Primary Election: My Take

Due to recent family events, I have been unable to blog much in the last week or so about the primary election, coming up tomorrow (Tuesday the 24th). This post will briefly cover some of my picks -- although not as thorough as I might have done were circumstances different.

U.S. Senate (unexpired term): James Lankford
Either way, we will have a conservative Senator replacing Tom Coburn. However, while I disagree with some of Lankford's votes, I have fewer reservations with him than I do with Shannon. Brogdon is a total non-factor, and has a bad habit of exhibiting poor judgement (i.e. when he got into the governor's race on Christmas, then switched to Senate, etc).
U.S. House, District 2: Darrel Robertson
U.S. House, District 5: Steve Russell
Governor: Dax Ewbank
I have been very disappointed with Fallin as governor, and will be casting a protest vote for Ewbank.
State Superintendent: ???
I am still undecided in this race. Barresi has alienated many conservatives while in office, but at the same time others are wary of Hofmeister's connections. I'm open to be convinced.
Insurance Commissioner: John Doak
Corporation Commissioner: Todd Hiett
Muskogee County Commissioner, District 1: Ken Doke
It's a shame that Muskogee County Republicans have a primary in this race, and both Ken and Mike Stewart would be great county commissioners. However, I think Ken has the best chance at winning this heavily Democratic seat, and will bring a different, more conservative approach to the office.
Rogers County Treasurer: Jason Carini
Jason is a good friend of mine, and threw his hat into the ring when nobody else would do something about the problems at the Rogers County Treasurer's office. Here's a good synopsis on BatesLine.

Michael Bates has a good post on his take, although he and I differ on a few races. Read his here.

Darrel Roberrson endorsed by Alveda King

This press release is from Darrel Robertson, 2nd District Congressman Markwayne Mullin’s GOP challenger:

Darrel Robertson, a conservative businessman and candidate for Congress, announced the endorsement of Dr. Alveda King, a conservative pro-life activist and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Monday. The announcement comes amid mounting criticism of Markwayne Mullin’s vote in favor of a museum labeled by conservative groups as being pro-abortion.

“As a long-time advocate for the unborn, I am proud to support Darrel Robertson for Congress,” said King. “He is a man of faith, conviction, and passion for conservative principles, and I know that he will be a strong voice for the voiceless. With so many politicians abandoning principles in Washington, it is essential that we elect true conservatives who we can count on to stand for what is right. Darrel Robertson is that man, and we are truly blessed that he has put himself forward as a candidate to fight for our values.”

“In times like these, we cannot allow special interests and Washington insiders to tell us who to send to Congress,” added King pointing to Markwayne Mullin’s history of receiving most of his support from groups within Washington. “Politicians like Markwayne Mullin have proven that protecting their political position is more important to them than standing on principle.”

King, a former Georgia legislator, has been a strong advocate for Republican principles, a fierce protector of her uncle’s legacy from the liberal agenda, a committed voice for marriage, and an active proponent of the Right to Life.

“I am honored that Dr. King has decided to support my campaign,” added Robertson- a noted professional angler and innovative businessman who has seen increased interest in his campaign since the stunning upset of Majority Leader Eric Cantor by Dave Brat, who also used Concentric Direct, Robertson’s grass root oriented campaign consulting firm. “People are dissatisfied with Washington politicians that refuse to stand up for our Constitution and our values. I will fight every day against the Obama administration and against Establishment figures like Markwayne Mullin who care more about Washington special interest money than protecting Oklahoma values.”

A lifelong resident of Grove, OK, Darrel Robertson is surging with just over one week until the June 24 election. Regarded as more conservative than his opponent, Robertson is a staunch supporter of term limits, and he has been critical of Mullin’s unreliability on being pro-life, his support of big spending, his numerous ethics issues, and his refusal to stand by his promise to limit himself to three terms.

In his own words: one-on-one with Darrel Robertson (CD2)

I recently conducted a telephone interview with some of this year's Republican candidates for federal office, asking them the same set of questions (tailored for the particular office they are running for). For this post, we have Darrel Robertson, Republican candidate for the 2nd Congressional District. Robertson is the sole Republican challenger for freshman Republican Congressman Markwayne Mullin.

I made numerous attempts to set up an interview with Congressman Mullin, but his campaign made no effort to get back with me. I gave Congressman Mullin ample opportunity to have the same interview, but he evidently did not want to go on record.

The following is a transcript of the phone interview:

JF: What are three things about your personal background that you think voters need to know?
DR: Well, I’m a lifelong resident of District 2 of Oklahoma, I’m a Christian, and a successful businessman.

JF: What do you think are the top three issues facing America?
DR: I think ObamaCare is an issue that’s facing America, I think the way that taxes are structured is, and our Constitution is being trampled on and we’re losing a lot of our liberties.

JF: What is your position on term limits?
DR: I think we need term limits; just exactly how many, or the length of it, I’m not sure. People just can’t be in there for forty years, they can’t be there for twenty years. Some people argue that there’s bad about having term limits, and there is, but the good outweighs the really bad. The good is a lot better than what we’re losing on the bad.

