GOP Primary Battle Looms In Senate District 47

The Republican primary to fill the Senate seat of Lt. Governor-elect Todd Lamb will feature a well-known political figure and a well-known name, among others.

The race "officially" developed when Carol Hefner announced her candidacy for the District 47 seat. It's been no secret that Hefner is seeking the GOP nod and in that, she joins Greg Treat, director of the Republican Party's 2010 Victory Program and a former advisor to Senator Tom Coburn and Governor-elect Mary Fallin.

Said Hefner, “I owe no favors to anyone, and I will be a tireless worker and voice for the people of this district. We need to create more jobs by keeping the bureaucrats out of our everyday lives. We need to shrink the size of government, not expand it."

Hefner said her most important qualification is that she is a conservative Republican who has not spent her life working in politics, an apparent dig at Treat.

“Our community needs someone who is less concerned about power, and more concerned about people,” she said. “Career politicians, bureaucrats and political operatives live their lives insulated from the real world, yet they are making decisions for our families and businesses that have a powerful impact on the future.

“In contrast, I have rolled-up my sleeves as an investor in real estate, I’ve worked in the business world, and I have raised a family and served my community. I am a Christian, a wife and a mother of five. I have devoted my life to leading my kids, teaching them about respect, responsibility and hard work.”

Hefner and her husband, Robert Hefner, IV, have been married 26 years, and have five children and one grandson. Their youngest daughter, Gabrielle, is a high school freshman.

Hefner's remarks aimed at Treat seem oddly out of place in a GOP primary, where Treat's past work for Republicans would appear strongest and where his leadership of the 2010 Victory Program is considered a significant plus.

Oklahoma City attorney Steven Dobbs and businessman Kenny Goza, Army veteran and former staff member of Governor Frank Keating, also plan to seek the seat.

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