Russell Mills
KRMG 740AM Tulsa
Six Republicans will appear on the ballot in June, running to replace retiring US Senator Tom Coburn, but polls and media coverage would lead one to believe only two of them have a realistic chance to win: James Lankford and T.W. Shannon.
[Hear the entire interview HERE]
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But there’s a third man in the race who hopes to become the dark horse in the race, pulling off what he admits would be a major upset.
Randy Brogdon, a former State Senator from Owasso, is running a grassroots campaign on a shoestring budget.
He says his message resonates with a lot of people in Oklahoma.
“My message sells like hotcakes, the message of liberty, and restoration of our founding principles. People gravitate to that very quickly, and that’s a lot better message than Shannon saying ‘support me and I’ll protect the corporate welfare programs,'” he told KRMG.
He admits he’s a political outsider, and actually relishes the role.
“I despise politics. I’m a policy guy. I don’t like to hang out with the politicians, I don’t like most of them. I am a grassroots guy,” he said.
He says his goal if he wins is simply stated: “Get government off of our back and out of the way, and the let the marketplace answer these questions.”
He says he’s been shut out of events, for example televised debates, because his poll numbers aren’t high enough.
He argues that his supporters aren’t the type who generally respond to pollsters, and points out that his poll number when he ran for governor (2010) were around 14 percent, but when the ballots were counted, he got nearly 40 percent.
Brogdon hopes that same invisible support network turns out for him in the June 24 primary.
He also hopes those silent backers get more active as election day nears.
“I need people to get actively involved in this campaign,” he said. “There’s four weeks to the primary, that’s a lifetime in politics — but it’s 15 minutes away.”
