Republicans Win Top Ballot Spots

Election Board Secretary Mike Clingman supervised a drawing on Monday that placed the names of Republican candidates first on the November 4th general election ballot.

“We’ll take it,” Republican Party Chairman Gary Jones said as Kitti Asberry, vice chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, opened a sealed envelope to determine which party’s candidates would be listed first.

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Oklahoma Superdelegate Goes For Obama

Barack Obama picked up another superdelegate in his march to the Democratic nomination for president as Oklahoma City attorney Reggie Whitten announced he's in the Illinois senator's camp.

Whitten, an "add-on" superdelegate named by Democratic State Chairman Ivan Holmes, is now one of two Oklahoma superdelegates supporting Obama; the other is party Vice Chair Kitti Asberry. Hillary Clinton has one in her camp, National Committeewoman Betty McElderry.

Politico.com reports that Obama now has 232 superdelegates, Clinton 251. At one time, Clinton had a 100-plus advantage.

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Most Of Oklahoma's Superdelegates Still Undecided

Most of Oklahoma's Democratic National Convention superdelegates have not yet publicly declared their choice for the party nomination for president and several of them say they are waiting to see how the battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (shown above with superdelegate Kalyn Free and former party Vice Chair Ben Odom at an event last year) plays out.

Some speculate the battle could play out all the way to the convention in Denver this summer. If that's the case, the nation's superdelegates become major players in the party's nominating process since they are free to vote for whichever candidate they wish no matter which candidate voters in their states favored. In Oklahoma, that was Clinton.

Oklahoma's Democratic superdelegates are Governor Brad Henry, Congressman Dan Boren, Party Chairman Ivan Holmes, Vice Chair Kitti Asberry, National Committeeman Jim Frasier, National Committeewoman Betty McElderry and DNC members-at-large Kalyn Free and Jay Parmley.

One of them perhaps spoke for most when, in an email response to an inquiry, wrote, "I haven't declared yet. I am very unsure. I think it could go either way. I am going to wait and see how a few more of the states go before I even try to make a final decision."

Two of the superdelegates indicated their preferences earlier; McElderry said she supports Clinton, while Asberry indicated she'll back Obama.

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Democrats Elect Ivan Holmes Chairman

Oklahoma Democrats today elected Dr. Ivan Holmes as the party's new state chairman. Kitti Asberry was elected vice chair, defeating Rep. Anastasia Pittman. Holmes defeated Norman attorney Ben Odom, who has been vice chairman under outgoing Chair Lisa Pryor. Odom and Pittman ran as a team.

Holmes, a retired journalism professor from Northeastern State University and a former Oklahoma State University Regent, said he wants to build a grassroots effort similar to the campaign he ran successfully for Labor Commissioner Lloyd Fields.

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