Muskogee County: trouble for Democrats, optimism for GOP

While Muskogee County tilts heavily Democratic in voter registration, campaign finance records show the local Democratic Party and their legislative candidates in deep trouble, while the Republican Party is on solid ground and set to make big gains.

As of April 2016, Democrats beat Republicans in Muskogee County voter registration 58.17%  to 28.98% -- a difference of 29.19%. While still a big lead, that's a far cry from 2006, when Democrats comprised 67.4% and Republicans were at 22.26% -- a difference of 45.14%. The Democratic decline has been less steep in Muskogee County than, say, Bryan County, but it's very real nonetheless.

In 2006, Republicans won House District 14 for the first time ever, and in 2014 Republicans won their first-ever County Commission seat. This election could set records for the Muskogee County Republicans. Let's look at some campaign finance figures.

House District 14 - Republican-held since 2006 (map)
Rep. George Faught (R) has raised $14,850.00 this cycle, and has $46,009.10 on hand. His Democratic challenger Lee Ann Langston has raised just $1,200.00 and has a pitiful $550.00 on hand.

House District 13 - open Democrat-held seat (map)
Victorious in a three-way primary, Republican Avery Frix has raised a total of $55,858.16 so far, and has $10,656.55 on hand. Democrat candidate Wayne Herriman raised $10,415.00 and has $5,000.21 on hand. Republicans held this seat from 2000 to 2004, but until this election failed to field any more serious candidates.

Senate District 9 - open Democratic-held seat (map)
Winner of a competitive primary contest, Republican Dewayne Pemberton has raised $38,255.00 and has $11,116.92 on hand. Meanwhile, Democrat Jack Reavis has raised $12,632.34 and has a mere $849.87 on hand. To my knowledge, no Republican has ever held this seat.

Looking at County Party structure is even more dramatic. The Muskogee County Republican Party raised $17,746.00 from January 1st through June 30th, and has $23,266.32 cash-on-hand with which to assist their candidates and promote the party. The Muskogee County Democratic Party hasn't filed an ethics report since July 2015, but at that point they had only raised $357.06 on the year and had $488.51 in the bank.

This is looking to be a great year for the Muskogee County Republicans.

Muskogee Mayor/City Council candidates and ward map

The election for Muskogee mayor and city council will be held on February 9th, about two-and-a-half weeks from today. Officially, these races are non-partisan; however, voter registration can give you an idea of how a candidate leans. Given that these races tend to attract little attention, I'm posting the candidates registration, as well as a map of the Muskogee City Council Wards.

Candidates for Mayor: Three individuals filed to run for Mayor - incumbent Bob Coburn (R) and challengers Wayne Divelbiss (R) and Pete Caraway (R). Ironically, in a city where maybe 25% of registered voters are Republican, all three mayoral candidates are Republican.

Candidates for Ward I (unexpired term): two candidates filed - incumbent Janey Cagle-Boydston (D) and challenger Joshua Matthew Casarez (D).

Candidates for Ward I (full term): a whopping five people filed for this office - incumbent Lee Ann Langston (D), and challengers Patrick Cale (R), John Mark Lowrimore (D), Holly Rosser-Miller (D), and Diana White (R).

Candidates for Ward IV: two candidates filed here - incumbent Wayne Johnson (D) and challenger Lynne Wagner Wallis (R).

The election is Tuesday, February 9th.

 Here is a map showing the boundaries for each city council ward:

(click on image to view larger)

Muskogee City Council Runoff Today

Muskogee's February 14th municipal elections resulted in three of the four city council seats going to a runoff. That vote is taking place today. If you reside in Muskogee, and are a registered voter, don't forget to vote. Because 'ward-voting' has not taken effect yet, voters in all four city wards can vote in all three races.

Personally, I voted for Gary Cooper in Ward I (my ward), Shawn Raper in Ward II, and D. Boots in Ward III. All three gentlemen are fine individuals, and would serve Muskogee well as city councilors. While municipal offices are non-partisan in Muskogee, these three men are facing union-backed candidates in the runoff. Cooper, in particular, is running against a very liberal candidate.

If you live in Muskogee, and have not voted yet, I encourage you to vote for Gary Cooper, Shawn Raper, and D. Boots.

Coburn wins mayor, three council races go to runoff

In last night's Muskogee mayoral contest, Bob Coburn defeated David Ragsdale with a resounding 69% to 31% margin. Coburn, cousin to the U.S. Senator, vacated a city council seat to run to succeed Mayor John Tyler Hammons.

Three council wards will be having runoff elections on April 3rd. In Ward I, Lee Ann Langston (49%) and Gary Cooper (42%) will face each other again. In Ward II, incumbent councilor Shawn Raper (47%) and Dan Hall (34%) are in a runoff. In Ward III, Derrick Reed (41%) and Dale "D." Boots (33%) finish out the runoff matchups. Wayne Johnson defeated Ron Venters 58% to 42% in Ward IV.

All three ballot propositions passed, with ward-voting receiving 57%. Proposition 1 (moving election date to comply with state law) took 79%, and Proposition 3 (moving swearing in date) got 88%.