State Senate Race Becomes Clearer

With the 24-24 split of the Senate a few key races will be where control is decided. There will be four key races were all sides could spend $1 million dollars on each race. The contested seats are District 15 in Norman, District 21 in Stillwater (where there are 2 Dems running), District 31 in Lawton and, District 37 in Tulsa (2 GOP candidates).
On the Republican side there will be heated primaries for District 35 in Tulsa and District 45 in Oklahoma City. My early picks to win each seat are former Tulsa City Councilor Cason Carter, and in 45 LTC Steve Russell who played a key role in the capture of Saddam Hussein. It's hard to beat a record of service like his.
On an interesting note Bowdy Peach is running as a Democrat in district 27 which has long been held by the GOP. Peach is the son of Terry Peach who is the Secretary of Agriculture. Peach represents a serious candidate on the Democratic side for the first time in a while in this area. Peach, a rancher and professional bull rider, during filing said, "My values are right on track with most of the people in western Oklahoma and the Panhandle."

State Senate Preview

Things are finally heating up now that the legislative session has now ended the State Senate races are heating up. I will now preview a couple of hot races.
District 37
This race will most likely be the most expensive and competitive of all. Sen. Nancy Riley will run for re-election for the first time since she switched her registration to the Democratic Party. She has maintained her voting record the last two years so on issues none of her stances have changed. Her top priority is education, she is pro-life, and remains committed to programs for child wellbeing. Her opponent is a mortgage lender Dan Newberry. So far the biggest difference between the two would be in their commitment to education, Riley was a school teacher before coming to the Senate and is one of common education's strongest advocates. Newberry would not make education a priority like Riley has. Another boost to Riley's campaign is the bond package that includes 25 million for improvements to the Arkansas River which runs through all of district 37.

Other districts where competitive races will occur are
District 21, Stillwater area, where former OSU President Halligan is the current favorite to take the seat from outgoing Democratic leader Mike Morgan.
District 15, Norman area, where Senator Nichols will face a challenge from Diane Drum.
District 31, Lawton area, where Senator Barrington will face a challenge from Keith Erwin.

District 33, Tulsa, which was a very competitive district in 2004 as Senator Adelson won by less than a 1,000 votes seems to be moving toward a strong democratic hold as Adelson has raised over $300,000 and the republicans have yet to announce a candidate a few weeks from filing.

Senate Will uphold Henry's Veto on 714

The piece of legislation by Sen. Williamson (R-Tulsa) that eliminates the practice of abortions even under the situations of rape and incest was vetoed by Governor Henry on Wednesday, only had 16 Senators vote against it one fewer than needed to protect a veto. While Williamson claims that he could get 32 votes to override the veto, it seems unlikely. Yesterday, Sen. Rabon told me that Democrats have at least 17 solid votes to uphold the veto. On interesting note is that if it had not lacked the exemptions for rape and incest, it would probably be law.

Oklahoma Senate Republicans vote aginst Economic Development

Yes that is exactly what happened in the Senate Appropriations Committee as the Republicans voted against moving Oklahoma forward and decided that the status quo is just fine. Education is necessary for economic development, why else are the 'tax burdened' states of New Jersey, Washington, New York, California experiencing such rapid economic growth. The answer: the education level of those states far exceed that of Oklahoma's education. Here is something to ponder, often people will talk about how great the suburban schools are, well they are no places of excellence. None of Oklahoma's suburban schools rank in the top 250 high schools according to Newsweek, maybe that is a sign of palaces built for athletics like Tulsa Union's college arena quality multipurpose center. Anyways it is proven the earlier that children attend the better off they are to compete in a global marketplace. So by not investing in the future we are helping to ensure that Oklahoma's next hundred years, Oklahoma will follow instead of lead. The odd thing is that the coasts were just taking note of Oklahoma's progress and talking about business investment as a result, but we wouldn't want good paying jobs anyways!

Vote: Best State Senate ad

Mark Wofford "Mary Easley Moved Away"


Tom Ivester


John Mark Young "Strength and Leadership"


Mary Easley "Our Values"


Ami Shaffer "Is that all?"


Sean Burrage "Healthcare"


Vote Now

What is the best State Senate ad? "Mary Easley Moved Away" Tom Ivester "Strength and Leadership" "Our Values" "Is that all?" "Healthcare" Free polls from Pollhost.com

Mark Wofford is Wrong Again

This ad responds to an attack from Mark Wofford and says Mary Easley lives in the district, endorsed by the NRA, and wrote an anti-illegal immigration law.
"Wrong Again"


Here is the attack ad that prompted the response

SD-18 Tom Ivester

A recent poll by the Tulsa World showed Ivester way out front

SD-26: Ivester-D 56.5 Russ-R 31.5 Undecided 12 - Soonerpoll.com

his latest ad features Governor Brad Henry.

Democrats ahead in key Senate Races Poll

The Oklahoma Poll Sponsored by the Tulsa World showed that Democrats were leading 5 vital State Senate districts: 2, 12, 16, 18, and 26. One district 40 the democrat is down but the district is heavily republican. With lots of outside money being poured in from both sides anything can happen.

SD-2
Burrage-D 48.7 Shaffer-R 39.1 Undecided 12.2

SD-12
Bingman-R 38.7 Young-D 46.7 Undecided 14.6

SD-16
Sparks-D 51.1 Davis-R 34.2 Undecided 14

SD-18
Wofford-R 37.6 Easley-D 49.5 Undecided 12.9

SD-26
Ivester-D 56.5 Russ-R 31.5 Undecided 12

SD-40
Branan-R 47.3 Potts-D 37 Undecided 15.7

More State Senate Ads!

Daisy Lawler State Senate District 24


Pat Potts State Senate District 40

State Senate District 2

In one of the closest races this year for the Senate the democratic candidate, Sean Burrage, has a clear money advantage. Burrage is using his campaign war chest to go up on tv more than a month out with two different ads. In a race like State Senate name ID from television can be a big help. What I find funny is that Burrage got on television before Istook and Hiett.

Sean Burrage "Education"

Sean Burrage "Healthcare"