Insiders See Russell Runoff Victory
Some political insiders say today they believe retired Army Lt. Colonel Steve Russell is the likely winner of Tuesday's Republican primary in Senate District 45, but they don't discount the "ground game" that his opponent, political consultant Kyle Loveless, has waged for months.
Russell topped Loveless and former Oklahoma City Councilman Jerry Foshee in the primary; Russell got 40 percent to 27 percent for Loveless. Foshee has since endorsed Russell, as have two other candidates in the GOP primary, Melinda Daughterty and Marty Gormley. A veteran GOP consultant not involved in the race says Russell's primary margin, plus the endorsements of three of his opponents, indicates he should emerge the winner: "He ran up by thirteen in the primary and anytime we see a candidate in a multi-field with that kind of edge, it almost always turns out that candidate wins a runoff. Loveless has a really huge mountain to climb to win." A local GOP official says Loveless has "knocked a lot of doors and walked a lot of miles, but he just hasn't seemed to generate much traction...." She added that Russell "presents a fresh face that a lot of people like," and, "of course, we still have almost a week to go, so I guess anything can happen." One veteran observer said, "Russell is definitely favored. How close it is depends on the turnout." Some believe a low turnout, which is likely, will favor Loveless. But several others say they believe Russell's lead is substantial and the turnout probably won't make much of a difference in the outcome.
New finance reports show Russell has raised more than $120,000, nearly twice as much as Loveless. His latest Ethics Commission report shows he's raised $40,935 since July 15th and had $25,110 on hand as of August 11th.
Loveless, former chairman of the Cleveland County Republican Party associated for years with former Congressman Ernest Istook, reported he's raised $63,148, about $14,000 of that since July 15th. About half of that sum is in in-kind donations.
The district includes portions of Canadian, Cleveland and Oklahoma counties and the winner will succeed GOP Senator Kathleen Wilcoxson, who is term-limited. No Democrats or independents filed for the seat.
Russell topped Loveless and former Oklahoma City Councilman Jerry Foshee in the primary; Russell got 40 percent to 27 percent for Loveless. Foshee has since endorsed Russell, as have two other candidates in the GOP primary, Melinda Daughterty and Marty Gormley. A veteran GOP consultant not involved in the race says Russell's primary margin, plus the endorsements of three of his opponents, indicates he should emerge the winner: "He ran up by thirteen in the primary and anytime we see a candidate in a multi-field with that kind of edge, it almost always turns out that candidate wins a runoff. Loveless has a really huge mountain to climb to win." A local GOP official says Loveless has "knocked a lot of doors and walked a lot of miles, but he just hasn't seemed to generate much traction...." She added that Russell "presents a fresh face that a lot of people like," and, "of course, we still have almost a week to go, so I guess anything can happen." One veteran observer said, "Russell is definitely favored. How close it is depends on the turnout." Some believe a low turnout, which is likely, will favor Loveless. But several others say they believe Russell's lead is substantial and the turnout probably won't make much of a difference in the outcome.
New finance reports show Russell has raised more than $120,000, nearly twice as much as Loveless. His latest Ethics Commission report shows he's raised $40,935 since July 15th and had $25,110 on hand as of August 11th.
Loveless, former chairman of the Cleveland County Republican Party associated for years with former Congressman Ernest Istook, reported he's raised $63,148, about $14,000 of that since July 15th. About half of that sum is in in-kind donations.The district includes portions of Canadian, Cleveland and Oklahoma counties and the winner will succeed GOP Senator Kathleen Wilcoxson, who is term-limited. No Democrats or independents filed for the seat.
Labels: Kyle Loveless, SD45, Steve Russell
posted by Mike McCarville @ 11:23 AM
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