Patrick B. McGuigan
On the second day of candidate filing for Oklahoma’s March 6 presidential primary, two Republicans – former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum – entered the Republican primary contest. They will contend with the Republicans who filed yesterday:
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, The Lone Star State Governor Rick Perry, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
President Barack Obama remains the only Democrat who has filed for the Sooner State’s presidential primary, although Capitol scuttlebutt provided hints that perennial candidate Jim Rogers might jump in to the race tomorrow.
In filing for three legislative special elections, two new hopefuls emerged in Senate District 20, while one more Republican formally joined the House District 71 contest. Another contender plans to enter that race, according to a press release, but had not filed by the close of business on Tuesday.
The S.D. 46 race, meanwhile, still seems likely to settle in as a contest between a well-known House Democrat and a fairly-well-known Republican.
In SD 20, Chris Humphreys of Guthrie formally entered the GOP race, while the Rev. Magnus W.T. Scott Sr. of Langston took the plunge as a Democrat — and so far has that field to himself.
Humphreys will face three Republicans who filed yesterday. They are Phil Berkenbile of Morrison, Wayne Murphey of Guthrie and Ann (A.J.) Griffin of Guthrie.
Lydia d’Ross of Tulsa entered the race for House District 71 around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday. According to a release sent to a handful of reporters, another new Republican in Tulsa’s H.D. 71 will be Janet Sullivan, ex-wife of former state Rep. Dan Sullivan, who left office on November 30. Sullivan and d’Ross will face Evelyn L. Rogers in the Republican primary. One Democrat, Dan Arthrell, is also running.
In Senate District 46, for the seat being vacated by Democratic Senate Leader Andrew Rice, state Rep. Al McAffrey said he had heard that Jason Reese would file for the Republican nod in the race. The pair seem headed for a race where odds seem to give an edge to McAffrey, but Reese’s entry makes the contest interesting.
In an interview today, McAffrey told CapitolBeatOK, “I decided to run for the state Senate to continue working for affordable health care, job creation, and education improving the safety of our children in state custody, I have been working on these items in the house and along with Senator Rice. I felt I would have a better chance to expand in these areas in the Senate. There are 101 members in the house and 48 in the Senate.”
McAffrey’s top three issues remain those that have defined much of his tenure in the state House: “Jobs, economy, and the safety of our children.”
McAffrey is confident both about the Democratic nomination and a likely matchup against Reese, an attorney. He reflected, “There are 54% Democrats, 23% independents, and 23% Republicans — This is approximately. Yes I feel I can win.”
