Russell gets Tea Party Express endorsement in 5th District runoff, leads Douglas by 10%

Former state senator and retired Army Lt. Col. Steve Russell, frontrunner in the 5th Congressional District Republican runoff, has had some big news in the past two weeks. First, he was endorsed by the Tea Party Express, and today he released a poll showing him with a 10-point lead.

Tea Party Express Endorses Steve Russell for Congress

Sacramento, CA – Tea Party Express, the nation’s largest Tea Party political action committee, is proud to endorse Steve Russell for Oklahoma’s Fifth Congressional District.

Tea Party Express Executive Director Taylor Budowich said, “Steve Russell is exactly the kind of conservative leader we need to send to Congress. For 21-years Steve courageously defended the Constitution and protected our country as an Army Ranger. As a Lietutenant Colonel, Steve’s ability to lead, even in the face of danger and opposition is unquestioned.

“After serving our country in the military, Steve went on to serve Oklahomans in the State Senate. He fought to reduce taxes and protect the Constitution. After four years of service in the legislature, Steve decided to start a small rifle manufacturing business. At every turn Steve has worked to protect his country and improve his community. He is a dedicated public servant and a bold conservative,” Budowich concluded.

Read the rest of the press release here, complete with comments from various Oklahoma Tea Party leaders across the state.

Poll shows Steve Russell has commanding lead in 5th District Runoff

Lt. Col. Steve Russell, GOP Candidate for Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District, shows a 10-point lead in a new poll released today. The poll was conducted by the JMC Enterprises on July 8th and sampled 419 voters in the 5th District.

The results are:
Lt. Col. Steve Russell: 41%
Patrice Douglas: 31%
Undecided: 28%
Margin of Error: +/-4.8%

“I am happy to see the voters of the 5th District responding to our positive campaign,” Steve Russell says. “This momentum is because the people believe that our country is still worth fighting for. I’m optimistic about our future and I think the voters join me in that feeling.”

Steve Russell won the June 24th GOP Primary with 26.6% of the vote in a six-person race. It appears he will maintain that lead into the runoff election on August 26th.

“We’ve had a great time meeting and speaking with voters almost every day,” says Russell. “I appreciate the groundswell of support from each and every one of them. Oklahomans want leaders to represent them in Washington who know how to get things done. I will not let them down.”

TheOkie.com has more of the crosstabs information here.

Tea Party Express poll shows dead heat between Shannon and Lankford -- Brogdon a non-factor

TEA PARTY EXPRESS OKLAHOMA SENATE POLL:

Shannon/Lankford in Dead Heat—Shannon Pulls Ahead in Run-Off

Sacramento, CA – Tea Party Express, the nation’s largest tea party political action committee, announces the results of the recent Tea Party U.S. Senate Republican Primary poll for Oklahoma.  The nationally recognized polling company, NSON Opinion Strategy in Salt Lake City, Utah, conducted the poll.

This poll finds T.W. Shannon with a slight, 32.0%-30.8%, lead over James Lankford.  In head-to-head run-off matchups against James Lankford, T.W. Shannon has built a more comfortable, 8-point lead over Lankford, while Brogdon trails Lankford by a 50%-10% margin.

While all three candidates enjoy strong support from Tea Party Republicans, T.W. Shannon has the highest favorability among self-identified tea partiers as well as likely Republican voters.

The statewide, live caller telephone survey conducted April 23-29 by NSON was of 400 likely Republican primary voters

Tea Party Express Chief Strategist Sal Russo said, “The poll shows the race to be very competitive with almost a third of likely voters still undecided.  Shannon has overcome the large lead held by Lankford in earlier polling, and he has gained the upper hand with Tea Party identified voters in both voter favorability and in ballot choice.”

Key survey question wording and results may be found below:

1)  IF THE PRIMARY ELECTION FOR THE US SENATE WERE TO BE HELD TODAY AND THE CANDIDATES WERE AS FOLLOWS, FOR WHOM WOULD YOU VOTE? (REPUBLICAN PRIMARY VOTERS ONLY)

T.W. Shannon  32.0%
James Lankford  30.8%
Randy Brogdon  3.5%
Andy Craig  1.0%
Kevin Crow  0.3%
Undecided/Don’t Know  32.5%

2)  IF THE RUN-OFF ELECTION FOR U.S. SENATE WERE BETWEEN JAMES LANKFORD AND T.W. SHANNON, FOR WHOM WOULD YOU VOTE?

T.W. Shannon  38.2%
James Lankford  30.2%
Undecided/Don’t Know  31.5%

3)  IF THE RUN-OFF ELECTION FOR U.S. SENATE WERE BETWEEN JAMES LANKFORD AND RANDY BROGDON, FOR WHOM WOULD YOU VOTE?

