Posted on 01/21/2014 6:12:46 PM PST by AuH2ORepublican
Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon is forming an exploratory committee to look more closely at a potential run in the special election for retiring Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-Okla.) seat, multiple sources tell The Hill.
Shannon’s office declined to comment, but sources say he's now expected to run.
One source tells The Hill Shannon has received dozens of calls from supporters “very enthusiastically encouraging him to run” since Coburn’s announcement last week that he’ll retire at the end of the year.
Shannon would run as a conservative alternative to Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who entered the race Monday to considerable pushback from conservative groups.
"We have reviewed his record and it's clear that conservatives cannot count on him to fight for their principles,” Senate Conservatives Fund Executive Director Matt Hoskins said in a statement after Lankford announced.
That group endorsed Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) for reelection and urged him to run for Senate last year. Bridenstine would likely get the support of most of those deep-pocketed national conservative groups if he ran.
But with Shannon in the race, Bridenstine wouldn’t be guaranteed to pick up the anti-Lankford mantle, and the two run the risk of splitting the conservative vote and giving Lankford an opening to take the primary.
More likely, observers say, is for the primary to head to a runoff, where Lankford and an alternative candidate would face off.
Shannon’s supporters believe he could have a shot at making it to the runoff because he’s got the strong political ties within Oklahoma that Bridenstine lacks, and the state House speaker has also been a stronger fundraiser than the congressman. Shannon has raised his profile within the state over the past year, as he was named one of the Republican National Committee’s “Rising Stars.”
Sources close to Bridenstine say he hasn’t yet made his decision, and it ultimately wouldn’t be based on what any other candidate does.
Give us some examples....
I think that’s a wise move by Congressman Bridenstine, who has held elective office for only one year. If he keeps up his voting record for a few more terms, he’ll be unstoppable when he runs for governor or for Inhofe’s Senate seat (when Inhofe decides to retire) or whatever is his next challenge.
So unless there are any late entrants, the Senate race will be between conservative Speaker T.W. Shannon, moderate-to-conservative Congressman James Lankford, and one or two unknown Republicans (the article mentions two, but the only name I’ve seen is Jason Weger). I hope that conservatives don’t get fooled by Lankford’s Baptist connections and coalesce around Shannon, thus giving Shannon at least 50%+1 in the first round so as to avoid a run-off. Cutting into Lankford’s base in the OKC area will be key, since it holds such a large percentage of the state’s Republican primary voters.
T.W. Shannon will be a superstar in the U.S. Senate, and will help the conservative movement achieve things that seem impossible right now. He knows how to get stuff passed, and will be, along with Senator Tim Scott, a walking billboard advertising how the Republican Party is the true home for black (and in Shannon’s case, also Native American) voters. We don’t need to get a majority of the black vote, but just 25% will give us supermajorities in both houses of Congress and a lock on the presidency.
We shall see what we shall see..........
Do you think that another prominent Republican will enter the race?
Well that’s good news. So basically whoever wins the GOP primary will be the next senator from OK. Is there a runoff?
There’s a runoff in the primary; if no one gets 50%+1, the top two go on to a one-on-one run-off.
No run-off in the general (OK ain’t GA).
Coburn has changed a lot since 2004. I’m embarrassed I ever voted for him now.
Personally I know many professional people that could run...and would be excellent representatives for OK. But none of them want the anal exam...that comes with it.
A physician I know...is very well versed on politics. He would be an excellent bulldog of a Conservative...but why do it? It's not worth it...personally.
Washington corrupts a lot of people. In 2004, he was the best candidate.
There’s no way you could have known. I thought he’d be the last guy to turn bad.
Pro-amnesty supporter Ann Wagner is supporting Senger.
Ive seen nothing on Senger’s website issues about immigration.
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