in office, like Mary Fallin has?
LAMB: One common concern I hear from people is a perception that you are timid and unwilling to take difficult stances on issues, or that you wait until it is “safe” before voicing your opinions on controversial measures. Specific examples are the pro-life and open-carry bills that Gov. Fallin vetoed, and the tax-hike fight of 2018 where legislative conservatives were virtually unassisted in their efforts to stand up for taxpayers. What do you say to those who have doubts about your political courage?
RICHARDSON: One of your main campaign platforms both now and during your Independent gubernatorial campaign of 2002 is to audit and dismantle the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. If you are successful in accomplishing that, how do you plan to pay for the dismantling and the additional maintenance ODOT will incur by absorbing the current turnpike system without negatively impacting ODOT’s other obligations?
STITT: In your position as a corporate CEO you made decisions and policy that affected your entire company, however, the governor does not have that same unilateral power. As an outsider, how will you be effective as governor not having navigated those waters previously, and given your previous lack of involvement in even voting regularly as a private citizen?

10. As the primary approaches, what one thing do you want voters to remember about you as they go into the voting booth?

Richardson touts new poll, tied with Cornett in 3rd

GARY RICHARDSON LEAPS FORWARD IN LATEST POLL 

May 25, 2018 --  A new poll released today shows conservative GOP Candidate for Governor, Gary Richardson, is well-positioned to make the primary runoff.  The poll shows Richardson tied for third place and within the margin of error for second place.

    “The methodology for this poll is much more reliable and scientific than some others that have come out recently,” Gary Richardson says. “We have been campaigning nonstop across Oklahoma and voters are clearly responding to my position on implementing mandatory statewide audits and cracking down on illegal immigrants who drain state resources.

     The poll (attached below) was conducted on May 22 & 23 among 500 likely Republican primary voters.  The margin of error is +/- 4.4%.

- Todd Lamb 20%
- Kevin Stitt 17%
- Gary Richardson 13%
- Mick Cornett 13%
- Dan Fisher 4%
- Gary Jones 3% 
- Undecided 30%

    “With so many candidates in this primary race, the dynamics are constantly changing,” says Richardson.  “The runoff is still anybody’s game and I have no doubts that I will be on the ballot for Governor in August and November.  Momentum wins elections and we are making significant strides every day.“

SoonerPoll: Lamb 23.3%, Cornett 20.4%, Stitt 13.5%

Last night, numbers were released from a SoonerPoll survey conducted for KWTV (OKC's News9) and KOTV (Tulsa's News on 6) on the statewide primaries. Here are the GOP gubernatorial race numbers:

SoonerPoll/News9/News on 6 Oklahoma GOP Gubernatorial Poll (PDF link) 

622 likely Oklahoma voters (321 Republicans), conducted in May [date not availavle]. Overall MoE +/- 3.93%. Numbers in parentheses are from April, brackets January, braces are from September.

Todd Lamb - 23.3% (21.2%) [17.6%] {32%}
Mick Cornett - 20.4% (22%) [23.9%] {29%}
Kevin Stitt - 13.5% (7.8%) [3.4%] {not polled}
Gary Jones - 4.1% (2.6%) [3.4%] {"under 10%"}
Dan Fisher - 3.2%(3.7%) [4.0%] {"under 10%"}
Gary Richardson - 2.9% (7.2%) [9.0%] {"under 10%"}
Other candidate - 1.2%
Undecided - 31.3 (35.5%) [38.7%] {23%}

You can view the full crosstabs here.

On the Democratic side of things, Drew Edmondson got 43.5%, Connie Johnson 13.6%, and 42.9% were undecided.

Follow these links for the Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General numbers.

1Q Gubernatorial Campaign Finance Reports

The 1st Quarter campaign finance reports have been submitted and posted on the Oklahoma Ethics Commission website. We'll look at the gubernatorial race in this post. All figures below are campaign-to-date, and may include in-kind contributions or expenditures. A new addition for this post will be their campaign "burn rate".