James Lankford  50.0%
Randy Brogdon  10.2%
Undecided/Don’t Know  39.8%

4)  DO YOU HAVE A FAVORABLE OR UNFAVORABLE OPINION OF: T.W. Shannon

Total Self-Identified “Tea Partiers”
Net Favorable  58.8%     68.2%
Net Unfavorable  8.3%     3.0%
No Opinion  14.5%     10.6%
Never Heard  18.5%     18.2%

5)  DO YOU HAVE A FAVORABLE OR UNFAVORABLE OPINION OF: James Lankford

Total Self-Identified “Tea Partiers”
Net Favorable  54.0%     47.7%
Net Unfavorable  7.3%     5.3%
No Opinion  15.5%     18.2%
Never Heard  23.2%     28.8%

6)  DO YOU HAVE A FAVORABLE OR UNFAVORABLE OPINION OF: Randy Brogdon

Total Self-Identified “Tea Partiers”
Net Favorable  15.8%     19.7%
Net Unfavorable  7.5%     2.3%
No Opinion  24.2%     28.0%
Never Heard  52.5%     50.0%

Muskogee Tea Party Co-Hosting Presidential Debate

Muskogee Tea Party Co-Hosting CNN/Tea Party Express Presidential Debate

CNN and the Tea Party Express, along with the Muskogee Tea Party and more than 100 other tea party groups from every state across the country, will team up this Monday (September 12) to host the first Tea Party presidential debate, to be held in Tampa, Florida. Eight Republican presidential candidates will be present for the debate. Questions for the candidates have been given by Tea Party members all over the nation, and will also be taken from select remote-viewing parties being held by co-sponsoring Tea Party groups.

This will be a historic evening, and the Muskogee Tea Party is proud to be a co-sponsor of the debate. The debate will air live on CNN starting at 7:00pm Central Standard Time. It will also be live-streamed on CNN.com/TeaPartyDebate.

Candidates participating will be Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (MN), businessman Herman Cain (GA), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (GA), former Gov. Jon Huntsman (UT), Congressman Ron Paul (TX), Gov. Rick Perry (TX), former Gov. Mitt Romney (MA) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (PA).

The Muskogee Tea Party will be hosting a special debate watch party, on Monday evening starting at 6:30pm at Buffalo Wild Wings in Muskogee (1130 W. Shawnee). The public is encouraged to attend, have some great food, watch the debate, and interact with fellow Tea Party conservatives.

The Muskogee Tea Party's organizer, Jamison Faught, and member Steven Proctor will be representing the group in the live audience in Tampa, Florida.

For more information, please email MuskogeeTeaParty@gmail.com, or call (918) 869-6000. You can also visit the Muskogee Tea Party's website at MuskogeeTeaParty.com, like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.

CNN/Tea Party Express hosting Tea Party Debate Monday

(CNN press release, 9/8/11)

CNN, Tea Party Express to Host
First-Ever Tea Party Debate, Sept. 12 

CNN and the Tea Party Express, along with more than 100 local tea party groups from every state across the country, will team up Monday, September 12 to present a first-of-its-kind debate from the site of the 2012 Republican National Convention: Tampa, Florida. Eight Republican presidential contenders will face questions from moderator and lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer during the two-hour event, which will air live on CNN from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. from the Florida State Fairgrounds. The debate will focus on a wide-range of topics, including the role, size and scope of government, with a specific emphasis on issue number one to tea party members and all Americans: the economy.

In addition to questions from Blitzer, audience members inside the debate hall, made up in part by members from tea party groups in 31 states and the District of Columbia, will be invited to ask questions directly to the candidates. Questions will also be taken live from tea party members at debate watch parties in Phoenix, Ariz.; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Portsmouth, Virginia. Online, CNN will solicit questions via comments on CNNPolitics.com, the CNN Politics Facebook page, and by using the #CNNTeaParty hashtag on Twitter.

The following Republican candidates will participate in the debate: Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, businessman Herman Cain, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

The debate will be broadcast live on CNN, CNN International, CNN.com, and CNN Radio. The debate will be available via live stream in the CNN Apps for iPhone, iPad and Android.

CNNPolitics.com will provide a series of stories for all things related to the CNN-Tea Party Republican Debate: the evolution of the tea party movement, its influence on the Republican Party, what’s at stake for the GOP hopefuls participating in the debate and more. On debate day, Monday, Sept. 12, CNNPolitics.com will dedicate its site to coverage of the debate, featuring profiles of the candidates and a behind-the-scenes look at event preparations.

On the day of the debate, the CNN Political Ticker will host a live, up-to-the-minute blog, including real-time comments from CNN’s political team. The page will also incorporate a social media live stream, integrating the conversation happening across CNN.com, Twitter and Facebook directly onto the Political Ticker.

Additionally, a new page for debate coverage, CNN.com/TeaPartyDebate, will be live on Friday, Sept. 9 and will feature a live video stream of the debate, plus related video.


[Blogger's note: the Muskogee Tea Party is one of the co-sponsors of the debate - the only group from Oklahoma that is a co-sponsor. As the organizer of the Muskogee Tea Party, I will be in Tampa in the audience at the debate.]