Posted on 06/07/2011 9:51:26 AM PDT by Galactic Overlord-In-Chief
Rep. Dan Boren, the only Democrat in Oklahoma's seven-person congressional delegation, will not run for re-election in 2012, leaving open a seat that spans much of eastern Oklahoma.
Boren, 37, plans to make an official announcement at 2 p.m. Tuesday in his hometown of Muskogee.
He has served in the U.S. House since 2005. His predecessor in the 2nd District seat, Democrat Brad Carson, said Tuesday that he plans to run for the seat.
Carson, 44, of Claremore, is now a business and law professor at the University of Tulsa. Carson gave up the House seat in 2004 to run for the U.S. Senate but lost to Republican Tom Coburn.
Boren, a conservative Democrat who has often been at odds with the majority of House Democrats and with President Barack Obama, had his toughest re-election fight in 2010, winning with 57 percent of the vote as the district rebelled against the president's policies.
He spent $1.8 million to win re-election against unknown Republican Charles Thompson, who spent less than $50,000.
Boren never officially endorsed Obama, who lost every county in Oklahoma in 2008, and strongly opposed some of the president's biggest priorities, including health care reform and cap-and-trade legislation.
But even a district thought to be safe for Democrats — it includes most of what used to be known as Little Dixie, the Democratic stronghold in the state — has proved to be challenging as Oklahoma grows more conservative.
The National Republican Congressional Committee announced that it would target Boren's seat in the last election but never followed through with any major effort to defeat him. Republicans likely will make a strong push to win the seat next year.
The son of University of Oklahoma President David Boren, a former U.S. senator and Oklahoma governor, Boren has focused on national security and energy issues.
Since first winning the seat, Boren got married to Andrea Heupel, and they now have two young children.
Interesting that Boren wants to call it quits. However, the fact that he has young children may be a factor.
This is definitely a winnable seat. It was a pretty yellow-dog Dem district, but it trended sharply Republican over the past decade (at least on the presidential level), and we held it when it was split into two seats, and held by Tom Coburn and Wes Watkins. Brad Carson, however, isn’t going to be a pushover. He never had a tough race in this seat and he carried it in his unsuccessful 04 Senate run against Coburn. Perhaps the GOP legislature will alter this seat now that it’s open?
Sounds like a prime candidate for a pickup. Though Boren voted for our side a lot of the time, it’s still better to have a conservative pubbie in there than a Demorat who can get his arm twisted by Nazi Pelosi when push comes to shove.
Boren, like his Dad, was pretty conservative for a Democrat. I’m sure he couldn’t stand the kind of politics practiced by his party-mates in Washington any longer. I wouldn’t be surprised if he changed party.
I thought I read somewhere recently, a ranking of conservative states had Oklahoma as number 1. It *should* have an all-R delegation, if just to make up for us clowns here in all-D MA.
His dad was the key opposing vote to Bill Clinton’s BTU tax. We could do with a few more Borens...
Agreed.
Any chance that the former OK Congressman JC Watts could be urged to run?
“Boren, like his Dad, was pretty conservative for a Democrat. I’m sure he couldn’t stand the kind of politics practiced by his party-mates in Washington any longer. I wouldn’t be surprised if he changed party.”
You better be conservative to win in Oklahoma. If he changes parties it would not be the first time in Oklhoma. Congressman Mike Monroney did it many years ago.
I don’t think he is going to change, but I am pretty confident his seat will be taken by a Republican next time and perhaps he could see the handwriting on the wall.
He sounds like he’s done with elective office, plus there have been a few open seats in OK since he retired, and he never made a move to run.
Good golly! Don't these people ever go away?
They stay with us forever, just like Katie Couric...
I really loved the old man and nearly went to work for him, but he said I’d have to change parties. Sorry...
I doubt it. He’s making big $ as a lobbyist.
Hope this will be a GOP pick up.
He is les conservative than Boren.
OK hasn’t redistricted yet, has it? It would be pretty easy to make the OK-02 more Republican without endangering any of the other districts (making each district give President Bush around 65%-66% in 2004), and doing so would pretty much seal the deal for a 5-0 GOP House delegation from OK. The simplest way would probably be to have Lucas’s district stretch across the north of the state to take in NE OK (including Democrat-leaning Cherokee and Mayes Counties, and maybe even Muskogee), and to combine Little Dixie with GOP areas such as Payne, Lincoln and Creek Counties.
The redistricting plan is already in place but I don’t know what it is. I don’t think it is changing that much. But I think the secret is a good candidate. Last time Boren beat a no name that spent no money by only 7%. If Boren’s name had been anything but Boren he would have been defeated.
If the GOP gets there act together and picks a strong candidate, this seat will be picked up. Brad Carson can be tied to 0bama/Reid/Pelosi enough. He does not have the relatively conservative voting history that Boren had. If they pick someone Coburn and Inhofe will get behind it should be simple. Both Senators are popular in that district.
I agree, the GOP should be favored regardless. My point is that if every district was just as Republican as the other we’d be assured of winning all five districts next year.
Dan Boren voted with Republicans more than any Democrat in the House. A Republican pickup wouldn’t change things here as much as in other districts, but I’ll still take it. Brad Carson will seek a comeback but it’s unclear who the Republican nominee will be. A name mentioned is Josh Brecheen, a freshman state Senator and former aide to Tom Coburn.
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