REPUBLICANS

Total Raised: $9,631,483.38

Total Spent: $4,196,573.75

Total Cash-on-Hand: $5,268,120.77
Burn rate: 44.34%

Todd Lamb
Total raised: $3,454,637.80
Total spent: $1,033,421.28
Total cash-on-hand: $2,392,784.26
Burn rate: 30.16%

Kevin Stitt

Total raised: $3,091,136.66 (includes $1,500,000 loan)

Total spent: $1,421,321.59

Total cash-on-hand: $1,595,276.76
Burn rate: 47.12%

Mick Cornett
Total raised: $1,574,727.65
Total spent: $727,719.21
Total cash-on-hand: $797,787.96
Burn rate: 47.65%

Gary Richardson
Total raised: $1,208,593.55 (includes $1,000,000 loan)
Total spent: $811,186.98
Total cash-on-hand: $392,557.79
Burn rate: 67.39%

Dan Fisher
Total raised: $230,697.24 (includes $20,000 loan)
Total spent: $177,802.47
Total cash-on-hand: $46,083.21
Burn rate: 79.42%

Gary Jones

Total raised: $71,690.48

Total spent: $26,766.16

Total cash-on-hand: $43,630.79

Burn rate: 38.02%

Of the GOP candidates, Todd Lamb has the lowest burn rate at just a hair over 30%. Stitt and Cornett are right under 48%, while Richardson is at 67%. Stitt and Richardson have combined to write $2.5M in personal loans to their campaigns, so in one respect the burn rate may not mean much for them. Dan Fisher has the highest burn rate at almost 80%, leaving his campaign mostly out of money for the final weeks. Gary Jones has the second lowest burn rate, but by far the lowest fundraising at less than $75K.

DEMOCRATS

Total Raised: $1,206,329.11

Total Spent: $862,406.88

Total Cash-on-Hand: $333,272.81
Burn rate: 72.13%

Drew Edmondson
Total raised: $1,146,024.47 (includes $50,000 loan)
Total spent: $809,668.38
Total cash-on-hand: $326,023.17
Burn rate: 71.29%

Connie Johnson

Total raised: $60,304.64

Total spent: $52,738.50

Total cash-on-hand: $7,249.64
Burn rate: 87.91%

Both Democratic candidates have very high burn rates. Edmondson is the heavy favorite in this primary, but will likely head into the general election having exhausted most of his campaign money.

LIBERTARIANS

Total Raised: $18,387.56 ($10,400 in-kind)

Total Spent: $4,469.53

Total Cash-on-Hand: $3,658.24
Burn rate: 56.24%

Chris Powell

Total raised: $4,467.88

Total spent: $1,312.94

Total cash-on-hand: $3,020.59
Burn rate: 30.3%

Rex Lawhorn
Total raised: $2,189.54
Total spent: $910.34
Total cash-on-hand: $464.66
Burn rate: 76.18%

Joseph Maldonado

Total raised: $11,730.14 (~$9,300 in-kind)

Total spent: $2,246.25

Total cash-on-hand: $172.99
Burn rate: 92.85%

Money-wise, Chris Powell is far and away the leader in the Libertarian primary, having raised more cash than Rex Lawhorn and Joseph Maldonado (aka Joe Exotic) combined.

Poll: Lamb and Stitt at 19%, Cornett 17%, Richardson 12%

Magellan Strategies released a brand new poll today on the gubernatorial race, showing the biggest shake-up yet:

Oklahoma 2018 Governor Republican Primary Election Survey Release

(link)

Today Magellan Strategies released the findings of an automated voice recorded survey of 644 likely Republican primary voters in Oklahoma. The interviews were conducted on April 18th, 19th and 22nd, 2018. This survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.86% at the 95 percent confidence interval. The results were weighted to reflect the voter turnout demographics of past Republican primary elections in Oklahoma.

Survey Findings

Our first survey looking at the Republican primary election for Oklahoma Governor finds a three-way tie. Among all respondents, 19% support Lt. Governor Todd Lamb, 19% support businessman Kevin Stitt and 17% support former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett. Among the second tier of candidates, U.S. Attorney Gary Richardson has 12% support, former State Representative Dan Fisher has 5% support, State Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones has 5% support. Twenty-three percent of respondents are undecided.

