Posted on 07/12/2017 9:17:55 AM PDT by napscoordinator
Edited on 07/12/2017 9:33:10 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
OKLAHOMA CITY
(Excerpt) Read more at koco.com ...
Guess the Dems figured he was safe and non-threatening guy, local service as a city councilman, involved in civic clubs and out in the community. Could make the argument that he could bring in more bacon to the district as a member of the (then) majority party. Probably thought in time he could even make a credible run in the 1st district Congressional seat.
Oklahoma Democrats are also an entirely different breed than national Democrats. Remember Rep. David Boren? He was utterly sane and far more conservative than your average northeast Republican. He only lost because he refused to switch parties like so many other southern Democrats did.
That could be said of a lot of state parties... in the past. The state parties have largely realigned to the national one’s Communist ideology. You may have a few legislators that buck the national trend, but they are few and far between.
Been another scandal related resignation in Oklahoma, State Senator Bryce Marlatt got gropey and kissy with a (female) uber driver.
His district (#27, #49 prior to 2002) is the panhandle plus adjacent counties, probably the most Republican district in the State. It did have a rat Senator who was ousted in 1996 by Marlatt’s predcesaor, Owen Laughlin.
The rat, Don Williams, was elected in 1988 according to Wikipedia which has historical lists of all members (wow!) of the OK leg since statehood, though it falsely claims he and his GOP predecessor, now Senior Federal Judge Timothy D. Leonard, represented Oklahoma City, when both in fact were from Beaver County. I can’t find anything on why a rat won this district in 1988 but I assume it was an open seat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Oklahoma_Legislature
GOP numbers were pathetic even in landslide years, only in 1928 did we even come fairly close in the House.
A non scandal related special for CD-1 is also in the cards as Jim Bridenstine has been tapped for NASA director.
“GOP numbers were pathetic even in landslide years, only in 1928 did we even come fairly close in the House.”
Expecting 1920, House majority, huge one that evaporated in 1922.
I traced the district further back, Leonard’s predecessor was rat Leon B. Field, who held the seat from 1957 (when it was district 1) till 1979 according to
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10542187
Prior to that he was in the House. Wiki lists his Senate service as being from 1953-81, which must be wrong, Leonard was elected in 1978.
Can’t speak to how Don Williams managed to win an ultra-GOP seat. Might’ve run as a Conservative and was better liked than his opponent and able to argue he could bring more to the district from a then-Dem heavy legislature.
As I’ve observed, it’s a lot easier for the Democrats to win an occasional GOP district than it is for Republicans to win in a Dem-heavy seat.
Look at the Aldermanic seats in Chicago. The Dems have gotten the handful of suburban GOP seats in recent years. Conversely, when’s the last time the GOP won Dem seats ? When’s the last time they won the Lakeshore districts ? 1960s ? The Black districts, 1940s ? The heavy Ethnic Eastern European areas, the 1900s ?
As for Oklahoma and when the GOP briefly won the legislature before the modern era, the party was too weak statewide to hold it for the long term beyond national landslides. It was hard to break the hold of the Democrats below present-day I-40 (despite GOP strength in OKC and Tulsa, which couldn’t overcome rural Dem areas). It was like mashing Kansas and Texas or Arkansas together (of the time). The Depression eliminated a good chunk of the northern section’s GOP preference and made it more like TX.
It is still stunning that Trump is potus.
Leonard did not run for reelection in 1988, so the Dem took an open seat. Curiously, he had run for Congress way back in 1974 against GOP incumbent John N. “Happy” Camp, holding him to an unimpressive 58-42% victory. Camp would lose reelection that November to Dem Glenn English and the GOP wouldn’t get that CD back for 20 years. Leonard also ran during his time in the State Senate for Lt Governor in 1986, but lost to a member of the Kerr family in the general. No Republican would win that office from statehood until Mary Fallin in 1994.
The Dems just won a seat in the NH Legislature that they haven't held for 100 years, after doing the same in May in another district.
The Republicans ARE getting out to vote. They're just voting for the Democrat.
The sooner the GOP is destroyed, the better.
A cursory glance for ex-State Sen. Don Williams says he was a school board member in Balko (Beaver County), OK, before his Senate win. I don’t know who his opponent was.
Minor correction: Sen. Leon Field first won the seat in 1950 (then the 1st), not 1956/7, and then resigned sometime in 1979.
Prior to Tim Leonard in the 1979 special, no Republican had won that State Senate district since Ross Rizley in 1930 and 1932. Rizley ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 1938, but won the Congressional seat (then the 8th) in 1940 and held it until 1948 when he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate against ex-Gov. Bob Kerr (the Senate seat had been held by a Republican who was elderly and didn’t run again, Edward Moore, an ex-Dem turned Willkie Republican & anti-New Dealer who used his wealth to buy the Senate seat out from under the Dem incumbent). Rizley was later rewarded by Eisenhower in 1956 with a federal court appointment, holding it until his death in 1969.
Ah, yes, one other thing. I used an online reference guide from the 2005 Oklahoma Almanac to trace back the state legislators. They have a complete list going back to statehood, and you might want to use it to check against Wikipedia.
https://web.archive.org/web/20080920211100/http://www.odl.state.ok.us/almanac/2005/14-histry.pdf
The Senate starts at p. 755 (type into the pdf file) and the House at p. 713.
There’s been another low turnout special in OK and another win for the rats. Gee they have lots of legislative vacancies.
Senate district 34 in the Tulsa Suburbs, where the incumbent, Dan Newberry, resigned to take a job a paid better was narrowly taken yesterday.
Rats are making hay about how well Trump did there, won by 34 points. But I note that the departed incumbent held the seat at the same time be only 16. Prior to Newberry the seat was held by RINO traitor Nancy Riley, who switched to the rats after losing the primary for LT Governor in 2006, he kicked her ass in 2008.
House District 76, next door to the seat lost earlier in the year, was held by the GOP by 2-1.
The GOP also held Senate District 45 in OK City, the previous incumbent, Kyle Loveless, resigned amidst a financial scandal. This was a key hold, the rats must have wanted that one.
But more bad news they had another House special win last month I failed to note, House district 46, Norman (but not containing the damn university), they took by a 20 point margin. The Pajama boy looking rat had lost by the same margin in 2016, the incumbent resigned to take a job that paid more.
The Special election for the Panhandle Senate seat, # 27, is in February. The previous incumbent is the dude that groped a (female) uber driver, allegedly. Better not lose that one. Hard to find a more Republican area.
I also must note that OK GOP issues with special elections predate the Trump Presidency, they lost Senate district 37 in January of 2016, it had been uncontested in 2014 or 2010 (last contested in 2006, 60-40 GOP), and wasn’t up last November.
Oklahoma Legislators need to stop committing crimes and quitting midterm to take private sector jobs.
I’ve heard that Governor Fallin isn’t very popular. I even read somebody today call her “Brownback South.” Got me on what’s going on down there, but apparently some voters aren’t happy.
That very very well may be a big part of the problem. I remember floating her name for VP went over like a lead balloon.
State elections often turn on local issues rather than state.
That said, it doesn’t look good that the “farm team’ can’t get it’s act together and win.
Not good for election down the road.
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