Posted on 01/20/2014 3:46:16 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Just days after Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-Okla.) announcement that he’ll retire at the end of the year, the race to replace him began to settle with Rep. James Lankford (R) expected to announce his decision to run at a Monday-afternoon press conference, sources tell The Hill.
Rep. Tom Cole (R) announced in a Sunday-night press release that he will not run, citing his seniority in the House. The state’s attorney general, Scott Pruitt (R), also announced in a Sunday Facebook post he won’t run.
The decisions of Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R) and Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon still remain unclear. Sources tell The Hill Bridenstine may be leaning against a run after receiving some discouragement from local conservatives, while Shannon is now “strongly considering” the race.
The Hill reported on Friday that Lankford had been calling colleagues as early as Thursday night, when Coburn announced his plans to retire at the end of the year, to gauge their support. One source indicated Coburn plans to endorse Lankford for his seat, a development that would catapult him to the front of the primary pack and provide him with some credibility with skeptical conservatives in the special election to replace him.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin's office announced Friday that a special will be scheduled to run concurrently with this year's regularly scheduled elections, setting up an April filing deadline and a primary fight for June with an August runoff if necessary.
The Oklahoman first reported Lankford’s decision on Sunday night.
Cole said in a statement he felt he could do more good for his state in the House than the Senate, where seniority typically reigns supreme.
“My seniority, my membership on three major committees, my position as a subcommittee chairman on the Appropriations Committee and my role as a Deputy Whip in the Republican Conference make me much more valuable to Oklahoma and the Fourth District in the House than I could be as a freshman U.S. Senator,” he said.
He also said that he’s looking forward to “helping nominate and elect another well-qualified conservative” in the race.
Pruitt said on Facebook that he’s planning to remain attorney general because he feels he can do more good in the state.
“At present, my choice is clear: it is serving as Oklahoma's Attorney General, where I can continue to lead the fight for the preservation of our freedoms and constitutional system,” he said.
One source tells The Hill that Shannon may be moving closer to running after receiving a “tremendous amount” of encouragement from local and national conservative groups over the past few days.
If he chooses to run, he would likely compete for the position as the conservative alternative to Lankford in the race, and would easily take up that mantle if Bridenstine chose not to run.
Shannon has strong ties to the state’s Baptist community, which could eat into one of Lankford’s advantages, and would draw support from Oklahoma’s Native American population, as he is part Chickasaw.
As a onetime aide to former Rep. J.C. Watts, Shannon could count on Watts’s starpower and fundraising support if he chooses to run and Watts — who is also considering the race — stayed out.
The state House speaker's bid would put Cole in a tough spot. Shannon worked as a staffer to the congressman, but Cole also has a close relationship with Lankford, who has looked to him as a mentor of sorts since coming to Washington.
Cole, with his deep connections throughout Oklahoma and the considerable local and national fundraising base he cultivated during his time as National Republican Congressional Committee chairman, would give either candidate a significant boost with his endorsement.
Bridenstine will help Ted Cruz in the Senate.
*OK Senate race ping*
I’m not familiar with the field.
As long as a real conservative wins I’m for it.
who is the congressman from Tulsa? Is that Bridenstine?
I don’t know how you find a better candidate than Bridenstine.
Of course, the ultimate test will be who the NRSC, Karl Rove, and Mitch McConnell do NOT support.
http://www.okhouse.gov/District.aspx?District=62
Bridenstine has bucked leadership and gone his own way is my understanding of his record.
That might be a dream pick.
Lankford SEEMS like a good second.
I don’t know anything about the others.
I’m not gonna predict, but I’ll say... don’t be surprised if Governor Fallin endorses TW Shannon.
I know very little about OK politics..but I expect that Fallon stays out of it..that’s the smart course...why make enemies?
“Of course, the ultimate test will be who the NRSC, Karl Rove, and Mitch McConnell do NOT support.”
We should judge candidates based on their merits (which include experience and their deeds matching their words), not blacklist those who someone we distrust endorses. Remember, a stopped clock is right twice a day, and Rove and McConnell could support (and have supported) candidates in spite of such candidates’ principled conservatism because they think that it’s a good electoral choice. Rove and McConnell are in the business of winning elections, not losing them, so if they see a conservative as a winner they’ll back the conservative. (Their problem is that often they refuse to see conservatives as potential winners, but even they can recognize that Shannon is a budding megastar.)
Hasn’t Watts turned left? I’m not sure.
“Rove and McConnell are in the business of winning elections, not losing them, so if they see a conservative as a winner they’ll back the conservative”
They are in the business of electing establishment Republicans, as is the NRSC.
Did McConnell back Rand Paul or Trey Grayson? Did the NRSC back Rubio or Crist? Cruz or Dewhurst? Is Rove backing conservatives over moderates? What was Rove’s track record in winning in 2012 with huge amounts of money at his disposal?
Shannon may be a good guy. I know nothing about him. But I do know that Bridenstine had the guts to vote against Boehner for Speaker. Where does Shannon stand on that? I know that the Senate Conservatives Fund, Madison Project, and Eric Erickson are urging Bridenstine to run, and for good reason. I know McConnell has declared war on Tea Party candidates and is using the NRSC to carry out that war.
If you don’t see a trend in the type of candidate backed by Rove, McConnell, and the NRSC, you haven’t been paying attention. If they back a conservative, it’s likely because they couldn’t get a squish to step up.
Well, you’re right that Rove and McConnell won’t support Bridenstine in the primary, but since it appears that Bridenstine won’t be running the question is academic.
If Lankford, Shannon and Bridenstine it is unlikely that any of them will get to 50%+1, thus necessitating a run-off. You’re obviously committed to Bridenstine, and will support him in the first round. But if there’s a Shannon-Lankford runoff, I would hope that you will analyze both candidates’ records and support the one whom you believe will do the best job in the Senate (electability shouldn’t be an issue with those two, and place the odds of winning the general at 99% for Shannon and 95% for Lankford), and not reflexively support the one who didn’t get the Rove or McConnell endorsement.
Ah, it appears that “Defenders of the GOPe Favorites” have begun appearing.
“if there’s a Shannon-Lankford runoff, I would hope that you will analyze both candidates’ records and support the one whom you believe will do the best job in the Senate (electability shouldn’t be an issue with those two, and place the odds of winning the general at 99% for Shannon and 95% for Lankford), and not reflexively support the one who didn’t get the Rove or McConnell endorsement.”
I’m not an Okie, and don’t know Shannon and Lankford. I do contribute to various races through the Senate Conservatives Fund. I agree with your analysis that one shouldn’t blackball a candidate solely because Rove might back him. If you know enough about the candidate to know he is solidly conservative, by all means back him. It’s just that I’ve seen Rove, McConnell, et al. shove knives in the backs of conservatives so many times that when I see one of them endorse a candidate red lights go off.
So Speaker Shannon is a “GOPe Favorite”? LOL! Establishment folks will back him just as they will back anyone who would be an electoral powerhouse, but, believe me, he’s the real deal. Oh, but if by “GOPe” you mean anyone who has ever held elective office, then Speaker Shannon is guilty as charged, as is Congressman Bridenstine.
I will support whichever candidate will be most effective in achieving conservative victories for the American people. If someone less conservative than me supports the same candidate (and, believe me, not many are *more* conservative than me), I won’t spit on such person’s face, much less refuse to support someone with a proven record of championing conservative principles. I’m looking for candidates who will walk the walk, not simply talk the talk, so I am attracted by Speaker Shannon’s voting record and legislative leadership of the very conservative OK House, plus his unique ability to grow the conservative movement.
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