In reviewing the ballot test by voter subgroup, we can see each candidate’s current strength and opportunities to build support. Among the all-important senior voter subgroup, (which constitutes 45% of likely voter turnout) we find Mick Cornett and Kevin Stitt in a tight battle with Todd Lamb close behind and 24% undecided. Among self-identified Trump Republicans and Evangelical Republicans, Kevin Stitt leads his opponents by 7 points and 5 points respectively. However, among self-identified traditional Republicans Mick Cornett leads Todd Lamb by 5 points and Kevin Stitt by 23 points. Looking at the ballot test by Congressional District, it is no surprise to see former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett’s support is coming mostly from CD-5 (which contains Oklahoma City). In contrast, both Todd Lamb and Kevin Stitt have broader geographic support across the state.

(click to view larger)

Oklahoma Governor Republican Primary Candidate Image Ratings

Among the three front-runners, Todd Lamb is the most well-known candidate at this time with 94% of respondents having heard of him and 60% having an opinion of him. The Lt. Governor also has a net-positive image rating with 35% of respondents having a favorable opinion of him and 25% having an unfavorable opinion. About 80% of Republican primary voters have heard of Kevin Stitt and Mick Cornett. Sixty-two percent of respondents have an opinion of Mick Cornett and 47% have an opinion of Kevin Stitt. Kevin Stitt’s image rating (28% favorable/19% unfavorable) is slightly more positive than Mick Cornett’s (33% favorable/29% unfavorable).

For more from the Magellan Strategies poll, including approval ratings and survey questions on teacher pay, go to this link.

Poll: Cornett 22%, Lamb 21.2%, Stitt 7.8%

SoonerPoll conducted a survey recently for KWTV (OKC's News9) and KOTV (Tulsa's News on 6) on the teacher strike, and included questions about the gubernatorial race, state employee pay raises, arming teachers, and various education funding measures (including the CLO measure). Here are the GOP gubernatorial race numbers:

SoonerPoll/News9/News on 6 Oklahoma GOP Gubernatorial Poll (PDF link) 

557 likely Oklahoma voters (294 Republicans), conducted March 14-22. Overall MoE +/- 4.15%. Numbers in parentheses are from January, brackets are from September.

Mick Cornett - 22% (23.9%) [29%]
Todd Lamb - 21.2% (17.6%) (32%]
Kevin Stitt - 7.8% (3.4%) [not polled]
Gary Richardson - 7.2% (9.0%) ["under 10%"]
Dan Fisher - 3.7% (4.0%) ["under 10%"]
Gary Jones - 2.6% (3.4%) ["under 10%"]
Undecided - 35.5% (38.7%) [23%]


You can view the full crosstabs here.

Gubernatorial candidates respond to bill lowering SQ640 threshold

Following the House passage of HJR 1050 yesterday, I reached out to all of the Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian gubernatorial candidates for their comments on the topic of SQ 640 and changing the legislative vote threshold for raising taxes.

Here are their responses, in order of when I received them.

1) What is your position on Article 5, Section 33 of the Oklahoma Constitution (aka SQ640)? 

(200 words or less)

