Desperation: Democrats printing fake Barresi signs

A fake Barresi sign in Muskogee

It appears that Oklahoma Democrats have reached a new low in their desperation to turn the tide on their years-long losing streak. Their latest stunt? Printing fake Janet Barresi signs and placing them next to other Republican signs in an effort to tie those candidates to the unpopular State Superintendent, who lost in the June GOP Primary.

Last week, these signs started popping up in the Muskogee area, and may be an indication of a broader Democratic strategy, prompting the Oklahoma Republican Party to send out an email about the issue (re-posted below from TheOkie):

AG Pruitt Comments on Victory in Ten Commandments Monument Lawsuit

AG Pruitt Comments on Victory in Ten Commandments Monument Lawsuit

OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General Scott Pruitt on Friday commented on Oklahoma’s victory in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU challenging a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Oklahoma State Capitol.

“Today’s ruling is a clear message that the Ten Commandments can be displayed on public grounds like the Oklahoma Capitol because of the historical role the text has played in the founding of our nation. The Ten Commandments monument on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds is constitutional because of its historical value. The U.S. Supreme Court found constitutional a nearly identical monument in Texas. We were confident in the state’s case from the start and appreciate the court’s thoughtful consideration and ruling in the state’s favor,” Attorney General Pruitt said.

An Oklahoma County judge Friday granted Oklahoma’s motion for summary judgment and ruled the monument was constitutional.

In Van Orden v. Perry, the U.S. Supreme Court found constitutional a nearly identical Ten Commandments monument in Texas based on the historical value of the text on the monument. The Oklahoma Ten Commandments monument was based on the Texas monument.

Fallin campaign launches new ad

Fallin Campaign Releases New Ad: "Independent"

The Fallin for Governor Campaign today released a new ad, titled “Independent,” to run on network television in markets across Oklahoma.

The ad showcases Oklahoma’s conservative, independent spirit, and how Governor Mary Fallin has worked to protect the state’s independence from the federal government.




“Independent” Script:

Oklahoma’s a pretty special place. 
We have a strong connection to the land, a fierce independent spirit and a deep faith that sustains us through difficult times.
So when Washington gets in the way, Oklahomans push back. 
It's why I refused to go along with Obamacare and stood up to an out of control EPA.
Whether it’s Washington bureaucrats or even the President, I’ll take the fight to them.
Because no one care more about Oklahoma. 
No one.

An Ironic Contribution

I stumbled across a very ironic campaign contribution this evening, as I was glancing through some reports from the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. Sometimes, a candidate will loan their campaign money, which can be paid back at a future date. In some cases, it takes several years to 'retire' campaign debt.

Take State Auditor Gary Jones. In his 2010 race, Gary loaned his campaign $60,000. During the course of that race, he was outspent by the Democrat incumbent $806,000 to $134,000. 

State Auditor isn't a glamorous position, and tends to get the little attention from political donors. Gary still has debt from his previous race, and is raising money to pay it off. Which brings me to the ironic contribution...

(click image to enlarge)

In case you've forgotten...

... Steve Burrage was the sitting State Auditor in 2010 when Gary Jones defeated him.

Steve Burrage donated to Gary Jones to help retire debt incurred beating himself!

I think it's safe to say there's no hard feelings about that race!

Comparing Oklahoma's General Election Candidates on Facebook

Back in 2009, I did a post that attracted a lot of attention about how many Facebook fans Oklahoma politicians/candidates had. I didn't have time to do a similar one before the primary, but here are the statewide general election matchups (post-runoff). Red is for Republicans, Blue is for Democrats, and Gray is for Independent candidates.

U.S. Senate - full term

Jim Inhofe: 36,242
Matt Silverstein: 16,194
Aaron DeLozier: N/A

Joan Farr: N/A

Ray Woods: N/A

U.S. Senate - partial term

James Lankford: 38,863

Connie Johnson: 4,778

Mark Beard: N/A

U.S. House - District 2

Markwayne Mullin: 7,194
Earl Everett: N/A
Jon Douthitt: N/A

U.S. House - District 3

Frank Lucas: 40,116
Frankie Robbins: N/A

U.S. House - District 4

Tom Cole: 9,265
Bert Smith: N/A
Dennis Johnson: N/A

U.S. House - District 5

Al McAffrey: 5,475
Steve Russell: 2,418
Robert Murphy: 17
Tom Boggs: N/A
Buddy Ray: N/A

Governor

Mary Fallin: 35,872
Joe Dorman: 13,445

Richard Prawdzienski: 751
Joe Sills: N/A
Kimberly Willis: N/A

Lieutenant Governor

Todd Lamb: 524

Cathy Cummings: N/A

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Joy Hofmeister: 11,662
John Cox: 4,969

Labor Commissioner

Mark Costello: 4,958
Mike Workman: 580

Election Results Maps: Democrat Senate, Superintendent runoffs

Another statewide election day has passed, and another set of my Election Results Maps has been produced. Since the Republicans had no statewide races go to a runoff, these maps are of the two Democrat races. As always, the colors have more to do with the candidate's dominant sign/logo color than with ideology.

