Republican presidential hopefuls heading to Oklahoma City this week

The road to the White House goes through downtown Oklahoma City this week as hopefuls in the crowded Republican field audition on a stage ideally suited for their messages about military power, religious liberty and energy independence.

Eleven Republicans with presidential aspirations — including some who have not officially declared their candidacy — will speak at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, which begins at the Cox Convention Center on Thursday and ends Saturday with the release of a straw poll.

“This is a huge event for Oklahoma City,” said Gov. Mary Fallin, who will address the conference and introduce some of the speakers. “In fact, it’s a historic event because more than likely we’ll possibly have the next — hopefully — president of the United States here.”

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said, “We get overlooked in the conversation about presidential politics.

“It’s a rarity for us to be the focal point in the country, so we’re going to enjoy that. We would like them to address issues that have to do with the heartland of America. And I would personally like to see them address issues that interact with cities. A lot of times that gets lost in all the political ideology — the substantive part of just making America work.”

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum are scheduled to speak on the first day.

On Friday, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are on the program, with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz scheduled to speak at a party fundraiser that night.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and neurosurgeon Ben Carson wrap up Saturday.

Former diplomat John Bolton had been considering the race but announced last week that he won’t run; he is still scheduled to speak Friday.

“It’s going to be a great opportunity for individuals to see them one on one, face to face and hear what they have to offer,” said Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman Randy Brogdon.

The Southern Republican Leadership Conference — which includes 14 states — holds its meetings around presidential election years. Steve Fair, who represents Oklahoma on the Republican National Committee, pushed to get the conference in Oklahoma City this year.

About 2,000 Republican activists and elected officials are expected to attend the conference, along with dozens of members of the media.

In addition to the presidential hopefuls, members of Oklahoma’s congressional delegation have speaking roles, as do Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, Attorney General Scott Pruitt and other state elected officials. T. Boone Pickens is headlining his own birthday bash, while J. Larry Nichols, executive chairman of Devon Energy, is set to make an appearance.

Some involved with the conference have been touting it as a kickoff for the Republican presidential campaign, but there have already been a few similar events. In South Carolina last week, a summit that emphasized foreign policy attracted several of the candidates.

The Oklahoma City conference will focus on energy, giving candidates a chance to lay out their visions in the land of Harold Hamm, of Continental Resources, Nichols, of Devon Energy, and other pioneers of the shale production boom that has completely changed the conversation about energy in this country.

If the candidates want to talk about religious liberty — as some, like Jindal, do regularly — they can do so in the headquarters city of Hobby Lobby, which fought successfully at the U.S. Supreme Court against the Affordable Care Act’s contraception coverage mandate.

And if Rubio wants to repeat the call he made last week for more defense spending, he’ll do that a few miles from Tinker Air Force Base, which hosts a massive aircraft repair center, AWACS, an air refueling wing and other missions.

U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, who has spent most of the past four decades in state and national GOP politics, said the candidates could use Oklahoma City and the state as examples of another point — “conservative governance that works.”

Despite recent troubles in the energy industry, Oklahoma still has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, Cole said, and a string of Republican mayors in Oklahoma City has created a place “that is attracting businesses rather than driving them out and attracting people and business back downtown.”

Keith Gaddie, chairman of the political science department at the University of Oklahoma, said the conference gives hopefuls the opportunity to “curry favor” with Fallin and put her in the discussion about running mates.

“I expect her to get a lot of buzz,’’ Gaddie said. “She’s a re-elected female governor.”

Asked last week whether there was any chance of her being a vice presidential candidate in 2016, Fallin laughed, “Only if someone asks me. But no one’s asked because we don’t have a presidential candidate yet.”

“I think we have so many good candidates that it’s going to be hard to choose one,” she said. “Most of them are all really close friends of mine. There’s a few I haven’t met yet. I’m excited to be able to meet them. The exciting part is that we have a very deep field of candidates with diverse experience.”

For attendees coming from outside of the city, another attraction is likely to be Cornett, who is a political oddity — a Republican running a major city.

Cole said the candidates would be wise to court Fallin and Cornett. Both are qualified to serve as cabinet secretaries in any Republican administration, he said. And, now, both have political muscle that could help a candidate trying to win next year’s primary.

Santorum, who is scheduled to make an announcement later this month about his candidacy, won the Oklahoma Republican primary in 2012, beating eventual nominee Mitt Romney by six points.

In 2008, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee finished a close second in Oklahoma to eventual nominee John McCain.

Gaddie said there is no clear favorite in Oklahoma today and that a few of the candidates will have a base of supporters.

“Santorum showed you he can win in Oklahoma without a lot of money,’’ Gaddie said. “But he didn’t win a majority; he just came in first.”

Cole compared the current stage of the presidential race to spring training for baseball.

“Everybody drops a few fly balls,’’ he said, noting Jeb Bush’s problems last week in answering questions about the Iraq war and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s recent troubles with female news anchors.

At this point, he said, candidates are trying to hone their stump speeches and make connections. The most important thing now, he said, is what impression they leave on those attending and the media at the conference.

“It’s a huge opportunity for Oklahoma City to really showcase all that we’ve done,” said state Sen. David Holt, R-Oklahoma City, a former chief of staff to Cornett.

“This is the place to be in politics for that weekend — probably one of the premier events in the Republican primaries this whole calendar year. We’ve never had a debate, we’ve never had a national convention. I think this is the biggest political event this state’s ever hosted.”

Cole compared the current stage of the presidential race to spring training for baseball.

In these parts, many of us consider Rep. Tom Cole an Establishment RINO.

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