Dan Fisher (R): I am a strong supporter of SQ640 and I will work to defeat any attempt to change it. I intend to make my voice loud and clear on this. SQ640 made it clear, the people want there to be a high threshold for their taxes to be raised. I stand with the people.
Todd Lamb (R): I support SQ 640.
Chris Powell (L): The people of Oklahoma passed SQ 640 because of their experience with state government and their desire to keep that state government in check.  Considering that our current state government is viewed even more negatively than it was at the time SQ 640 was passed, it seems counterintuitive to consider increasing it's power.  Further, it is a guarantee that if revenue is increased it will remove any incentive to reform spending and reduce waste, corruption, and crony capitalism.
Rex Lawhorn (L): SQ 640 was a result of the legislature doing just as the current legislature is attempting, and that's governing against the will of the people. It was a stern message passed by the citizens of Oklahoma to take back control over the legislative process in regards to law that most affects every Oklahoman, and that is their right to keep the fruits of their labor. If we are going to permit legislators to have any control over our lives, it should be with great restraint and complete transparency, and SQ 640 returned that control. It should never be easy to take away the rights from our citizens.
Connie Johnson (D): I support changing the threshold required to raise taxes and encourage the Legislature to give consideration to requiring the same threshold to lower taxes. In both instances, Oklahomans are ready to address the reality of and need for solutions to our state operating at a budget that is 15% of what it was in 2007, with 165,000 more people. Sending SQ 640 back to a vote of the people is one of several potential existing revenue streams. I challenge the Legislature to have the courage to immediately begin to factor in the fiscal impact of cannabis, wind and solar as new, renewable and sustainable revenue streams.
Gary Jones (R): I have said before I would not change the 3/4 requirement.
Gary Richardson (R): The people voted for SQ 640 in 1992 to essentially force any new tax increase to the vote of the people and it is working exactly as the voters intended. Without SQ 640, we probably never would’ve uncovered all the waste and corruption that has come to light at the Health, Tourism and Ag departments.
Kevin Stitt (R): [emailed saying they would respond, did not get back with me by publishing time] Stitt responded late with this: I’m not interested in changing the constitution. It should be hard to raise taxes; it shouldn’t be this hard to govern. I am running for governor because state government is fundamentally broken, and the answer to our crisis is new leadership and fresh vision.
Mick Cornett (R): NO RESPONSE
Drew Edmondson (D): NO RESPONSE
Joseph Maldonado (L):  NO RESPONSE

2) Do you support changing the threshold, and if so to what level? 

(100 words or less)

Dan Fisher (R): Emphatically NO!
Todd Lamb (R): I do not support lowering the threshold for SQ 640.
Chris Powell (L): I do not support reducing the 3/4ths threshold for the Legislature to raise taxes and if the issue is put on the ballot I will vote against it and campaign against it.
Rex Lawhorn (L): No, I do not support any change in the threshold. The government rules by the consent of the governed, and if the people want that threshold changed, they will propose and pass another State Question. Until that time arrives, the government should act within the constraints placed upon it by the people.
Connie Johnson (D): [no response to this question, but in #1 indicated she would change the threshold]
Gary Jones (R): [no specific response to this question, but in #1 said he would not change it]
Gary Richardson (R): No.
Kevin Stitt (R): [emailed saying they would respond, did not get back with me by publishing time]
Mick Cornett (R): NO RESPONSE
Drew Edmondson (D): NO RESPONSE
Joseph Maldonado (L):  NO RESPONSE

3) If HJR1050 makes it onto the ballot as written, will you vote for it, or against it? 

(10 words or less)

Dan Fisher (R): Against it.
Todd Lamb (R): I would vote against it in its present form.
Chris Powell (L): Against it.
Rex Lawhorn (L): Against. I will actively campaign against it, as well.
Connie Johnson (D): [no response to this question, but in #1 indicated she would change the threshold]
Gary Jones (R): [no specific response to this question, but in #1 said he would not change it]
Gary Richardson (R): I will vote against it.
Kevin Stitt (R): [emailed saying they would respond, did not get back with me by publishing time]
Mick Cornett (R): NO RESPONSE
Drew Edmondson (D): NO RESPONSE
Joseph Maldonado (L):  NO RESPONSE

Poll: Cornett 15.2%, Lamb 13.8%, Richardson 10%

A new poll released by the Gary Richardson campaign shows a tight race in the GOP gubernatorial primary.

Just 1.4% separates the leaders, OKC Mayor Mick Cornett and Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb. Gary Richardson trails by just under 4%, with Kevin Stitt 1.6% behind him in fourth. State Auditor Gary Jones and former State Rep. Dan Fisher bring up the rear at 2.8% and 2.2%, respectively.

