State Republicans gather in Duncan confident in party’s future
Some of the Republicans who came to the Stephens County fairgrounds Saturday have been attending the annual GOP fish fry before the party controlled state government.
And though they readily concede the Republican governor and the Republican-dominated Legislature have disappointed them at times, they are confident the party will retain its lock on key offices after the elections in November.
“Oklahoma is a conservative state, whether you’re a Republican or Democrat,” said Leon Farris, the chairman of the Stephens County Republican Party.
“And yes, we haven’t all been as happy with everything that’s gone on as we would like to be. Most of us think our representatives and our governor could have probably done a better job. That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll throw them all out and start all over. But I think we will see some turnover.
“We may see some different faces and some different ideas about how to get things done. And I’m looking forward to that.”
Farris organized the 14th annual fish fry, which featured a forum with the six major GOP candidates for governor. The event is typically the largest gathering in the state of Republicans, averaging between 700 and 800 people. Farris said he expected slightly more than 800 at Saturday’s event.
Fourteen years ago, the governor was a Democrat, and Democrats controlled the Legislature.
Cindy Hale, of Duncan, said Saturday that
Oklahoma “went red for a reason” and isn’t going to switch back because of dissatisfaction with the governor and legislators.
“I believe in conservative values,” Hale said. “I believe in the Second Amendment right. I believe in pro-life issues. I believe in lower taxes and less government.”
She said, “I do believe that the Republican values that have come to the forefront in Oklahoma are still strong.
“I think the recent things that have happened in our state have brought some issues to light that need to be addressed. There are some problems. But no state is without problems. I think if we will work together to resolve those things we’ll come out ahead in November.”
Republicans interviewed Saturday said they were pleased with the field of gubernatorial candidates, most of whom have been highly critical of the current administration.
Tulsa businessman Kevin Stitt’s gubernatorial campaign is predicated on running against the establishment. Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb has done everything he can to distance himself from Gov. Mary Fallin. Tulsa attorney Gary Richardson says the state suffers from poor leadership. And Dan Fisher said Saturday that Oklahoma Republicans have “lost our way.”
Pam Pollard, chair of the Oklahoma Republican Party, said Saturday that the state GOP is still attracting the largest percentage of new voter registrations.
“Democrats controlled the state for 100 years,” she said. “We have been in control for 10 years.
“In the 10 years, we have fixed pension reform, we fixed retirement, we fixed tort reform, we fixed workers comp. Now we’re working on education, we’re working on audits — we set up mandatory audits before any of this implosion took place.
“We’re fixing one thing at a time.”
Hundreds of people filed for office in April, and some incumbent legislators who have skated to re-election in previous years will face multiple opponents this year.
Ed Petersen, chairman of the Comanche County Republican Party, said, “The Republican Party obviously has a good lock right now on a lot of the state offices, as well as the Legislature. But this last year was a pretty tumultuous year for the party and for the state for that matter.
“So it’s going to be an interesting election cycle to see if all those incumbents can hold their positions.”
Dana Buchanan, the assessor in Stephens County, said the attendance at the fish fry Saturday was the largest she had seen. The attraction, she said, was the gubernatorial forum.
“On the whole, I’m very satisfied with the party,” she said.
“With any group, you’re always going to have someone who surprises you with their actions. But for the most part I have felt like we are represented by very conservative people. Oklahoma is a very conservative state. People seem to be still growing with the Republican Party, and I believe it’s still very strong.”