JF: What is your position on immigration reform?
DR: Well, we need to do something, but the very first thing is we have to fix that border, because we can’t pass any laws or do anything that’s going to do any good unless we keep people from coming in here illegally.

JF: The Federal tax system is a mess. How do you propose to fix it?
DR: There’s actually two ways. Myself, I kinda favor a flat tax, and maybe even a negative flat tax where we can take care of a lot of the, you know, I think we’ve got like 81 welfare programs in the federal government. I think we could do away with all of those except one, and then turn the states over to do everything else. I think that would be the best way. The other way would to just do the FairTax.

JF: Some conservatives have become disenchanted with GOP leadership in both the House and the Senate. Do you think House Republicans should consider getting new leadership?
DR: Jim Bridenstine, I really like this guy and his voting record. Trey Gowdy is the other one. There are several guys I like in there, but we don’t need who we’ve got in there. It’s kind of like term limits, it would take care of some of this stuff. The thing at this point is, our leadership, they can’t do enough thinking to get anything accomplished. We have the power in the Congress, but it’s like, be smart enough to do something that the Senate can’t shoot you down on. It’s like they’ve sat there and not done anything for four years that we’ve had control of the Congress, because we’re afraid of the Senate. Now, that’s from the outside looking in, what I see, and I think we need some leadership that can come up with some ideas.

JF: Is there any specific legislation that you plan to file when in office?
DR: Well, of course we all need to file to repeal ObamaCare. Reform the tax structure, and I think, repeal the Farm Bill. I tell you, the very best bill that a guy could put in would be to introduce a bill, like Oklahoma’s got, to make every bill stand on it’s own.

JF: Why should voters elect you over your primary opponent?
DR: I think I can promise to be a true conservative in DC. I’m a lifelong resident here in District 2, and that’s the important people I’ve got to work for. Here’s one of the things that I won’t do: I won’t vote for making the government any bigger, and my opponent has. The other thing is I think my opponent is eaten up with PAC money. I don’t have anything against PAC money, but there isn’t any PAC money that will influence my vote, and I can promise that. I may not ever get any PAC money, but that’s still my promise, that it would ever influence me. On the Farm Bill, the sugar industry I think influenced Markwayne in a big way, and influenced how he voted. They had the opportunity to shoot down this sugar bill and restructure it, but he voted for it. You can take a look at his campaign funds, and see why he did it. But, I can promise that no PAC money will ever influence how I vote.


I'd like to thank Darrel for taking the time to do this interview with me. I'm disappointed that his primary opponent didn't do the same.

Coming next in this series will be a prominent U.S. Senate candidate.

Darrel Robertson posts campaign commercials

Darrel Robertson, incumbent 2nd District Congressman Markwayne Mullin's Republican challenger, recently posted two campaign commercials on YouTube. According to the campaign, these will eventually be running on television.

First:



Second:

Robertson slams Mullin's H.R.863 vote

Robertson Chastises Mullin for Supporting a Bill that would Idealize Pro-Abortion Leaders

Following sending out campaign material proclaiming his pro-life position, Markwayne Mullin joined with DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz to support HR 863, which has been thoroughly opposed by the conservative Concerned Women for America and Michelle Bachman.

“Markwayne Mullin’s eagerness to flippantly toss aside his pro-life position to score political points with the Washington elites underscores why so many in the Second Congressional District are demanding change,” said Darrel Robertson, a local business owner and professional angler who is challenging Mullin in the Republican primary on June 24th.

“I stand with the conservative women’s groups who oppose the idea of establishing a shrine to Planned Parenthood and those groups that have supported abortion in this country,” added Robertson.
HR 863 was passed in the House last week with the support of Markwayne Mullin. The bill will look at establishing a National Women’s History Museum, a fine initiative, however, the proposal for the museum features a strongly pro-abortion version of women’s history including the idealization of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger.

“I fully support recognizing women’s history in this country, and I have no objection to the creation of a museum to honor the countless contributions they have made to this nation,” said Robertson. “However, I cannot support a project that will champion the pro-abortion cause.”

The website for the museum offers clear insight into the thinly “veiled objective” of the effort. While Susan B. Anthony’s pro-life views are ignored, Margaret Sanger is hailed as the leader of “the birth control movement” and a champion of “rational control of human population.”

“We are foolish if we believe that decisions made in Washington do not have a profound impact on culture,” said Robertson. “I’m a God-fearing man. I’m pro-life and I could not in good conscience support a national project that would teach the young people that visited this museum that abortion is ‘rational,’ that ‘population control’ is a virtue, and that Margaret Sanger is a hero among women for championing the abortionist agenda.”

Darrel Robertson and his family live in Grove, OK. A first-time candidate, Robertson has been critical of Mullin for breaking campaign promises, taking money from special interests, and backing measures that increase the national debt. Robertson has pledged to be a strict constitutional conservative and a leading advocate for term limits. 

Mullin draws Republican challenger Darrel Robertson

Congressman Markwayne Mullin now has his first Republican primary challenger -- Grove rancher and professional fisherman Darrel Robertson. On his Facebook page, Robertson says "It is time for true conservative leadership in Washington D.C. I will fight to reign in this out of control federal government."

Read more from the Grand Lake News.