The Richardson poll included results from a November 30th survey, showing that Cornett dropping 3.2%, Lamb rising 2.2%, Richardson going up 4.8%, Stitt climbing 7%, Jones losing 0.2%, and Fisher holding steady.

More details from the survey can be found at this link.

Oklahoma GOP Primary Voter Survey
(link and details)
Mick Cornett - 15.2% (18.4%)
Todd Lamb - 13.8% (11.6%)
Gary Richardson - 10.0% (5.2%)
Kevin Stitt - 8.4% (1.4%)
Gary Jones - 2.8% (3.0%)
Dan Fisher - 2.2% (2.2%)
Undecided - 47.6% (58.2%)

Poll of 500 Likely GOP Primary Voters, March 9th, MoE of 4.4%. Last poll's results in parentheses (11-30-17).

GOP Gubernatorial Debate tonight in Tulsa

The Tulsa Area Republican Assembly is hosting a Republican gubernatorial debate this evening, moderated by Russell Mills of Tulsa's NEWS102.3 & AM740 KRMG. Co-hosts of the debate are the Tulsa 912 Project and the Tulsa County Republican Men's Club.

The debate will start at 6:30pm, and will be held at Brookside Baptist Church, located at 36th and Peoria in Tulsa. At last check, 5 of the 6 Republican candidates had confirmed they would be in attendance.

Brogdon: the tax hike band is back together

The Band is Back Together

by former State Senator Randy Brogdon

Yes, the band is back together and like most Oklahomans, I’m not crazy about the song they’re singing.

I’m talking about the band of billionaires and millionaires who created “Step Up Oklahoma.” The name alone is highly offensive suggesting we taxpayers need to step as if we’re not stepping up enough already. And of course their step up plan always plays the same tune: Money…….. Money……… Money………. More Money.

In other words, grab your wallets and purses, because when these billionaire and millionaire limousine liberals get done with you, your wallets and purses are going to be considerably lighter. Of course, for your own good.

But let’s look a little closer at who the supporters of Step Up Oklahoma are. Step Up Oklahoma is not filled with average hardworking taxpayers like service technicians, bakers, auto mechanics, electricians, and small business owners etc., you know, average salt of the earth people. No, these are uber-wealthy men and women many of whom are politically connected and ready for action. Right now in the legislature, plans are being drawn to tap into your personal income.

I faced these people in the past so I know them and their tactics well.

Let me tell you a little story. Back in 2006 I led a statewide initiative called the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). The legislation simply limited how fast government spending could grow based on inflation and population increases. A pretty reasonable proposal that was undermined politically, by some of the same people who now support Step Up Oklahoma. Imagine that! They oppose limiting government spending but support raising taxes. Well, at least they’re consistent!

Let me give you an example to illustrate who some of these folks are. Consider current Republican House Majority Leader Jon Echols, the attorney that represented the group that worked to defeat TABOR. Leader Echols “talks” about lower taxes and efficient government. In fact, Leader Echols told me personally during the last Special Session that he was committed to fight back Fallin’s tax increases. Let the record show this same Jon Echols ended up voting for all of Fallin’s tax increase proposals. And now, the second coming of Leaders Echols told NewsOK that the Step Up Oklahoma proposals would be at the top of the House agenda in February when session begins.

This has now spilled over into gubernatorial politics as Oklahoma prepares to elect a new governor this year.

As of the 4th Quarter 2017, members of Step Up have donated $49,200 to Todd Lamb’s gubernatorial race. Now Todd is quick to point out that he is against any new taxes. But just this week he said he does support Fallins idea of removing tax exemptions on some current goods and services which could add up to over $6 Billion in new taxes.

Let us consider Lt. Lambs carefully chosen words. He is not for any “new” taxes he forcefully states. Fair enough. But when a product or service is exempt from taxation, and the tax exemption is removed, well as you probably guessed the tax just increased and the cost of a product or service will go up. In other words, you will now pay more for that product or service in the form of a new tax. It will actually be a new tax and Lt. Gov. Lamb and Gov. Fallin are hoping to add billions of your dollars to the State bank account. Don’t be fooled by clever and misleading language, Lt. Gov. Lambs/Gov. Fallin’s proposal is a new tax.

