Election Results Map: State Question 777

The 2016 election is over, so it's time to update my Election Results Maps series. First up, State Question 777.

The 'Yes' vote won overwhelmingly in western Oklahoma, but lost by large margins in the metropolitan areas. The three worst counties for SQ777 unfortunately were the most populous: Oklahoma County (lost by 38.62%), Cleveland County (lost by 39.88%), and Tulsa County (lost by 42.87%).

40 counties voted in favor ('yes' vote average of 61.93%), while 37 voted against ('yes' vote average of 42.42%).

Ex-legislator Pettigrew tapped to serve on Trump's healthcare reform committee

Oklahoma Man to Serve on Trump’s Healthcare Reform Committee

An Oklahoma insurance professional and former lawmaker will serve on the new committee formed by President-Elect Donald Trump to evaluate change to the nation’s health care system.

Wayne Pettigrew, the owner of Vanguard Benefits Group was contacted by officials with the Trump transitional team on Wednesday. The committee’s first meetings are to begin as early as next week.
Trump has vowed to “Repeal and Replace Obamacare” which is the nation’s law that requires individuals to purchase health care insurance coverage or face tax penalties. The law also has penalties for companies with over 50 employees that fail to offer compliant health insurance coverage.

Pettigrew said that he was honored to be asked to serve on the committee but expects the meetings to be intense. “I’m looking forward to serving but there is a lot of work to be done and a lot to evaluate and not much time before Congress goes back in session in January”, said Pettigrew. The meetings will be held in Washington DC.

Pettigrew is the immediate past president of the Oklahoma Association of Health Underwriters and has had experience in designing health insurance plans for over 30 years.

Pettigrew served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1994 to 2004 and was the author of the state’s Insure Oklahoma law that uses federal matching funds to leverage employer and employee dollars to provide health insurance to lower income employees and individuals. He was a Republican candidate for US Congress in 2012.

All judges retained, but lose at least one county

Oklahoma votes on whether or not to keep judges on the Supreme Court, Court of Civil Appeals, and Court of Criminal Appeals. Never in state history has a judge or justice lost a retention vote, and the lowest statewide percentage a judge got this time around was 58.71%.

However, every judge on the ballot lost at least one county. Here's the list, with their statewide percentage in parentheses.

SUPREME COURT:
James Winchester (61.32%) lost Atoka, Cimarron, Hughes, Pushmataha, Roger Mills.
Douglas Combs (58.71%) lost Atoka, Cimarron, Hughes, Kingfisher, Latimer, McCurtain, Okfuskee, Pushmataha, Roger Mills.

CIVIL APPEALS:
Tom Thornbrugh (61.03%) lost Atoka.
John Fischer (60.42%) lost Atoka, Roger Mills.
Larry Joplin (60.68%) lost Atoka.

CRIMINAL APPEALS:
Clancy Smith (59.93%) lost Atoka.
Robert Hudson (61.31%) lost Atoka, Roger Mills,

As you can see, Atoka County was the lone county to vote "NO" on all judges. Here's the Atoka County vote:

CMA Strategies celebrates 100% win rate

CMA Strategies Clients Celebrate Big Wins on Election Night

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – The consulting team at CMA Strategies led their clients to election success last night, winning every race they were involved in.

After being involved with the issue for six years, the CMA team helped navigate State Question 792 to victory, resulting in unprecedented modernization to the state’s alcohol laws. CMA was responsible for the campaign’s strategy and messaging, including advocating to voters that passage would ultimately benefit the Oklahoma economy and provide convenience for consumers. CMA was also involved in the legislative effort to get the state question on the ballot. SQ 792 passed with 66% of the vote.

Another CMA Strategies client who came out of election night with a win was the Oklahoma Deserves Better Coalition, the group who advocated against the education sales tax increase. With only weeks to put together a coalition, strategy, message and a team to execute the plan, CMA turned the tables on SQ 779.

In late-September, polls showed the state question easily passing with more than 60% of vote. However, the team at CMA successfully conveyed to voters through an aggressive paid and earned media campaign the holes in the ballot language. The campaign focused on the impact passage would ultimately have on the economy, without helping teachers the way it was promised to. On election night, SQ 779 failed with 59% of the vote.

CMA also worked for the independent expenditure group, the Oklahoma Federation for Children Action Fund, which had a very successful night, electing 14 candidates supportive of school choice to the Oklahoma Legislature, demonstrating the people of Oklahoma overwhelmingly support needed changes to the education system that empower parents to choose the highest quality education for their children.

The Maintain OKC Schools Committee, formed to help pass three bond issues benefitting Oklahoma City Public Schools, also worked with CMA. The campaign focused on the “Yes the Yellow Ballot” message highlighting the need to protect funding for school infrastructure, transportation and technology. Each of the bond issues passed with more than the 60% of the vote required.

Other CMA 2016 general election clients included Congressman Tom Cole, Congressman Mike Pompeo, and the Oklahoma Judicial Information Network. All CMA clients were victorious on election night, leading the firm to a 100% win rate.

