Posted on 07/27/2004 6:25:54 PM PDT by ambrose
Ex-Congressman Builds Solid Lead in Okla.
Wednesday July 28, 2004 2:01 AM
By RON JENKINS
Associated Press Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Rep. Brad Carson cruised to the Democratic nomination Tuesday for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Don Nickles, while a former three-term congressman opened up a commanding lead in the Republican primary.
Carson faced little opposition in the Democratic race, but former Rep. Tom Coburn, ex-Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys and a third candidate had been engaged in a bruising Republican campaign marked by allegations of backstabbing and shady land deals.
With 3 percent precincts reporting, Coburn had 3,453 votes, or 54 percent, compared with 1,699 for Humphreys, or 27 percent. State Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony was third with 17 percent. Coburn needed 50 percent of the vote to win the nomination outright and avoid a runoff Aug. 24.
Carson's closest competitor was beleaguered Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher, who is fighting criminal charges and an impeachment inquiry over his handling of state funds and a charity. Carson had 77 percent of the vote in early returns, while Fisher picked up only 9 percent.
The stakes are high in a year in which 34 Senate seats are on the ballot. Oklahoma has one of the few open seats, and the Democrats hope to take advantage of the GOP infighting and pick up a seat in November.
Nickles is retiring after four terms and 24 years in office.
For the most part, candidates ran positive ads the past few days after weeks of commercials in which Anthony questioned Humphreys' land transactions and Humphreys trashed Coburn's congressional voting record.
Coburn and Humphreys took a pledge early in the campaign not to go negative. But Humphreys went on the offensive after Anthony began attacking him over the land deals. Coburn accused Humphreys of going back on his word.
Thank God! I am delighted with this result. I'm confident that we will hold Oklahoma, allowing us to concentrate on Colorado and Alaska.
Yeah, we'll probably lose Illinois but NC, SC, GA, FL, LA, SD, and WA all could switch.
Onward! Over the Socialist's Barricade!!!
Although I understand the State House is kinda close to turning over (it will only take 3 more seats), so I hope there's a victory down there in November.
Inhofe and Coburn will make a good team, though I think Coburn will be a little more brazen. It's all good.
Gimme a run down on those states' races please.
Can you imagine a Republican house in OK? Real tort reform, workers comp reform, an end to ghost workers, reasonable oversight.
And Gene Stipe is still in his coffin with a stake through his black heart!
Ok is the only state west of the Miss to actually lose a congressional seat in the last census.
We're not as corrupt as either Arkansas or La., but our democrats try (Stipe, Hobson, etc.)
I live in New York. Enough said. As if there weren't enough liberal Democrats in our state government, the Republicans figure that in order to win, they have to be liberal too! In our State Assembly, the Republicans have been losing seats almost every cycle since 1994 (we're now at 48 seats--out of 151). Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is the closest thing to a political monarch here, and frankly, I can't think of a damn thing he's done except tossing a monkey wrench in the budget every year. The Senate is Republican-controlled, but its conservatism is nothing if not questionable. Governor Pataki has moved left over the years, which has disappointed me greatly. I met him once and found him to be a very nice person, but as I said, I'm upset over his upcoming liberalism.
We lost 2 seats in the House, or, to make it sound better, we lost 2 certain electoral votes for the Democrats.
"Gimme a run down on those states' races please."
I'll chip in with what I know.
GA - Johnny Isakson won the Rep. nomination last week and Denise Majette will easily win her runoff against Cliff Oxford. Isakson will handily defeat Majette in November. Some consider Isakson a RINO, but he is certainly more conservative than Majette.
SC - Jim DeMint won his runoff against David Beasley. He should won against Dem Inez Tannenbaum.
NC - Richard Burr ran a strong race and became the Rep. nominee last week against Dem. Erskine Bowles. Bowles is a former Clinton staffer and lost to Liddy Dole 2 years ago. I don't have a good feel for how this race shapes up.
Anyone have any additional insights into these or any other senate races?
Yikes! Hopefully, those two seats moved to Texas like Oklahoma's did.
Ok should be famous for its corruption. Just after I moved here in '73, the sitting gov (David Hall) was sent to Jail. In the seventies, all but about five of OK's county commissioner were indicted (77 counties x 3 commissioners)for corruption; Gene Stipe (Prince of Darkness; the list goes on. Most recently, a state senator and former president pro tem sent letters to Texas plaintiffs lawyers extolling the largese of OK jurors (no tort reform, of course!) And it's all due to Democratic control since running boards were fashionable.
Are those pick ups or holds? OK would be a hold, but what a hold.
Dr. Tom will pick up a large chunk of Democrat vote in Carson's backyard.
Dr. Tom has made himself well known in the central part of the State and will be our next Senator! You can take that to the bank. He will eat Carson alive in the debates.
One of the best speakers I have ever heard.
Dr. Tom winning by such a large margin is fantastic. Guess the grassroots showed the establishment not to pick our candidates. Humphreys went so negative that I wish he had been beat even more.
Dr. Tom just may be the catalyst who helps us take over the House here in OK for the first time.
That was a fact and what helped send Humphreys down to defeat IMHO. Humphreys had one of the nastiest campaign ads I have seen.
Wouldn't it be great to TAKE THE HOUSE?
and he is for making those presidential tax cuts permanent!
"Amazing that OK still sends good conservatives to Congress and Whitehouse while the state house has held corrupt democrats longer that PRI ran Mexico."
That could very well change secondary to state term limits and a President with coattails in '04.
Thank you. Before Coburn entered the race I was getting worried that we were going to lose this seat. Coburn represents our best chance of keeping the seat, and each day I'm getting more optimistic that he'll win.
When he was in Congress he represented the most Democratic district in the state. That's a great start towards winning in a state that largely votes Republican in federal elections. Go Dr. Tom!
Wise choice Oklahoma.
A near-certain GE winner and a near-certain addition to my best senators list.
Haven't followed OK politics, but if he's elected will we finally have a successor worthy of the "Senator No" moniker? It's been too long!
"Are those pick ups or holds? OK would be a hold, but what a hold."
Any of the three that I mentioned would be pick-ups (NC, SC & GA). The Dems have 5 southern senators whose terms expire this year who are not running for re-election. In addition to those three, there is also Lousiana and Florida. I haven't heard anything about these last two.
Republicans only have 3 incumbents not running (OK, CO & IL). Of these IL will almost certainly be lost, OK looks like it will stay republican and I don't know about Colorado.
Barring a major diaster between now and November, it is hard to see republicans not picking up at least one or two senate seats, with 3 or 4 quite possible.
"What's UAF?"
University of Alaska Fairbanks
It has its own rocket research facilities and launching platform. Poker Flats Research Range.
Here is an article about what goes on there.
http://www.asme.org/mechanicaladvantage/spring99/university_alaska.htm
It is a nice school. Even better now that they upgraded some of campus buildings.
Dem GOP Illinois -1.00 Colorado -0.60 Alaska -0.40 Oklahoma -0.20 Louisiana 0.30 Florida 0.40 S. Dakota 0.45 N. Carolina 0.50 S. Carolina 0.80 Georgia 1.00 GOP gain 1.25
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