When will these clever politicians learn that we’ve figure their game out?

One wonders who might have Lt. Gov. Lambs ear on this one? Could it be his Campaign Chairman Larry Nichols, (CEO Devon Energy) who surprise, surprise is one of the funders of Step up Oklahoma and a long time financial supporter of Lt. Gov. Lamb? This is the same duo that kept hundreds of millions of dollars flowing to the oil and gas industry with special tax credits while Lt. Gov. Lamb was in the senate. I bet Lt. Gov. Lamb won’t be too eager to remove those million dollar deals as governor. Just a guess.

But wait, there’s more!

Mick Cornett has received $32,300 from Step Up members in his race for governor. Mick said on KFAQ that tax increases are on the table for consideration. At least Mick is frank about raising taxes. He might as well be because that is what he has bragged about throughout his tenure as Mayor of OKC. Wonder where he got his tax increase ideas. Maybe it was his Campaign Treasure, financial supporter, and funder of Step up Oklahoma, David Rainbolt.

Many of the same people who are blatantly out front trying to raise your taxes are financing Lt. Gov. Lamb’s and Mayor Cornett’s campaign for governor. In fact, some are hedging their bets by donating to both campaigns. Make no mistake though, their ultimate goal is to raise taxes and eliminate any constraints on spending. The more tax dollars they get their hands on the more politicians they can “support.”

Here is what we know for sure from the quarterly financial disclosures from each campaign for governor. Supporters of Step Up Oklahoma have donated the following amounts to the campaigns:

• Todd Lamb - $49,200
• Mick Cornett - $32,300
• Kevin Stitt - $4,950
• Gary Jones - $2,700
• Gary Richardson - $500
• Dan Fisher - $0.00

I encourage you to look up Leader Jon Echols financial disclosure forms. I think you may be shocked to see how much PAC money he gobbles up including $2000 from the Devon PAC. You can find financial disclosure forms for ALL candidates at: Guardian.ok.gov

It’s simple just look under Search then Candidate Committee and you’ll see everything.

Here’s the bottom line. Step up Oklahoma is a horrible step in the wrong direction. It isn’t for the people, it’s for the politicians and the rich individuals who fund them.

Step Up is more like a giant Step Back for all Oklahomans. I hope the legislature comes to its senses and takes the Nancy Reagan approach when it comes to Billion dollar tax increases... just say No.
But if they don’t, it will be up to you to flood the Capitol in protest. This is a bad and raw deal for Oklahoman’s. Make no mistake, this band is playin' the wrong tune.

This column was originally posted on the Oklahoma Constitution Newspaper's Facebook group.

SoonerPoll: Cornett 24%, Lamb 18%, Richardson 9%

Yesterday morning, Bill Shapard of SoonerPoll went on KFAQ's Pat Campbell Show to release the numbers from their latest GOP gubernatorial primary poll.

GOP Gubernatorial Primary (parentheses are results from September)
Mick Cornett - 23.9% (29%)
Todd Lamb - 17.6% (32%)
Gary Richardson - 9.0% ("under 10%")
Dan Fisher - 4.0% ("under 10%")
Gary Jones - 3.4% ("under 10%")
Kevin Stitt - 3.4% (not polled)
Undecided - 38.7% (23%)
MoE +/- 4.84%

There's more information on SoonerPoll.com, but no crosstabs have been posted.

Tidbits:

• Cornett's best showing is in the 5th District - almost 50%
• Lamb's best is the 3rd District - 27%
• Richardson's best is the 1st District - 15% (ahead of Cornett's 12%)
• Lamb's percentages were most consistent across the state

OCPAC's Michener: "Mary's Little Lamb"

The following column was submitted by OCPAC President John Michener. Michener is publicly supporting gubernatorial candidate Dan Fisher; OCPAC endorsed Fisher during the summer.