CMA Strategies is led by principals Sharon Caldwell and Pat McFerron and associates Matt Ball and Keili McEwen. Alyssa Loza, Mike Gunter and Karla Jackson provide creative and administrative support.

AFP-OK comments on SQ779 failure

[Last night, the people of Oklahoma have spoken. This summer, Americans for Prosperity began an educational initiative to inform citizens across our state about State Question 779.

Thanks to our dedicated staff and grassroots volunteers, our state chapter engaged over 400,000 Oklahomans, including 150,000 direct citizen contacts, to educate our friends and neighbors about the proposal's tax, potential revenue distribution, and accountability provisions.

Whatever the result, it was our mission to inform Oklahomans about this important issue and to help them better understand how this proposal could affect families and businesses across our state.

We will continue to fight for Oklahoma taxpayers and to promote the ideals of limited government, free enterprise, and economic freedom in the days ahead.

Many thanks for all of your continued support in the name of a more free America.

God Bless Oklahoma!

John Tidwell
Oklahoma State Director, Americans For Prosperity

Oklahoma Republicans make big legislative gains

Today's election has handed Oklahoma Republicans some big gains in the state legislature.

STATE SENATE: +3
All three Democrat seats were taken by the GOP - SD1 (northeast corner), SD9 (Muskogee and Tahlequah), and SD13 (Ada area). All Republican seats were held. The State Senate is now 42 Republicans, 6 Democrats.

Senate Democrats can trade in the caucus van and now get a car.

STATE HOUSE: +4
Republicans picked up HD3, HD8, HD12, HD13, HD16, and HD19. Democrats picked up HD87 and HD93. The State House is now 75 Republicans, 26 Democrats.

President Donald J. Trump

In a stunning comeback, Donald Trump appears set to win the 2016 Presidential election, and will become the 45th President of the United States of America.

As of 11:30pm, Trump has flipped Florida, Iowa, Ohio, and the biggest surprise, Wisconsin. He almost certainly has also flipped Maine's 2nd Congressional District. Trump held Clinton off in North Carolina, and is still leading in Arizona. Assuming he wins Arizona, that puts him at 270 electoral votes.

He's also ahead in Michigan, New Hampshire, and has a 2,000 vote lead in Pennsylvania. If he holds Arizona and Maine's CD2, he can lose those three and still win.

Stunner.

OCPA Impact comments on failure of SQ779

Statement from Dave Bond, CEO of OCPA Impact, Inc., on the voting results on SQ 779 and the continuing need for a teacher pay raise in Oklahoma:

"Today's results on 779 are only a partial victory. Yes, working Oklahoma families have been successfully shielded from being forced to pay the highest sales tax burden in the nation, and we're very pleased with that outcome.

"But the results are only a partial victory because the need for a pay raise for public school classroom teachers across Oklahoma is still very, very real.

"We spent the entire past legislative session at the Oklahoma Capitol advocating for a teacher pay raise without a tax increase on working Oklahomans, and we will push for the same objective at the Capitol this coming session.

"We look forward to working with President Boren, and with others across Oklahoma who have served as strong voices for increasing teacher salaries, toward realizing this common goal without increasing taxes at a time when our state and our economy can least afford it."

Vote Today

Voting in Oklahoma begins at 7:00am and closes at 7:00pm. If you don't know where you are supposed to vote, the State Election Board has a handy page to help you.

Here are my recommendations again (in more detail here):

President: Anybody but Clinton
U.S. Senate: James Lankford
U.S. House: Republican
State House: Republican
State Senate: Republican
Muskogee County Sheriff: Roger Posey
Supreme Court - James Winchester: NO
Supreme Court - Douglas Combs: NO
Court of Criminal Appeals - Clancy Smith: No
Court of Criminal Appeals - Robert Hudson: YES
Court of Civil Appeals - Tom Thornbrugh: Yes
Court of Civil Appeals - John Fischer: No
Court of Civil Appeals - Larry Joplin: No
State Question 776: Yes
State Question 777: YES
State Question 779: NO
State Question 780: No
State Question 781: No
State Question 790: YES
State Question 792: No

'Yes on 779' Continues Misleading Campaign

Yes on 779 Campaign Tells Another Lie

In a desperate move, the Yes on 779 campaign, Our Children, Our Future (OCOF), unsuccessfully sought to stifle the truth about 779 by sending a cease and desist letter to Oklahoma television stations asking them to quit airing ads which explain that less than half of the money raised by 779 is protected for teacher pay.  When the stations did not pull the ad, OCOF doubled-down and falsely claimed the ads were pulled anyway, citing KXII, a station in the Ada/Ardmore/Sherman media market as having pulled the ads.

