Richardson picks Cornett over Stitt

After posting the above image yesterday touting a pending announcement regarding which GOP gubernatorial candidate he would endorse, Gary Richardson this afternoon endorsed stated that he will be voting for Mick Cornett...

... while saying it's not an endorsement... even though he said yesterday that an endorsement was coming. So I guess it's a non-endorsement endorsement, or something.

From the Richardson campaign's Facebook page:

This isn’t an endorsement announcement. I’m going to say first off, both Stitt and Cornett have issues that I’m not happy about. But to me, it boils down to what has each done in the past 20 years of their career.

Mick Cornett based on the record has obviously helped transform Oklahoma City into a thriving metropolis that has created over 100,000 new jobs, not just in OKC, but the whole region. Our state is in a mess, and Mick has shown he has the ability to bring prosperity back to Oklahoma. While I wish he was more conservative in his views on traditional family values, I am more than confident that the State Legislature can keep that in check. But I will say this, Mick doesn’t hide who he is. He is who he says he is and that goes a long way with me.

Kevin Stitt, well if you have been watching my FB videos for the past year, you know where I stand with Kevin. He is a man who has skirted the law to get ahead, consistently lied about his political positions, and lacks the integrity to be our Governor. Additionally , Stitt has zero involvement in Oklahoma’s primary elections and he was even caught lying about it. First he said he voted for Cruz in the Presidential primary and when the records showed he didn’t vote at all he then said he was “busy working”. How do we know when this person is telling the truth?

I know neither candidate is the ideal candidate, but that is the process we choose to be a part of in a democratic republic. This is a job interview and you have one applicant that has experience in running government and has shown an interest in our state government by consistently being involved in choosing its leaders vs the other applicant who has zero experience in state government and hasn’t even bothered to participate in the process he is asking you to vote for on August 28th. The choice to me, knowing that, is clear.

As Ronald Reagan said, “the person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally - not a 20 percent traitor.” That’s why on August 28th, I will be voting for Mick Cornett in the GOP runoff election.

For my part, I'm disappointed. I can get over Stitt's flaws for the most part, but Cornett is the clear liberal in the race. He's supported by liberals (including a big Hillary bundler), supported raising taxes and opposed repealing ObamaCare, even headlining a nationwide mayors' letter to Congress about it. I will not vote for Mick Cornett at any point.

OK Tea Party leaders announce opposition to T.W. Shannon

Some Oklahoma Tea Party leaders and conservative and activists are expressing their rejection of T.W. Shannon's U.S. Senate campaign, following recent endorsements of Shannon by Sarah Palin and Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee.

Oklahoma Tea Parties and Grassroots Conservatives Do Not Support T.W. Shannon

The following is an open letter to outside individuals & organizations endorsing T.W. Shannon for US Senate:

As conservative grassroots leaders and activists from across the state of Oklahoma we are dismayed that you have endorsed T.W. Shannon for U.S. Senate without having fully researched and vetted the candidate. Each of the top three contenders to replace Senator Tom Coburn has a voting record that is easy to research.

Boots on the ground, grassroots leaders and activists were never consulted regarding who the true conservative candidate was before endorsements were made. Claiming the conservative mantle and deeming yourself as the “grassroots candidate” without the authentic conservative record and actions to support it, instead, makes you a poser.

According to the Oklahoma Constitution Newspaper’s Conservative Index T.W. Shannon has a lifetime (7 years) average score of 74%. In a Tulsa World article dated Sunday, April 6, 2014, during the 2014 legislative session Shannon has missed 305 out of 385 votes and that was only two months into a four month legislative session. The website www.shannonforcongress.com shows that Shannon has debated less than 16 minutes during his time in the legislature prior to becoming Speaker of the House.

Before announcing his candidacy to replace Senator Tom Coburn, T.W. Shannon had never stepped foot inside a Tea Party, Liberty, 9/12 Project meeting, rally or event; once he made his announcement he began showing up at meetings with little or no notice. After receiving the endorsements of Governor Sarah Palin, Mark Levin, Senate Conservatives Fund, U.S. Senators Mike Lee and Ted Cruz, Shannon no longer attends grassroots meetings nor does he seek the grassroots support – he doesn’t need us. Your endorsements have given him the appearance of a grassroots, conservative, liberty loving candidate. While we hold his feet to the fire, you embrace him.

