[PhiKapMom]

Istook would be really good but I like Mayor Humphries as well.

We still don't know if Nickles is running or not for another term. From all accounts he really likes his new Chairmanship because he controls where the money is spent and you won't have a better guy for that.

In 1998 when Sen Nickles agreed not to challenge Lott of Majority Leader, Lott promised to step aside in 2000 and let Nickles run for Majority Leader. We all know what happened there, Lott went back on his word and why to this day I have very little respect for Lott. Nickles was term limited as assistant majority leader/whip and chose to take a Senate Chairmanship in lieu of challenging Frist. Still not sure how that all went down.

As for J.C., I personally have not ruled out that he won't run for Senator. If he does throw his name in the race, I believe J.C. will be our next Senator.

All of the candidates are conservative and will beat anything the RATs have to throw against them IMO. If J.C. doesn't run for Senate then I would look to see him challenge the RAT Governor Henry in 2006! Still cannot believe that Henry won thanks to an Indy who was a Republican and Keating's former law partner. He promised no taxes on almost everything, no tuition, and got 100,000 stupid voters to vote for him which gave us Henry who cannot make a decision in a hurry if his life depending on it. Cannot stand the man's politics and his wishy washy approach to everything.

That kinds of sums up Oklahoma politics as it stands right now -- everyone waiting for Sen Nickles to decide if he is stepping down. We will still have two Republican conservative Senators if he does step down, but only one with a lot of seniority!

[Theodore R.]

All of the candidates are conservative and will beat anything the RATs have to throw against them IMO.

Same was said in 2001 about the 2002 OK gubernatorial campaign. Wrong then!

[EternalVigilance]

Thank you for that wonderful encapsulation of the sitution in OK.

Like I said, if only all the states had your problem--loads of conservatives to choose from! :-)

[fieldmarshaldj]

I think only Largent has himself to blame in this. I never realized how big a jerk he was until he opened his yap over the Elian Gonzalez matter. Karmic payback for him, albeit the good folks of OK also suffered for his poor judgment, too... :-(

It's too bad Wes Watkins didn't run for Governor, he would've won handily. He, of course, did for Frank Keating in '94 what you-know-who did for Henry last November.