SCGOP FISH FRY IS TRUE GRASSROOTS POLITICS!

Weekly Opinion Editorial

DEBATE REVEALS SOME DIFFERENCES!

by Steve Fair

     On Saturday, the Stephens County GOP held their annual fundraiser, a Fish Fry in the Fairgrounds rodeo arena.  The largest crowd to ever attend the yearly event listened to a gubernatorial candidate forum/debate featuring the six Republican candidates for Oklahoma governor who have been campaigning for over a year.  District Attorney Jason Hicks served as moderator and asked ‘specific’ questions of each candidate on their primary campaign message and how they would fulfill it.  He also asked a series of questions regarding recent legislature and if what they would have done if they had been the state’s chief executive-signed or vetoed.  While the six agreed on many subjects, the careful listener heard distinct differences, which is the goal of any forum- to point out the differences, not the similarities between participants.

     First, none of the six candidates hit a home run, but neither did any of them stumble.  They didn’t attack one another and were respectful of the time restraints.  They were adults.  With the challenges the Sooner state faces, it’s critical Oklahoma have a governor who has stable temperament and it appears any of the half dozen can keep their head and not overreact. 

     Second, few voters made their minds up watching the debate.  That is not the fault of the moderator.  His questions asked for specific, detailed answers, but for the most part, the candidates gave safe answers.  That is not to imply they dodged the question- they simply gave very general answers.  Part of that are time restraints, but some of that is campaign strategy.  All six referred to their websites to find out more information, but few in the audience will take time to access the sites and look for specific solutions to the state’s problems.

     Third, Hicks closed with two questions, asking if the candidates would support the GOP nominee in the November general election.  All answered they would, but Dan Fisher walked his answer back on Monday, saying his support for the Republican nominee depended on who the nominee was and what they stood for.  The second question Hicks posed was if after they were elected governor, would they be back next year to keynote the Fish Fry.  They all answered yes, so it appears the 15^th annual Stephens County GOP Fish Fry’s keynote speaker will feature the Governor of Oklahoma. 

     While the governor’s race was the main event at the Fish Fry, there were multiple statewide and local candidates campaigning and making their case to the attendees.  With just 33 days left until the June 26^th primary, the politically savvy candidate understood the largest gathering of Republicans in the state was in Duncan Saturday night and they needed to be there if they were serious about their race. 

     The Stephens County GOP Fish Fry is truly a unique event.  Few, if any, county GOP organizations across America can boast they plan and execute an event this large using only grassroots volunteers.  There is no caterer or paid staff to do the myriad of tasks.  Those are done completely and totally by volunteers- year in and year out.   The debate was livestreamed and recorded.  It can be viewed on the Stephens County GOP Facebook page.