TRANSCRIPT
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Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider – taking you inside politics, policy, and government in Oklahoma. I’m Dick Pryor with Quorum Call publisher Shawn Ashley. The Oklahoma Primary elections were held Tuesday. Let’s start with the statewide races. You’ve been parsing the results. Were there any surprises?
Shawn Ashley: There were. State Treasurer Todd Russ was the only incumbent statewide elected official eligible to seek reelection and he lost to outgoing State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd. Byrd originally had announced she would run for lieutenant governor but filed instead for treasurer and won more than 61% of the Republican primary votes on Tuesday. She will face Kiefer Perry, a Libertarian, in November's general election.
And in the Republican lieutenant governor's race, former House Speaker T.W. Shannon defeated five other candidates to win his party's nomination for that office, receiving nearly 54 percent of the primary votes. It's usually hard to win a race outright when there are just three candidates, not to mention six, but Shannon did it. He will face Kelly Forbes, a Democrat, in the general election.
Dick Pryor: And some interesting themes in the voting emerged.
Shawn Ashley: They did. Legislative incumbents generally did well. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Senator Dusty Deevers lost his bid for reelection in a three-way race. Three other candidates - Senator Dana Prieto, Senator Jack Stewart, and Representative David Smith - all face runoffs. One interesting theme in both the Republican and Democratic primaries was the decline in votes cast as you move down the ballot for statewide elected officials.
On the Republican ballot, more than 41,200 fewer votes were cast in the Corporation Commission race than in the race for governor, a 10.23% decline. On the Democrat ballot, more than 5,500 or 3.2% fewer votes were cast for that Corporation Commission race than in the Governor's race. The number of votes increased slightly for the U.S. Senate races on each party's ballot. But we're still below the number of votes cast for each party's gubernatorial candidate.
Dick Pryor: The big story in the Oklahoma congressional races - and it made national news - was Republican Jackson Lahmeyer announcing he's suspending his campaign less than 24 hours after making it into a runoff in U.S. House District 1. This kind of situation is rare in elections. What is the process involved in a candidate suspending a campaign at this point in the election season?
Shawn Ashley: According to state statute, Lahmeyer must file a written notice with the State Election Board by 5 p.m. Friday after the election for his name not to appear on the runoff ballot. Now, we've seen this happen a time or two in some other races in the past, but I don't recall a time where it's happened in a congressional race.
Dick Pryor: What stands out in the Democratic Party results?
Shawn Ashley: No legislative Democrats lost their primaries or faced runoffs, and there's a reason for that. There weren't that many primary elections for incumbent Democratic senators and representatives. In the Senate, the six incumbent Democrats up for reelection this year did not draw a primary opponent. They also did not draw a general election challenge, so they will return to the legislature. Six incumbent House Democrats also do not have primary opponents and do not have general election challengers. They too will retain their seats. And House Democrats protected two other seats that essentially were open. Three House Democrats did face primaries - representatives Annie Menz, Ron Stewart, and Aletia Timmons. All three won their races. Stewart and Timmons do not have general election challengers, so they will retain their seats, Menz faces a Republican in the general election.
Dick Pryor: The state question that would have gradually raised Oklahoma's minimum wage lost. What state questions are on the August primary runoff election ballot?
Shawn Ashley: State Question 845, a legislative referendum, requires the legislature to determine how reimbursements for the five-year ad valorem tax exemption and economic development incentive will be made. State Question 846, another legislative referendum, would require voters to present proof of identity when voting in county and state elections and leaves it up to the legislature to determine the type of identification to be used.
Dick Pryor: Thank you, Shawn.
Shawn Ashley: You're very welcome.
Dick Pryor: For more information, go to quorumcall.online. Audio and transcripts are at kgou.org and look for Capitol Insider where you get podcasts. Until next time, with Shawn Ashley, I'm Dick Pryor.
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