(cartoon provided)

Mary’s Little Lamb

by John Michener

During the 2016 legislative session, the Oklahoma Legislature passed Senate Bill 1552, which could have closed abortion mills across the state and prevented the opening of a new child sacrifice center in 2016 and another one in 2017.  This was a highly publicized bill which had the full attention of Republican Party leadership.  Even before session had begun, back on October 8, 2015, Governor Mary Fallin had pledged her support to the bill’s author.  However, when it finally hit her desk, Governor Fallin vetoed the bill.  Having condoned murder by abortion when she had a chance to stop it, Governor Fallin has innocent blood on her hands.  But this article is about another guilty party who shirked his responsibility on that same occasion.

According to Article 6 § 15 of the Oklahoma Constitution, “The Lieutenant Governor…shall be president of the Senate…”  A president is one who presides.  Most Oklahomans do not realize that the Lt. Governor is in charge of the Senate and has the right to preside in that body whenever he wishes.  This is made clear in Article 5 § 28 of the Oklahoma Constitution, which says in part:  “The Senate shall…elect one of its members President pro tempore, who shall preside over its deliberations in the absence or place of the Lieutenant Governor.”  The term pro tempore comes from the Latin and means temporary.  The President pro tempore is a temporary president for when the Lt. Governor is not present.  Therefore, it is abundantly clear that the Lt. Governor has the right to preside in the Senate.

In fact, in April 2000, as then Lt. Governor Mary Fallin was preparing to run for governor, she presided in the Senate for several days during the Right-to-Work battle.  At the time she was praised by political pundits for exercising leadership.

This point is extremely important, because in the 2016 struggle to abolish abortion, a struggle that was fought and lost in the Senate, Lt. Governor Todd Lamb, a self-proclaimed pro-lifer and the President of the Senate, was nowhere to be found.

On the last day of session, hundreds of citizens were at the Capitol calling for a veto override, and thousands of pro-life advocates across Oklahoma were praying for success.  Pastor Dave Mehlhaff was stationed just outside the Senate Chamber when he saw Senate President Todd Lamb walk by.  Mehlhaff reports, “I approached him in-stride, as he was walking past the chamber entrance, and we exchanged a few pleasantries.  Then I explained that we were at the capitol working to get an override of the Governor’s veto of SB 1552.  I asked him if he would be willing to speak to senate leaders to convince them to reconsider the bill.  His response was something like, ‘When I sponsored legislation as a senator, I preferred to carry my own bill, and I prefer to let those who sponsored this bill do the same.’”

If the Lt. Governor were the champion of life that he claims to be, he would have stepped into the Senate chamber to preside and ensure that SB 1552 was reconsidered.  Because he neither exerted influence, nor took up his leadership role as President of the Senate at this critical time, the Senate adjourned early for the year, leaving business on their desks, rather than record their votes for or against abortion.

You may be wondering if 2016 was an aberration, but Lamb has been conspicuously absent again in 2017 from the fight for life.  In a March 22 meeting with Oklahomans United for Life, Lamb was asked to provide needed leadership in the Senate.  Senator Nathan Dahm was carrying the same doctor-licensing bill that Lamb failed to support in 2016, and Senator Joseph Silk was carrying a bill that would have elevated the crime of abortion from a misdemeanor for the unlicensed, to a felony homicide for anyone.  Once again, Lamb chose not to offer public support.  Those bills never received a hearing in Todd Lamb’s Senate.

Maybe you believe Lamb will lead the charge once he is governor.  In the same meeting just referenced, Lamb was asked directly if he had a plan to end abortion as governor.  Instead of embracing this opportunity to share a bold vision of leadership, Lamb dodged the question completely, defensively saying he was not going to talk about the governor’s race.  “I’ll talk about my role as Lt. Governor,” he said, “but any political issues in the future, this is not the place for it.”  When pressed with the question, Lamb did allow that, “The best way to answer hypothetical in the future is to point to my track record in the past.”

