The McCarville Report: The Biggest, Best…And Worst Of 2014

Twenty-fourteen was a memorable political year. Early on perceived to be an electoral sleeper, with one announcement it quickly became one of the most interesting election years in recent history. Tom Coburn’s retirement from the Senate set off the campaign bells for many others in the domino fall that followed. Here’s our assessment of 2014’s winners and losers, with congrats to the winners and condolences to the losers.

Biggest Newsmaker! U.S. Senator Tom Coburn retired from office and, in doing so, received accolades from friend and foe alike. Virtually every major national news outlet, including CBS’s “60 Minutes,” featured the career of the stubborn conservative who often halted big spending and shed a light on the Washington, D.C., culture in his impressive 16 years in office. In spite of his cantankerous style, Coburn taught that policy disagreements aren’t personal, and even worked with and has called President Obama a friend.

Biggest Prize! U.S. Senator James Lankford scored the biggest prize of the year, joining the club known as the United States Senate and in doing so, becoming a powerhouse elected official in Oklahoma. Lankford, with an impressive grassroots organization anchored by Southern Baptists, a deep authoritative voice, a command of issues, and a pseudo-endorsement from Coburn, easily defeated former House Speaker T.W. Shannon. Shannon finished second after becoming the darling of the far right nationally.

Biggest Upset Win!  Tulsan Joy Hofmeister not only trounced the incumbent Janet Barresi in the state superintendent’s race, the Tulsa World reported it was the worst defeat for an incumbent in a statewide primary in Oklahoma history. Education is clearly on the minds of Oklahomans, and Barresi’s harsh style made her among the most unpopular of political figures in recent state history. Hofmeister marshaled an odd coalition of educators, conservative activists angered over the Common Core curriculum, and Republican lawmakers upset with Barresi, to put together an impressive 58-percent margin, winning the GOP primary without a runoff and pushing the incumbent into third place.

Biggest Save of the Year! 47 Republican state legislators edged out onto a forbidden limb to endorse Hofmeister (against a sitting Republican official) and helped her become the credible alternative to Barresi. The prospects of running with Barresi as a noose hung around their political necks during the November general election was likely a motivating factor for some, but benefactors included Governor Fallin and Republicans down the ticket.

Biggest Surprise of the Year! Democrat Joe Dorman made it closer than expected. Nobody, but nobody, expected a little-known state representative with a weak profile, little name recognition, a lack of significant funds, and without even a geographical base, to mount a substantial challenge to Fallin. But Dorman did just that, and while Fallin eventually won by a fairly sizeable margin, she fell far short of expectations for governors seeking re-election. What was the issue that held Fallin’s numbers down? Many observers believe it was the education debacles.

Biggest Grassroots Win! Newly-elected Congressman Steve Russell has told the story for a decade about his role in the capture of Saddam Hussein. Despite being outspent, Russell outdistanced six candidates, including a self-financed Rep. Mike Turner, who spent nearly a million dollars of the family fortune; powerful Senate Appropriations Chairman Clark Jolley; and Fallin Corporation Commission-appointee and former Edmond Mayor Patrice Douglas.

Biggest Return to Victory! Former House Speaker Todd Hiett is now Corporation Commissioner Hiett. In perhaps the most brutal campaign of the year, he defeated former state Senator and Energy Chairman Cliff Brannan who had wide support from the large energy corporations and their powerful lobbyists. Hiett, a favorite among Republican activists, was heavily outspent, but the memory of his leadership in the GOP brought him across the finish line out-front. After leading the GOP to its historic takeover of the state House, Hiett lost eight years ago in the lieutenant governor’s race to Jari Askins, which was the last time a Democrat won a down-ballot race in Oklahoma.

Biggest Loser! Former State Senator Randy Brogdon, who ran a respectable second place in the GOP primary to Fallin in 2010, left his job at the Insurance Commission and was set to run against Fallin again. But Brogdon for some reason switched lanes instead to campaign for the U.S. Senate. He got a humiliating 4.8 percent. Ouch! His “campaign” was the butt of jokes; he was out-flanked, out-spent and out-worked. And now, he’s running once again, trying to oust Republican Party Chairman Dave Weston in the party’s upcoming convention. Pam Pollard, longtime GOP activist and president of the Oklahoma Federation of Republican Women, also is a candidate. This is the fifth different elected post that Brogdon, the former Owasso mayor and state employee, has sought.

Biggest Win in Little Dixie! Senator Joseph Silk from McCurtain County won an open seat in the farthest southeastern corner of the state. And he reportedly did it with few resources and without the expensive consultants often hired in today’s world. The Oklahoma Republican Party and staff reportedly worked with Silk and the local grassroots to paint a broad red stroke across southeastern Oklahoma and land another blow deep in the heart of Little Dixie.

Biggest Fatal Shot Fired! Senate Pro-Tem Brian Bingman and his campaign crew win this award. Defending with success one of their incumbents (Josh Brecheen) being challenged by every business and labor powerhouse in Oklahoma City, Senate Republicans also picked up new four seats and relegated Senate Democrats to single-digit status for the first time in state history. The count now is 40 Republicans, eight Democrats. In his last term as leader, Bingman has overseen the political demolishing of Democrats in the Senate while at the helm. It’s a long way back to power for Oklahoma’s Senate Democrats, who remarkably shared power as recently as six years ago.