Your endorsement will not make T.W. Shannon become conservative, he has too many masters to serve, the Indian tribes, Tom Cole, big business and the Chamber of Commerce -once in office, he will dance with the one that brought him to the dance and it won't be Ted Cruz, Mike Lee or Sarah Palin. Shannon is being very well handled – he is whatever you want him to be at the time. His association with Tom Cole should bring cause for concern considering Cole’s 49% rating on the Heritage Action Scorecard, who is also closely aligned with the state chamber of commerce and the Indian tribes.

Out of concern that your endorsement of T.W. Shannon for U.S. Senate might be misconstrued that Oklahoma grassroots leaders and activists are endorsing him as well, we feel we owe it to our members and fellow conservative citizens to set the record straight that we do not endorse or support T.W. Shannon for U.S. Senate. We stand with candidates that have a proven track record of conservatism, boldness to stand up for what’s right even when they are the only man/woman standing and will fight to protect our liberty with their last breath if necessary. Oklahoma grassroots gave you Congressman Jim Bridenstine, we are selective in who we support. We support candidates that we feel will best represent our principles and values, not the lesser of two evils, or who has the best chance to defeat James Lankford.

Thank you for all you do for the conservative cause, your hard work is appreciated. While the endorsements that T.W. Shannon has received will make our job a little more difficult, uphill battles do not intimidate us, they make us more determined to expose the truth.

Always for Liberty!

Oklahoma Grassroots Leaders and Activists

Ronda Vuillemont-Smith Tulsa 9.12 Project 
Sandra Crosnoe R3publicans
John and Cyndi McArtor Get America Back
Matthew Vermillion OKforTEA
Martha Vermillion OKforTEA
Harold Vermillion OKforTEA
Peggy Burgess Tulsa 9.12 Project
Bruce DeLay Patriot Pastor, Heartland Church
Marlene Lynch Logan County GOP
Howard Houchen Choctaw County Tea Party
Joy Collins Bartians for Academic Freedom
Dulcie Hannigan OKforTEA
Tom Counts OKforTEA
Jenni White Restore OK Public Education
Lynn Habluetzel Restore OK Public Education
Molly Wehrenberg High Noon Club
Paul Wehrenberg OKC Tea Party
Robert Seamands GEL (Govern Edmond Locally)
Jay Calan Ottawa County Republicans
Bonnie Latshaw Tulsa 9.12 Project
Lonnie Lu Anderson Southeastern OK Tea Party
Kaye Beach AxXiom for Liberty
G Rae and Craig Phillips Tulsa 9.12 Project
Sharon Annesley Oklahoma Liberty Tea Party
Mark Keeling Grady County Tea Party
Karen Yates OKC 9.12 Project
Paul Sublett OKC Tea Party
Ric Moore Logan County GOP
Elaine Leone Tulsa 9.12 Project
Amanda Miller DOR (Day of Resistance)
Naomi Koehn Tulsa 9.12 Project
Elaine Nickelson Delaware County GOP

"I cannot speak for all the pastors that are affiliated with Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ regarding an endorsement of any one particular candidate in the US Senate Race. However, I object that no one from Palin, Lee or Cruz's offices ever consulted the grassroots organizations that live and work in Oklahoma before making this endorsement. Understanding the principles for which Mike Lee and Ted Cruz stand, they should be very cautious of anyone who has such close ties with Representative Tom Cole who received a grade of 49% in this year's Heritage Action Scorecard." Pastor Paul Blair, (for identity purposes only: Founder, Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ)

**Organizations listed for information only

Crawford: Cox accidentally ran Inhofe endorsement ad

In a follow-up to our stories on July 22nd (BREAKING NEWS: Crawford Running 1998 Ad With Inhofe Endorsement and Inhofe: Crawford Ad "Inappropriate"; "Not Endorsing Crawford"), the John Crawford for Insurance Commissioner campaign has clarified the events behind the running of the ad.

According to Crawford, the ad (which first run in his 1998 re-election campaign) was mistakenly run by Cox Communications. Crawford had delivered two commercials to Cox - one to be run, and the other (with the Inhofe endorsement) for them to look at filming a similar one (but without the Inhofe section). A Cox employee inadvertently uploaded the wrong ad, which ran on television for a few days. Cox told the Crawford campaign that "this was [an] unintentional, human error."

