McCarville: As The Dust Settles

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Mike McCarville

The votes have been counted; Primary Election 2014 is history and the dust is settling.

As usual, voters supplied the surprises, handing Congressman James Lankford an impressive, easy win over six others, including former House Speaker T. W Shannon, and pulling the rug from under Schools Superintendent Janet Barresi, who finished third in her three-way race.

While lots of national attention focused on the Lankford-Shannon race, most of the local chatter focused on the Joy Hofmeister victory in the schools superintendent race, and Barresi’s crash. Most had expected a runoff between Hofmeister and Barresi, but few anticipated a clear Hofmeister win and only a few asked if Barresi could possibly finish third behind Hofmeister and Brian Kelly, who didn’t wage much of a campaign.

In that race, and in the Lankford race, there are those who will search for answers: What happened, and why?

In Barresi’s case, it appears a series of decisions, Common Core, A-F, and her own personality conspired to bring her down. Her management style seemed to offend many, but her defenders race to point out she’s simply an aggressive manager who doesn’t suffer fools gladly and believes in her own agenda.

In Lankford’s case, there’s no question the outspoken defense of him by outgoing Senator Tom Coburn over negative commercials was a huge help, especially in northeastern Oklahoma and the Tulsa area.

While Coburn said that he wouldn’t  endorse in the Senate primary, he made it clear he would comment on negative advertisements and he did so. He did it twice, once for each candidate. But the tone wasn’t exactly the same, and it was his first comments, on behalf of Lankford, that drew the most attention. Some say Coburn did more than endorse Lankford with his comments. He leveled a blistering attack against the groups supporting Shannon while praising Lankford as one of the “most honest, thoughtful and sincere men I have met in my time in Washington.” By association, some believe, Shannon took a hit as did the superpac backing him.

As surprising as Lankford’s clear, substantial victory was, former Senator Randy Brogdon’s dismal finish was not. Many speculated Brogdon’s heart wasn’t in it and his lackluster campaign showed it. His failure to show even a modicum of competiveness in the race reflects also on those identified as Tea Party supporters in Oklahoma. They frequented social media sites, insisting the polls were wrong and the media was against Brogdon and he’d finish much stronger than indicated. A few even speculated he’d run a close second, not be relegated to a footnote as he is.

In the 5th District race, former Senator Steve Russell and Corporation Commissioner Patrice Douglas now face each other in a runoff. Russell finished first with Douglas following by about 1,100 votes.

Former House Speaker Todd Hiett won the Corporation Commission race, besting Cliff Branan by about 4.5 percent.

The congressional races, aside from the 5th District, were non-contests with the incumbents winning easily. In the 4th District, Congressman Tom Cole trounced a Tea Party favorite and controversial GOP county chair Anna Flatt, 84.4 to 15.5 percent.

Governor Fallin and Insurance Commissioner John Doak danced to easy victories, blitzing opponents as if they weren’t even there.

GOP turnout was about 264,700, topping the 249,000 total in the 2010 primary turnout; Democrat turnout was pathetic given the party’s previous dominance of Oklahoma politics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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  1. Mark, 25 June, 2014

    So will T.W. Shannon have to get a real job now or will he become a lobbyist for one of his donors?

  2. randy barnett, 25 June, 2014

    Indecisive starts, financial lack and strong resistance from the GOP Establishment machinery ensures the status quo will prevail — Big wins for state bureaucracies, and for the Oklahoma (corporate- Federal-prison industry ). The Oklahoma Liberty -TeaParty coalition lost on several fronts when a key leader jumped off track due to financial concerns about raising money against the GOP-Fallin machine. Conservative business leaders were afraid to back a challenger to Fallin for fear of losing contracts. Expect many of these to look for an independent or back Dornan. George Washington warned against the baneful effects of the party system. It’s destroying our country. We can’t even impeach an open criminal.

  3. Bruce Grove, 25 June, 2014

    Well said…I agree!

  4. eddie huff, 25 June, 2014

    I disagree on Janet. Yes, she had a confrontive style, but the real downfall was the tag team mounted by the education establishment. When you have Democrats and Republicans mounting attack ads which sounded strangely identical you have to wonder how there could not have been a coordinated attack.

    End result Hofmeister & the education establishment win, Oklahoma children lose.

  5. Edmond Voter, 26 June, 2014

    Eddie, I don’t know how democrats are impacting a Republican primary in Oklahoma! They can’t vote for a Republican in the primary! Just accept the fact that Janet was abrasive, abusive, obnoxious, and nasty to anyone that dared to disagree with her… from her very first day in office! She lost because she could not get along with parents, teachers and voters…. and because she was pushing Common Core until the very end. Oklahoma’s children have a brighter tomorrow because we (Republicans) voted for Joy, a breath of fresh air!

  6. Vernon Woods, 26 June, 2014

    Edmond, you must have missed the multiple ads for Freda Deskin. She blasted Barresi in every one of them. I was confused because I couldn’t find her on a Republican list. Then I put my specs on and got real close to the TV and realized she was actually a Democrat. I would think that amounts to a pile-on by all of her Republican and possible Democratic opponents at the same time.

    I agree with Eddie – Barresi would not put up with the same old bs still pushed by the established school system – it’s hard to buck an entrenched system without getting ambushed by the threatened parties.

    I give Edmond two years before he (she?) starts bitching about the good-old boys/girls club accomplishing absolutely nothing except keeping the unions happy.

    I find it interesting that you all refer to Barresi as Janet, and Hofmeister as Joy – I haven’t seen anyone refer to Lankford as Jimmy – is this a male thing?

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