Rep. Ernest Istook Trails Gov. Brad Henry By Only 8 Points In Latest Poll

The Hill ^ | September 22, 2005

[Clintonfatigued]

Istook finished the strongest but would not win, according to the poll. In that race, Henry would beat Istook 44 to 36 percent.

[PhiKapMom]

A lot of the grassroots that I heard on the phone were Baptists from SE OK -- several were ministers. He converted due to his marriage is what I heard. He is still a very proud Baylor grad. His daughter and my son graduated from OU in 2004 because we were part of the group that could not make the State GOP Convention in 2004.

His pro-life stand will overcome Henry's pro-abortion stand in the minds of most Baptist IMHO. My State Rep is Morman and this district is heavily Baptist but he continually beats the Dems because of his strong pro-life/family values stance.

We have a Baptist pro-abortion, trial lawyer for Governor in a conservative state thanks to that independent Richardson who is now a Republican once again. Did I mention Richardson was Gov Keating's former law partner and a lot of folks thought he ran against Largent as an Indy because Largent didn't endorse Keating's wife for Congress.

[PhiKapMom]

I would bet that Mary will beat anyone opposing her for that seat. She just spoke at our first Cleveland County GOP Luncheon last week and it was evident if you read between the lines of what she said she was going to run for the 5th District. She will be a terrific addition to the Congress.

Heard Kevin Calvey, a House Rep, from Del City is considering running but I don't see anyone beating Mary. I don't know any Republicans that don't like her -- Senate Dems really don't like her which is a real plus as they are on the endangered list! :)

[AuH2ORepublican]

"A lot of the grassroots that I heard on the phone were Baptists from SE OK -- several were ministers."

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That's great to hear. Baptist ministers will be key to our efforts to counter the RAT whispering campaigns about Istook's "un-Christian religious rituals" and such (and believe me, the RATs will come out shooting---you should look into the kind of tripe that Ted Kennedy has said about Mitt Romney, a lifelong Mormon). If Baptist ministers tend to their flock, those attacks against Istook will fall on deaf ears.


"Did I mention Richardson was Gov Keating's former law partner and a lot of folks thought he ran against Largent as an Indy because Largent didn't endorse Keating's wife for Congress."

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I didn't know that. Mrs. Largent lost that primary fair and square, and a friend of hers seeking vengeance upon Largent was completely uncalled for, especially since it resulted in 4 years of a RAT in the governorship.

[PhiKapMom]

When Cathy Keating lost the primary, they blamed it on Largent. Lost a lot of respect for the Keatings over that one. Keating tried to get Largent to leave earlier then he did as well. It got really nasty and Keating was not very visible during the Governor's race either.

[MplsSteve]

Can someone fill me in on the dynamics of the 2002 Governor's race?

Steve Largent was a conservative. I don't understand why opposition arose in the form of an Indepdendent conservative candidate.

Did Largent run a bad campaign for Governor? He had loads of name ID and for lack of a better word - celebrity status - because of his years in the NFL.

[JohnnyZ]

It would be a great thing for the state were the Istook-Coburn wing of the GOP to become ascendant.

It is my understanding they place their emphasis on principles, rather than playing the game.

[Clump]

I am an evangelical Christian who has associated himself with the Southern Baptist Convention for years. I don't "dislike" Catholics or Mormons.

I have different theological views for sure, but I look at positions on the issues when it comes election time. I am concerned with government policy, and I will vote for people who will support the policies I a agree with.

Please don't characterize Baptists as "ignorant". There are ignorant people in every religious faith.

[lady lawyer]

Actually, I think the Baptist attitude toward us Mormons is softening somewhat. Falwell used to say "Mormons are going to hell." Now, I think he says something like, "Mormons are nice people. Too bad they're going to hell." LOL.

[AuH2ORepublican]

I didn't characterize Baptists as ignorant, I merely stated that "ignorant Baptists" (a minority of the Baptist population, to be sure) dislike Mormons even more than they do Catholics, and thus Governor Henry may lock up the "ignorant Baptist" vote. My aunt is a Catholic who teaches at a Baptist college, so I'm well aware of the fact that most Baptists are just as tolerant as are all other Christians.

[pepperdog]

Wow! This really confused me until I looked at the date.

[Clump]

Largent lost for two reasons (and only by 5 to 7 thousand votes).

1. The cock-fighting initiative was on the ballot. Rural Oklahomans who are old southern Democrats (and don't realize that their party has been hijacked by Socialists and Communists) got out to vote in high numbers to vote against the ban. While there they checked the straight line party ticket. BTW, Oklahoma is the only state where the cities are more Republican than the rural areas (with some exceptions in far west Oklahoma).

2. A conservative 3d party candidate got 19% of the vote. He was a spoiler (understatement).

It was a perfect storm politically speaking. It took some freak circumstances for Largent top lose. He really should have run again this time. He would win IMO.

[MplsSteve]

Interesting.

That certainly does explain how Largent lost.

I remember back on Election Night '02, asking myself "How the hell did Largent lose that race?!"

Thank you for the info.