Moderate Turnout Expected In Local Races

Voter turnout is expected to be moderate today in two contested local races, one for the State Senate, the other for Oklahoma County commissioner.

In the Senate District 45 runoff, Republicans Kyle Loveless and Steve Russell seek election as the winner takes the seat, no Democrat or Independent having filed.

In the District 2 commissioner runoff, J. D. Johnston and Brian Maughan seek the GOP nomination and the winner faces Democrat Jim Dickinson in the fall.

Interest in the SD45 race, spurred in part by direct mail and personal contact by the candidates, should produce a decent turnout, observers say. Most give Russell the edge as voting started today.

Last-minute finance reports show Russell added $1,900 and Loveless added $500. Russell has raised $146,670, while Loveless has raised $101,726, including more than $38,000 of his own money.

Johnston has relied on paid media to fuel his campaign, while Maughan has conducted a "ground game" campaign that propelled him into the runoff with Johnston, former Bethany mayor. Maughan is said to be the front-runner.

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Loveless, Russell Take To TV Airwaves; Loveless Files Last-Minute Campaign Finance Report

Kyle Loveless and Steve Russell have taken to the airwaves in their quest to win the Republican nomination in Oklahoma City's Senate District 45, the two of them spending an estimated $30,000 this week on television buys.

UPDATE: "I just got off the the phone with Marilyn (Hughes), and a last minute contribution (report) will be filed today within the 24 hour window," Loveless said at mid-afternoon. "Ms. Hughes is going to talk to the staff about the conflicting and opposite instructions that were given to me." One report shows Loveless gave his campaign $23,000 yesterday, another shows an additional $15,000, for a total of $38.000.

Loveless confirms he's spent about $20,000 on his buy, made earlier this week. Russell's campaign says thus far, he's spent about $10,000 on his buy.

Russell has out-raised Loveless about 2-to-1. The latest finance reports show Russell has raised more than $120,000. His report shows he's raised $40,935 since July 15th and had $25,110 on hand as of August 11th.

Russell has filed four late-contribution reports showing he's raised an additional $9,500 since his August 11th report.

Loveless reported he's raised $63,148, about $14,000 of that since July 15th. About half of that sum is in in-kind donations. He showed a cash-on-hand balance of $2,363. Asked about the source of the money for the tv buy, he wrote in an email response to the question, "In kind contributions are treated as expenditures, have talked with the ethics commission before the election and they have confirmed, as long as it is disclosed in the next report that is due as an expenditure, which it will be. In the primary I paid for personally $5,000 worth of cable TV and you can see that as an in kind contribution, but it is counted as an expenditure. I am in 100 percent compliance with the ethics requirements."

A Loveless supporter said, "He confirmed with the Ethics Commission that in-kind contributions and expenses must go on the next quarterly report. Because he did not loan the money to the campaign, but instead spent his own money, it doesn't have to go on the pre-primary report as a late receipt. He is not going to make any effort to recover that money from the campaign, so it isn't a loan."

The winner of Tuesday's primary wins the election since no Democrat or Independent filed. The seat is now held by the term-limited Republican Kathleen Wilcoxson

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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.

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Former Opponents Endorse Steve Russell

Three of Steve Russell's opponents in the Republican primary in Senate District 45 endorsed him today.

Jerry Foshee, Melinda Daugherty and Marty Gormley all offered endorsements of Russell, whose runoff opponent is Kyle Loveless.

Jerry Foshee, a South Oklahoma City attorney and former Oklahoma City councilman, said, “Before this campaign began, I had immense respect for Steve Russell’s service to our country. After the race, I respect him even more. He was a man of his word, ran a positive campaign and refrained from lawyer bashing. He has the highest integrity and unquestioned character. I gladly offer my endorsement of his candidacy.”

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Jerry Foshee Leads Dollar Race In Senate District 45 Republican Primary

Attorney and former Oklahoma City Councilman Jerry Foshee is the top fundraiser in the Republican primary in Senate District 45, Ethics Commission reports show.

Foshee has raised $117,000 and spent $75,000, leaving him with about $40,000 on hand.

Retired Army Lt. Colonel Steve Russell, an Iraq war veteran who received the endorsement of former Governor Frank Keating, has raised about $80,000 and spent $46,000, leaving him with about $33,000 on hand.

Political consultant Kyle Loveless, endorsed by the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee, has raised about $29,000 in cash and spent $24,000, leaving him with about $4,000 on hand. Loveless reported about $20,000 in in-kind contributions, putting his total raised at about $49,000.

Observers say the race is a tough one to call; they foresee a runoff. Foshee's advantage, they say, is his name ID after years in the spotlight. Loveless' advantage, they add, is his ground-game approach, during which he's walked the district and knocked on doors. Russell's advantage is said to be his networking and personal contact with voters. All three candidates, they say, bring something to the table that makes the race one to watch next Tuesday.

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