Attorney general race turns lackluster
After winning the bitter Republican runoff by only 271 votes, Attorney General Mike Hunter tried to squeeze in a vacation to the beach with his wife.
Things didn’t work out as he hoped.
As Hurricane Florence picked up speed toward them, he cut short their trip to South Carolina and headed home.
Hunter dealt with the unexpected a lot this year, most significantly after a surprise GOP candidate announced for the race just before the April filing period.
“It was a challenging spring and summer, but we persevered,” Hunter said. “Going into the general election ... we’re pleased with how the numbers look with regard to support among Republicans as well as independents and Democrats.
“We like where we are. We have been focused on letting the public know how we approach this job, making sure that they are aware of what we’ve been able to do on their behalf.”
His Democratic opponent, Mark Myles, also has dealt with setbacks.
Myles hoped the Tulsa World would back him, especially since the newspaper endorsed Hunter’s Republican challenger before the Aug. 28 runoff. Instead, the newspaper endorsed Hunter in September and criticized Myles for “oddball theories.”
Myles also struggled to raise money to get his message out. He said Friday he has raised close to $90,000.
Hunter has reported raising more than $2.8 million.
“It is what it is,” Myles said. “I’m still out there talking to people . ... I think Democrats are going to come out of the woodwork and vote, and I’m optimistic that they’ll predominantly vote for the Democrat in the race. And I still think there are a lot of Republicans who don’t like the way my opponent has conducted business in the attorney general’s office.”
Myles’ scarcity of resources is one reason the race has turned lackluster. He aired only one TV ad, spending about $12,750.
Hunter and Myles never debated, there was hardly any independent spending by outside groups and the only real controversy came this week.
On Thursday, Drew Edmondson spoke up for Myles after speculation surfaced the Democratic nominee for governor marked his ballot for Hunter during early voting.
“Mark Myles would make a fine Attorney General,” Edmondson posted on Facebook. “Despite rumors to the contrary, I have repeatedly and publicly endorsed him. We do not have time for division and distraction.”
The general election is Tuesday.
Hunter, 62, of Edmond, was appointed attorney general last year after Scott Pruitt left to become administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Myles, 62, of Oklahoma City, is running for political office for the second time. He lost in 2010 to a perennial candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.