Proving this latest lie from the campaign is an email sent at 7:51pm on November 7, from Todd Bates, General Sales Manager of KXII states the “schedule is currently running as booked.”  
The lie that a television station had pulled the ad for being false is just the latest is a series of lies from OCOF.  OCOF continues to mislead voters by claiming ‘every penny will be audited’ when their own ballot language clearly exempts the more than 100 million dollars a year dedicated to higher education funding. It is clear OCOF is either intentionally misleading voters or unable to understand the constitutional amendment as written.

The OCOF continue to falsely claim 60% of the revenue generated by the sales tax will go to teacher pay when the language says it can go to teacher pay or “otherwise address teacher and staff shortages.”  There is absolutely nothing requiring that the “otherwise addressing” staff shortages would mean teacher pay. This could be used for any variety of administrative functions, such as recruiting trips, advertising, or salaries for principals and other non-superintendent administrators.

OCOF and the supporters are clearly afraid voters are seeing what 779 is:  another scam designed by political leaders along the lines of the lottery, casino gaming and HB 1017 – all programs promised to fix education.  Tax Bill 779 falls in line with these other efforts by using k-12 education as a Trojan Horse to accomplish a different end:  in this case, it is the close to $400 million a year that is not protected for teacher pay.

For more information, visit OklahomaDeservesBetter.com.

Speaker Hickman comments on SQ777

If SQ777 is passed by voters, Oklahoma would join Missouri and North Dakota where similar constitutional amendments were passed in 2014 and 2012, respectively, with no reports of the negative issues opponents to SQ777 argue will occur. SQ777 will allow farmers to defend themselves against unjust laws and regulations passed by a future Legislature or statutory changes placed on the ballot through a petition drive by groups like PETA, the Sierra Club and the United States Humane Society who are opposed to SQ777.

Opponents argue that Oklahomans already have a right to farm so this amendment is unnecessary.  It is true that agriculture is not under attack today by those who serve in the Oklahoma Legislature, but as agriculture continues to become more efficient, fewer of us in agriculture are required to feed a growing number of people around the world. As a dwindling number of farmers tends to a growing number of acres to make ends meet, rural communities lose population. With each new census every 10 years, we see a drastic decline in the number of Oklahoma legislators directly involved in production agriculture, who know that food doesn't come from a grocery store. Small producers to typical farm acreages to larger, commercial operators will be equally protected by SQ777, however family farms who typically don’t have the finances to fight extreme animal rights or anti-agriculture groups who attack them would particularly benefit from this added safety net.

If you believe the current rights of Oklahomans to farm and ranch should be preserved for future generations, you will want to vote YES on SQ777.  If you believe extreme animal rights and anti-agriculture groups along with a growing number of legislators with little or no understanding of agriculture do not pose a threat to current farming and ranching practices, you will want to vote NO on SQ777.

Rep. Jeffrey W. Hickman
Speaker of the House
State of Oklahoma

My 2016 Election Predictions

It's election eve, so time for some predictions.

Presidential race: 

Click the map to create your own at 270toWin.com

Trump pulls out wins in North Carolina, Nevada, Iowa, Ohio, New Hampshire, and Maine's 2nd Congressional District, but falls barely short in Florida, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. Michigan and New Mexico are also closer than expected, but Clinton wins them both.

Results: Clinton 297 electoral votes (49.9% popular vote), Trump 241 EVs (45.4%), Johnson 2.9%, Stein 0.9%, McMullin 0.4% (also gets 2nd place in Utah), all others combine for 0.5%.

I was a little too optimistic with McCain and Romney, so we'll see how this time goes. I honestly could see it going either way. There are even 269-269 tie scenarios that are plausible, though highly unlikely.

U.S. Senate:
Republicans Kirk (IL), Toomey (PA) and Johnson (WI) lose, but the NV seat goes red. Republicans maintain a slim majority, 52R/48D.

U.S. House:
Republicans maintain their majority, losing only about 10 seats. 237R/198D.

State House:
Republicans pick up Democrat-held seats in HD3 (LeFlore County), HD4 (Cherokee County), HD12 (Wagoner County), HD13 (Muskogee/McIntosh counties), and HD16 (Okmulgee/Muskogee/Wagoner/Tulsa counties). Democrats pick up Republican-held seats in HD26 (Shawnee area), HD87 (OKC), and HD93 (OKC). Net GOP gain of two seats makes it 73R/28D.

State Senate: 
Republicans pick up Democrat-held seats in SD9 (Muskogee/Tahlequah) and SD13 (Ada area), while losing SD39 (Tulsa). Net GOP gain of one returns it to 40R/8D.

State Questions: all pass 
SQ776 - passes 79%-21%
SQ777 - incredible rural strength beats urban doubts, passes 53%-47%
SQ779 - the too-late campaign against fails to stop it, passes 59%-41%
SQ780 - passes 69%-31%
SQ781 - passes 66%-34%
SQ790 - confusion about the measure makes it fairly close, passes 55%-45%
SQ792 - passes 63%-37%


Those are my unscientific thoughts on the final results. Leave a comment with yours.