First up, the Senate runoff between uber-liberal state senator Connie Johnson and sometimes-successful perennial candidate Jim Rogers.

(click to view larger)

As with the primary, Johnson basically only won because she rolled up big margins in the OKC and Tulsa metros. Otherwise, Rogers performed very well in the rural areas. Johnson did make more inroads than in the primary, as evidenced when you compare this map to the primary election map.

Contrary to what ODP Chairman Wallace Collins recently told the press, however, James Lankford won't have any problem trouncing Johnson.

Next, the State Superintendent race.

(click to view larger)

Cox obliterated Deskin in this runoff. I had to add an additional color to add intensity to this particular map. In Adair County, Cox took 90.3% of the vote -- his highest county, and one of the highest percentages I've seen in my map-making "career". For comparison, here is the primary election map. Deskin led in 17 counties in the primary, but only won three in the runoff.

This race will hold the Democrats' best chance of victory in November. Joy Hofmeister, the Republican nominee, may have her hands full with John Cox.

Runoff election: winners and losers

Here are the results from the state and federal runoff races that took place today. Winners are in bold, percentages are from tonight's results, and candidates are listed in order of how they finished in the primary. At a later point, I hope to do some maps on the Democrats' two statewide runoff races.

REPUBLICANS

U.S. House District 5: Steve Russell (59.3%) vs. Patrice Douglas (40.7%)
State Senate District 22: Stephanie Bice (53.1%) vs. Mark Thomas (46.9%)
State Senate District 40: Ervin Yen (65.2%) vs. Steve Kern (34.8%)
State House District 29: James Leewright (51.9%) vs. Dani Thompson-Fields (48.1%)
State House District 38: John Pfeiffer (63.4%) vs. Harold LeValley (36.6%)
State House District 43: John Paul Jordan (68.9%) vs. Jonathan Clour (31.1%)
State House District 61: Casey Murdock (59.5%) vs. Kenny Bob Tapp (40.5%)
State House District 65: Scott Hayes (46.3%) vs. Scooter Park (53.7%)
State House District 69: Melissa Abdo (47.7%) vs. Chuck Strohm (52.3%)
Tulsa County DA: Steve Kunzweiler (55.8%) vs. Fred Jordan (44.2%)

DEMOCRATS

State Superintendent: John Cox (62.9%) vs. Freda Deskin (37.1%)
U.S. Senate (unexpired term): Connie Johnson (58.0%) vs. Jim Rogers (42.0%)
U.S. House District 5: Tom Guild (45.8%) vs. Al McAffrey (54.2%)
State Senate District 8: Selina Jayne-Dornan (59.4%) vs. Gary Clason (40.6%)
State House District 88: Jason Dunnington (50.6%) vs. Paula Sophia (49.4%)
State House District 89: Mary Sosa (39.3%) vs. Shane Stone (60.7%)
State House District 99: George Young (59.3%) vs. Eleanor Darden Thompson (40.7%)
Muskogee County DA: Orvil Loge (53.2%) vs. Larry Moore (46.8%)

Runoff Election Races

Today is the runoff election for those multi-candidate races that were not decided in the June 24th primary. Here are the main runoff races on the ballot across the state, with the percentages the candidates received on June 24th:

REPUBLICANS

U.S. House District 5: Steve Russell (26.6%) vs. Patrice Douglas (24.5%)
State Senate District 22: Stephanie Bice (37.2%) vs. Mark Thomas (33.2%)
State Senate District 40: Ervin Yen (39.1%) vs. Steve Kern (19.9%)
State House District 29: James Leewright (37.9%) vs. Dani Thompson-Fields (31.4%)
State House District 38: John Pfeiffer (34.2%) vs. Harold LeValley (22.2%)
State House District 43: John Paul Jordan (41.7%) vs. Jonathan Clour (28.9%)
State House District 61: Casey Murdock (35.9%) vs. Kenny Bob Tapp (24.6%)
State House District 65: Scott Hayes (32.4%) vs. Scooter Park (27.2%)
State House District 69: Melissa Abdo (45.7%) vs. Chuck Strohm (30.8%)
Tulsa County DA: Steve Kunzweiler (46.8%) vs. Fred Jordan (39.7%)

