Weekly Opinion Editorial
LEAPFROG!
by Steve
Fair
On August 25th, Oklahoma Republican voters will choose the Party's nominee in four races: Governor, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Labor Commissioner and Insurance Commissioner. If history is an indicator, the candidate that finished second in the primary has about a 35% chance to win in the primary runoff. It happened in the 1990 gubernatorial race when Bill Price beat Vince Orza. It happened again in 2006 Mary Fallin beat Terry Neese in the Lt. Governor primary runoff.
2018 was the year for the GOP primary runner up. Kevin Stitt (governor), Matt Pinnell (lt. governor), and Leslie Osborn (labor commissioner) all finished second, but subsequently beat their first-place opponent in the runoff. Here is a quick look at two of the four GOP primary runoff races on the ballot in August:
Governor: The runoff election will between Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond and former state Senator Mike Mazzei. The two emerged from a field of nine GOP candidates. Drummond finished slightly ahead of Mazzei. Neither got 50% of the vote to win the nomination outright. The winner of the runoff will advance to the general election (November 3rd) to face the Democratic nominee, State Representative Cyndi Munson, and three independent challengers.
The Republican primary for Oklahoma governor saw $70 million spent on campaigns. Mazzei has reportedly loaned nearly $10.9 million dollars to his campaign. Drummond has put $2.5 million of his own money into his gubernatorial bid. Political action committees (PACs) and 501(c)(4) dark money groups spent $17 million to try and influence GOP voters.
Campaign messaging in this race has turned nasty. Increasingly, both candidates are 'defining' their opponent as liberal, tax loving, and out of touch with average Oklahomans. One of the areas where the two candidates differ is the proposed smelter plant in Inola. Drummond remains opposed to the project, citing water and electric supply, and local opposition. He has filed a legal challenge to halt the plant. Mazzei supports the project, (as does President Trump) citing the economic impact, job creation and the plant's role in national security and munitions manufacturing.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction: The runoff election will be between Robert Franklin, a long-time public educator, and James Taylor, a pastor and a public-school history teacher. They emerged from a field of seven GOP candidates in the June primary.
Taylor benefited from a strong grassroots turnout
in the primary to make the runoff. He
spent less than $10,000 for his statewide race.
He has been a perennial candidate for the 4th district congressional
seat, having ran four times against Rep. Tom Cole. Critics of Taylor claim he doesn't have the
skills to do the job and would be Ryan Walters 2.0.
Taylor responds he is not Walters and wants to promote increased parental involvement and teacher mentoring to improve Oklahoma public schools. Taylor has also been questioned about his stance on school district consolidation, which is unpopular in rural Oklahoma.
Franklin is an Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame inductee with a long career in public education. He wants to reduce classroom size and expand teacher pipelines to address the teacher shortage in Oklahoma. Franklin is the clear choice of public educators. Franklin has been branded a RINO by critics because he is a recent convert to the GOP. His recommendation of a book at a candidate forum June 2nd has raised eyebrows of conservative voters. In the book, "Separation of Church & Hate," author, comedian, and broadcaster John Fugelsang supposedly advocates for the LGBTQ+ community.
This race has each campaign caricaturing the position of the other candidate. Determining what is true presents a challenge and voters should proceed with caution.
NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt said, "Second place is just the first place-loser." That may be true on the track, but in Oklahoma, the August 25th primary runoff offers a silver medalist the chance to leap frog the gold.
No comments:
Post a Comment