So let us take Lamb’s advice and examine his record.  When Lamb was in the Senate, he was known for advancing typical pro-life bills that treat murder by abortion as healthcare, rather than a crime.  In 2009 he authored a bill to guarantee women “informed consent” before murdering their babies.  Since his ineffectual “pro-life” efforts eight years ago, he has been keeping quiet and running for governor.  In the meantime, murder by abortion has continued unabated, and two new abortion mills have begun operation in Oklahoma which Lamb might have kept from opening simply by performing his duty as the president of the Senate.

Todd Lamb has been employed by government for nearly his entire adult life.  Before taking up each of his Oklahoma offices, Lamb had to take this oath:  “I do solemnly swear…that I will faithfully discharge, according to the best of my ability, the duties of my office…”

Do the last dozen years in state government represent the best of Lamb’s abilities?  He has done nothing substantive for eight years, and he refused to preside in his Senate.  Perhaps his principles are not as strong as he proclaims.  Perhaps he does not understand his constitutional duties.  Perhaps he is afraid that a controversial stand might threaten his run for governor.  Whatever the reason, judging by his record, Todd Lamb is not the leader we should trust to defend the preborn.

The people of Oklahoma are beginning to see through the lies and deceit of so many of our officials who call themselves pro-life.  We must learn from past performance, or we are doomed to repeat it.  Todd is not a leader; he is a lamb…Mary’s Little Lamb.

John Michener is President of the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee (OCPAC), and Director of Oklahomans United for Life.

UPDATE 2: GOP Gubernatorial Candidates on Fallin's Veto

I reached out to the Republican candidates for governor to get their comments on Gov. Fallin vetoing most of the budget passed during the end of special session this week, and her plans on calling the House and Senate back for a second special session to raise new revenue taxes.

I'll add their statements in the order that I receive them as I get them.

Gary Richardson: "The fact that the $30 million that Governor Fallin didn’t veto is being used to cover up the misappropriations going on at the Department of Health demonstrates that we need an outsider as our next Governor. I will repeat what I have said since the beginning of this year - We must audit every state agency, trust, and authority before considering ANY new tax increases and I urge the people of Oklahoma to contact their legislators and encourage them to oppose any new taxes."

Kevin Stitt: “This is a failure of leadership by career politicians. As chief executive, I would ensure a plan was agreed upon before I called for the Legislature to spend a single taxpayer dollar on a special session. The Legislature is under extraordinary pressure, and there are constraints on their power. It requires leadership to inspire, to negotiate, and to empower both chambers to accomplish their goals. I have done this in building my business. For nearly two decades I have led a team to create jobs, balance budgets, and thrive as a company in both good and difficult seasons. But it is also important to recognize that Oklahoma’s crisis didn’t happen overnight. Oklahoma has experienced multiple years of a budget shortfall, and we are going to face another one in 2018. If a football team is failing, you don’t get rid of the coach and then hire a replacement from your bench. You recruit a new, proven leader from the outside to bring real change. I believe we must do the same in order to achieve a brighter future for Oklahoma, which is why I am running as a conservative Republican for governor.”

Todd Lamb: "The governor’s veto is both flawed and untimely. Oklahoma can neither tax or cut itself to prosperity, but rather a complete reform of our budgeting process must occur. There are billions of dollars in tax incentives, credits and exemptions the state forgoes every year, and until an exhaustive review of those are complete, it is not good public policy to ask the taxpayers to increase their tax tab. As a lifelong, proven conservative, I believe it is imperative the legislative and executive branches continually examine each state agency so they are executing their core missions, and are being proper stewards of taxpayer funds. This is where the discussion should have begun last session, and I would prefer the governor focus her energies on the inefficiencies and bloat of state government rather that proposing new taxes on our citizens.”

Mick Cornett: "At the city level, we begin working on the budget early, with input from everyone, including citizens. Our leadership has brought Oklahoma City balanced budgets year after year, a 15 percent rainy day fund, and the highest bond rating available. This leadership is exactly what I will bring to the Governor’s office, and I would advise our state leaders do the same thing.”

Dan Fisher: (no response yet)

Gary Jones: (no response yet)