Oklahoma’s Gubernatorial race is pitting two former allies against each other.
Gov. Kevin Stitt is facing off against moderate Republican-turned-Democrat Joy Hofmeister, the state’s Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Conventional wisdom would say Stitt would breeze to victory against Hofmeister. A Democrat hasn’t won statewide office in Oklahoma since 2006.
But a series of independent, nonpartisan polls are painting the picture of a tight race. Hofmeister and Stitt are within the margin of error of each other in several.
The pair have plenty of policy differences. Disagreeing on education, tribal sovereignty and healthcare issues.
But how much enthusiasm voters have for both candidates will be determined at the ballot box.
And remember, today (Monday 10/24) is the last day to request your absentee ballot if you want to vote by mail. Voters can do that through Oklahoma’s online voter portal.
For the latest edition of Capitol Insider, Quorum Call’s Shawn Ashley and KGOU general manager Dick Pryor talk with Democratic candidate for governor Joy Hofmeister. She describes herself as aggressively moderate, and was asked how she could build consensus as a Democrat in such a solidly red state, given the hyper-partisan environment.
"I have a track record of working with people that have different views than my own. But I also know that politics is about relationships," Hofmeister said. "This is something the governor doesn’t get. It is something that you learn. Actually, as we’ve been working with 500-some districts all across the state, they have different needs. They have different perspectives. And when you have to set policy that is going to impact all of them and their communities, you begin by showing respect."
You can hear the full conversation on the Capitol Insider podcast at KGOU.org. The next edition of Capitol Insider features Gov. Kevin Stitt.
Archaeologists are set to begin another round of excavations at the Oaklawn Cemetery in search of victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre starting this week.
Excavation crews will pick back up on Wednesday, Oct. 26 in an area southwest of where several sets of human remains were found last year. Those remains were moved to an on-site lab where scientists determined 14 of them were viable for further analysis.
Intermountain Forensics will again be taking over the genealogy analysis in the investigation and will be on site to collect DNA samples from potential victims of the race massacre.
City officials say the entire cemetery will be closed to the public during excavations that could last at least until Nov. 18. It’s estimated as many as 300 Black Tulsans were killed by white mobs during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, with a majority of those victims' remains not yet found.
Oklahoma agriculture officials confirmed multiple cases of bird flu during a virtual town hall meeting last week.
Agriculture officials have confirmed three cases of bird flu in non-commercial backyard chicken flocks.
Assistant State Veterinarian, Dr. Alicia Gorczyca-Southerland, says all three positive cases happened because the chickens had contact with waterfowl like geese and ducks.
She says people can prevent the spread of the disease by keeping birds in their coops and taking biosecurity measures.
“This is always a good idea to do is have dedicated shoes and clothes for the coop area. Block access to those ponds — The other important thing is don't be feeding wild waterfowl right now we really want to stop encouraging them from coming into our yard.”
People can report sick-looking or dead birds to their local veterinarian or the state veterinarian’s office at 405-522-6141.
Wildfires burned thousands of acres over the weekend in parts of northern Oklahoma.
According to officials, more than 3,000 acres burned Saturday and Sunday in Pawnee and Noble counties after a piece of farm machinery caught on fire in a Pawnee County hay field.
The fire was located north of the Cimarron Turnpike, about 21 miles south of Ponca City. A portion of Highway 15 was closed Saturday night.
Firefighters were able to contain the blaze once it reached Sooner Lake. No homes were destroyed, and no major injuries were reported.
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