Since then, the Crawford campaign has pulled the ad both from the airwaves, and from YouTube. The ad with the Inhofe endorsement had been posted on his website as well, but it no longer is on the internet.

While this may be the case, it does not explain why the Crawford campaign knowingly placed the ad on YouTube and on his website. A Cox employee might have mistakenly aired the wrong commercial, but they could not have edited his website. In addition, the ad was re-worked to include a "paid for by" disclaimer reflecting his 2010 account, so some work had to have been done on the ad before running it, and I find it hard to believe that Cox did not ask for approval on the re-worked edition.

Inhofe: Crawford Ad "Inappropriate"; "Not Endorsing Crawford"

After my post regarding GOP Insurance Commissioner candidate John Crawford's re-use of a 1998 campaign ad including an endorsement by U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe, I contacted the Inhofe office for a statement.

Jared Young, Sen. Inhofe's Communications Director, said, "Senator Inhofe has informed Mr. Crawford’s campaign on several occasions that it is inappropriate for them to use a 12 year old endorsement.  Senator Inhofe is not endorsing John Crawford in his 2010 race for the Insurance Commission."

You can read our initial exclusive story by clicking here.

BREAKING NEWS: Crawford Running 1998 Ad With Inhofe Endorsement

A Muskogee Politico exclusive

Republican Insurance Commission candidate John Crawford is running television ads touting an endorsement by U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe.

The problem? The ad was originally run in the 1998 campaign, when Crawford was running for reelection. He ended up losing the election to Democrat Carrol Fisher, largely as a result of an FBI investigation into contracts Crawford awarded to his son's software company on behalf of an insurance company that was in receivership. Fisher ironically later went to jail for embezzlement while in office.

Here is the ad Crawford is re-running:

[Editorial note: the ad was removed from the internet a few days after this post went online]

This isn't the first time this cycle that a candidate has attempted to pass off, or imply, an endorsement that simply does not exist (click here for another recent incident), and it certainly won't be the last.

Senator Inhofe did endorse Crawford in the 1998 election, but has not done so this year. I am awaiting a response from Senator Inhofe, and will post it as soon as I receive it.

UPDATE: Click here for the statement from Sen. Jim Inhofe's office.

Thompson Implies Coburn Endorsement, Coburn Denies

Endorsements can oftentimes be very influential in contested primaries. Candidates tout the support of prominent figures in campaign material and advertising, seeking to leverage as many votes as possible out of such public statements.

Passing off endorsements that never took place, however, can be very harmful, especially when the public figure denies such an endorsement.

2nd District Republican congressional candidate Charles Thompson has released a mailer that implies an endorsement by U.S. Senator Tom Coburn. We inquired into the matter, and discovered that Coburn has not endorsed in this race, nor any other primary in Oklahoma.

Sen. Coburn issued the following statement today:

"Oklahoma Republicans living in the Second Congressional District are blessed with a field of outstanding candidates.  I am greatly encouraged by the focus of many of these candidates on restoring the constitutional principles that have made this nation the most free and prosperous on earth, and in stopping the spending addiction in Washington. 

Because there has been some confusion over the past few days, however, I want to make clear that I am not endorsing any candidate in this Primary election.   I look forward to seeing the decision that voters make next week and then sitting down with our nominee to discuss the urgent cause we all share."   [emphasis mine]

I spoke with Thompson's campaign consultant, Josh McFarland, who affirmed that the Thompson campaign did not get permission from Coburn to use his picture, and did not dispute that it could appear as an endorsement.

McFarland said that they didn't so much view Coburn as a candidate or a Senator, but "as a movement" that Thompson wanted to identify with. He further stated that "images portray more meaning", speaking of their decision to use the Coburn picture, rather than just using text. The picture of Coburn was placed directly underneath Thompson's endorsements.

It doesn't take much to realize that one should not imply non-existent endorsements, and no campaign manager or consultant should approve such an unethical move. It passes off a false impression, and attributes action to someone who never did what was implied.

Senator Coburn is a very influential figure in Oklahoma politics. Attempting to mislead voters about having a Coburn endorsement is not only wrong, but is unfair to the other candidates in the race as well as the Republican primary voters, not to mention Senator Coburn.

I'm disappointed to see the Thompson campaign express no apology for their actions, and to in fact defend them.

UPDATE: a copy of the mailer is below.