After months of political turmoil, Oklahoma lawmakers put to the test

Several legislative seats are up for grabs Tuesday, including some in the Oklahoma City area, in an election year that has already seen a dozen incumbents defeated.

Politicos from both sides of the aisle have expressed concern that more lawmakers could lose their seats, especially in a year of extraordinary turnover in the Oklahoma House and Senate.

Party leaders and campaign operatives have pointed to several races that could end with an upset for the GOP incumbent or be a bellwether for a Democratic wave.

Among those mentioned are state Sen. Marty Quinn in Claremore and state Rep. Todd Russ in Cordell, two

longtime GOP lawmakers in relatively conservative districts.

Freshman state Reps. Scott Fetgatter of Okmulgee, Zack Taylor of Seminole and Tulsan Carol Bush are also facing tough re-election bids.

Some Democrats could be in trouble, too. Republicans are trying aggressively to win back seats that state Reps. Jacob Rosecrants in Norman and Karen Gaddis in Tulsa flipped last year in special elections.

Meanwhile, two women Democratic candidates are vying for open state Senate seats in the Oklahoma City area that had been held by Republican men. Julia Kirt and Carri Hicks have raised more money from donations than GOP opponents John Symcox and Joe Howell, and both races are seen as competitive.

Despite turmoil in state politics, Republicans are likely to retain control of the Legislature, said Christine Pappas, professor and chair of the East Central University political science department.

"I think the majorities are so large that even if Democrats pick up a few seats, we'll probably see a Republican hold on the House and Senate, for sure," said Pappas. "I think the difference will be the brand of Republicans in office, because some of the more rightwing ones were" defeated in primaries.

Of the dozen Republicans ousted in primary and runoff elections this year, one was in the Senate and 11 were in the House.

Many more could not run for re-election because of term limits, while some decided to campaign for another seat or bowed out of politics altogether. Nearly half of GOP state representatives and a quarter of Senate Republicans won't be returning to the Capitol.

A conservative political action committee campaigned against several GOP incumbents who were vulnerable on education and teacher pay issues, Pappas noted.

"There must have been some people both within the Democratic and Republican parties who wanted to move the politics more to the center and away from that farright view," she said.

Democrats have pounced on those opportunities and are fielding competitive candidates in several districts, hoping to chip away at a Republican House majority that stood at 73-28 last session.

While they stand little chance of ousting Republicans from power, Democrats could field enough lawmakers in the House to block veto override attempts under the next governor with 33 members.