The Finch Formerly Known As Gold

5 November 2002

And when the smoke had cleared...

Goodbye, Steve, and don't let a towel hit you in the keister on the way out.

Brad Henry, who wasn't even the front-runner in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, appears to have won all the marbles tonight, sliding past Steve Largent in what was thought to be a safe Republican slot. In his report for Fly Over Country, Chris explains why:

  1. Most important reason, he ran a race that treated the Governorship as already his. Meaning, he didn't run a race. Brad Henry outhustled him.
  2. The Independent/Crazy Guy, take your pick, drew votes from Largent.
  3. The voting on the whether to ban cockfighting in OK. Southeastern/Eastern OK, where most of the cockfighting takes place is HEAVILY Democratic, and a lot of people got out to vote against the ban who probably voted for Henry.

Makes sense to me.

On the other hand, the GOP doesn't have a whole lot else to cry about; they will still hold all but one seat in the state's Congressional delegation, returning three incumbents and holding the District 4 seat vacated by J. C. Watts. (The Fox News site called District 4 for Democrat Darryl Roberts about an hour ago, which may have been a typo, since they hadn't called Districts 2 or 3, which were never in doubt; AP and other sources have called District 4 for Republican Tom Cole.)

But what you really want to know is: what about those cocks? Back and forth, up and down, all night, so far. But with 90 percent of the precincts reporting, the cockfighting ban was starting to catch on at the 54-percent level, and it looks like it will hold up.

The Oklahoma State Election Board will certify results on or before Friday afternoon, and they'll be readable here.

Posted at 10:36 PM to Soonerland


Gosh. You mean that even if you're a handsome ex-NFL football star and a former U.S. Congressman you still have to campaign if you want to be elected Governor of Oklahoma? Who'd a thunk it?

Seriously, Largent's campaign was inept. What was he thinking?

Posted by: Bill at 11:32 AM on 6 November 2002

Maybe he thought the job was his by divine right.

Posted by: CGHill at 1:47 PM on 6 November 2002