Henry Outraises Istook 3-to-1

Governor Brad Henry has raised $3,429,285 for his reelection campaign as of August 7th. He spent $899,000 and had $2,471,335 cash on hand. Republican Congressman Ernest Istook's campaign finance report shows he raised $1,084,625, spent $1,051,167 and had about $30,000 on hand. Most insiders believe Henry can raise as much as he wants, possibly up to $6 million. Istook's challenge is to raise enough to stay competitive. As the general election campaign gets underway, Henry enjoys an approval rating that hovers in the 65 percent range; some analysts, however, believe his approval is a mile wide but an inch deep. Why is Henry apparently so popular? Some key reasons: First, he's followed the "make no mistakes" model to perfection. Second, he keeps his mouth shut (unlike Governor Frank "Popoff" Keating) and thus, has not irritated or upset voters in any significant numbers. Third, he's done just about everything right, from signing Republican-sponsored bills into law, adopting or co-opting conservative issues as his own, and chided others in both parties at times. His budget agreement compromise with GOP House Speaker Todd Hiett made him appear a statesman and left cry-baby Senate President Pro Tem Mike Morgan and his Democrats looking like they showed up at a gunfight with a slingshot. There's no doubt that, on most issues, Istook is more conservative than Henry, perceived a moderate. The challenge to Istook is to find issues that cut Henry's approval rating down to size, peel voters away from him and then move them to Istook.

Share |