DEMOCRATS

State Superintendent: John Cox (41%) vs. Freda Deskin (38.2%)
U.S. Senate (unexpired term): Connie Johnson (43.8%) vs. Jim Rogers (35.3%)
U.S. House District 5: Tom Guild (42.1%) vs. Al McAffrey (30.9%)
State Senate District 8: Selina Jayne-Dornan (40.7%) vs. Gary Clason (31.4%)
State House District 88: Jason Dunnington (40.4%) vs. Paula Sophia (23.7%)
State House District 89: Mary Sosa (42.9%) vs. Shane Stone (32%)
State House District 99: George Young (43.1%) vs. Eleanor Darden Thompson (31.3%)
Muskogee County DA: Orvil Loge (48%) vs. Larry Moore (43.6%)


The big race on the Republican side is the 5th Congressional District matchup, while the Democrats main race (and best chance in November) is the State Superintendent runoff.

Lt. Gov. Lamb to speak Thursday night at Muskogee GOP meeting

The Muskogee County Republicans & Conservatives Club will be holding their August meeting on Thursday, August 21st in the Muskogee Public Library's Grant Foreman meeting room starting at 7:00pm. Guest speaker for this event will be Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb. Lamb was a Special Agent in the U.S. Secret Service from 1998-2002, served as an Oklahoma State Senator from 2004-2010, and is now running for his second term as Lieutenant Governor.

Come learn more about Todd's vision for Oklahoma, and visit with local Republicans and conservatives.

WHAT: Muskogee County Republicans & Conservatives Club
WHEN: Thursday, August 21st, 7pm
WHERE: Muskogee Public Library, Grant Foreman Room
WHO: Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, guest speaker

www.MuskogeeRepublicans.org

www.facebook.com/MuskogeeRepublicans

Bridenstine endorses Russell in CD5 runoff

Congressman Bridenstine Endorses Steve Russell

[August 15th, 2014] Lt. Col. (Ret.) Steve Russell, GOP Candidate for Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District, is proud to announce the endorsement of Oklahoma's First District Congressman, Jim Bridenstine.

"I am honored to endorse fellow combat veteran Steve Russell for Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District," says Bridenstine. "I believe military experience is badly needed in Congress, and LTC Russell understands firsthand the sacrifice required to defend the Constitution."

Steve Russell says he is honored by the endorsement because Congressman Bridenstine understands the crisis America faces.

"With our declining veteran population in Congress, we need experienced warriors to help guide the country and defend our constitutional liberties. I'm looking forward to fighting for Oklahomans right alongside Iraq and Afghanistan combat veteran Jim Bridenstine."

Congressman Bridenstine hopes voters will make the right decision by sending Lt. Col. Steve Russell to Congress.

Decorated for valor in battle, award-winning conservative lawmaker, acclaimed author, and owner of a rifle manufacturing business, Steve Russell brings the skills we rarely see these days. That is why 5th District voters are working hard to send this constitutional conservative warrior to Washington.

Pruitt to moderate OKGOP's CD5 Runoff Debate

The Oklahoma Republican Party will be hosting a debate between 5th Congressional District runoff candidates Steve Russell and Patrice Douglas on Thursday, August 21st. The moderator will be Attorney General Scott Pruitt.

The debate will start at 7:00pm, and will be held at the MetroTech campus in Oklahoma City (1900 Springlake Drive, Oklahoma City, OK). For more information, call the OKGOP at 405-528-3501.

Russell, a former state senator and retired Army Lt. Colonel, came in first in the June 24th primary election with 26.6%, while Douglas (incumbent Corporation Commissioner) took second with 24.5% of the vote.

The runoff election is August 26th.

Gov. Fallin to make campaign stop in Muskogee on Monday

Governor Mary Fallin will be making a campaign stop in Muskogee as her statewide bus tour, “Mary on the Move”, comes to Muskogee on Monday (August 11th). Governor Fallin and her reelection team will be at Harmony House in Muskogee at 3:00pm. Harmony House is located at 208 S. 7th Street in downtown Muskogee.

For further information or questions, contact the Fallin for Governor Headquarters at (405) 990-4703, or email info@maryfallin.org.