Joplin Globe: Rice Hasn't Caught On

OKLAHOMA CITY (By The Associated Press) ~ Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe has worried over a tough campaign for re-election, but Tuesday’s primary results show the Democratic nominee has yet to catch on in areas a Democrat must win to be viable.

While Inhofe got 84 percent of the vote against three little-known opponents, state Sen. Andrew Rice captured just under 60 percent in the Democratic primary against Jim Rogers, a perennial candidate who spent no money.

In congressional races, Republican John Sullivan of the 1st District and Democrat Dan Boren of the 2nd District scored landslide triumphs. They are among five incumbent House members favored for re-election.

Sullivan’s opponent, businesswoman Georgianna Oliver, said she had the resources and strategy to give Sullivan a run for his money. Most of the candidates facing incumbent Congress members are newcomers or perennial candidates.

There are lots of reasons being floated as to why Rogers, who has run for something the last several elections, got his best vote ever against Rice, the 35-year-old first-term senator from Oklahoma City. One is that there was a low turnout and many voters in counties far from metropolitan areas simply do not know Rice, whose limited television advertising did not extend to those areas.

Rogers, meanwhile, benefited in rural counties by having a famous Oklahoma political name and being on a statewide ballot for four straight elections.

For the record, Rice called it “a good victory,” while acknowledging he had a major name-building task ahead of him.

“It’s not a vote against Andrew Rice, but it is an indication of a lack of depth of penetration in the Democratic Party base by his campaign,” said Keith Gaddie, political analyst and University of Oklahoma professor.

Rogers got 40 percent of Tuesday’s vote and won 19 counties, including some in Democratic areas in eastern and southern Oklahoma. Rogers best showing in past elections was 12.6 percent in the Democratic lieutenant governor’s race in 2006.

In 2002, the Midwest City man got almost 10 percent in the Senate primary, which former Gov. David Walters led with 49 percent of the vote. Walters had to win a runoff and was easily beaten by Inhofe in the general election.

In 2004, Rogers got almost 6 percent in the Senate primary, which former U.S. Rep. Brad Carson won with 79 percent. Carson had represented the 2nd Congressional District in the House and had a strong Democratic base in eastern Oklahoma, but he lost handily to Republican Tom Coburn in November.

Rogers won in places as far away at the Panhandle in northwestern Oklahoma, but also in Bryan, LeFlore, McCurtin and Sequoyah counties in eastern Oklahoma, which usually vote Democratic.

Gaddie said some might argue that such counties as LeFlore and Sequoyah are not so important, “but you put those counties together and it is a chunk of votes. He (Rice) is going to have to run better in those areas to be viable.”

Rice racked up votes in the cities, beating Rogers by almost 6,000 votes in Tulsa County and by almost 8,000 in Oklahoma County. He also emerged with strong margins in Cleveland and Muskogee counties.

Inhofe got 116,349 Republican votes in his primary, while Rice got 113,780 Democratic votes, according to unofficial returns. The total vote cast of about 329,000 was a paltry 18 percent of those eligible to vote and was the lowest primary total since 1952.

Inhofe has a fundraising edge of more than 3-1, according to the latest federal campaign report, but Rice said he will have money to run a good general election race.

The day after the primary, Rice issued a challenge to the Inhofe campaign to hold a half dozen regional debates, saying Oklahomans deserve more than just seeing “their elected leaders wrapped in slick TV ads and carefully scripted appearances.”

Josh Kivett, Inhofe’s campaign manager, said Inhofe comes back to Oklahoma almost every weekend and is heavily engaged talking to voters about issues.

“We obviously look forward to the opportunity to debate Sen. Rice as part of an overall effort to involve voters and explain to them the differences in the two candidates’ positions,” Kivett said. He said details have not been worked out.

On Wednesday, Rice began running a repeat of a 30-second television ad saying Inhofe has been in Washington for 22 years and has “lost his way.” Inhofe has run ads portraying himself as a stubborn advocate for Oklahoma’s interests.