It’s been widely said that Cole is a “mentor” for Lankford.
It’s fairly clear he’s the “establishment” pick like Mayor Kirk Humphries was in 2004. Of course in the long run Humphries wouldn’t have turned out any worse than Coburn.
There wouldn’t have been a “long run” for Humphreys, since he would’ve lost the general election to Brad Carson. That was why Coburn got in the race in order to save it from a “Perfect Rovian Disaster.”