Oklahoma winners: Republican nominee Mary Fallin and Democratic nominee Jari Askins
by Mike Memoli
We will indeed have an all-women gubernatorial matchup in Oklahoma this November, as Rep. Mary Fallin (R) and Lt. Gov. Jari Askins (D) won their respective primaries in the Sooner State Tuesday. As noted yesterday, it's the second such matchup this year, and just the fourth ever.
Fallin's win is noteworthy for another reason. It ends a streak of losses this year for sitting members of Congress running for governor. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) and Rep. Gresham Barrett (R-SC) all failed in their respective bids, with angst toward Washington a factor in their state races.
Of course, Fallin has only been in Congress for two terms. Before that, she was Askins' predecessor as the state's lieutenant governor. In the House, she replaced Rep. Ernie Istook (R), who lost to incumbent Brad Henry in the 2006 gubernatorial race. Henry is now term-limited.
Looking ahead, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (R) should easily win his primary on August 3, but Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R) is locked in a tight primary battle for the nomination in Michigan the same day. Days later, Rep. Zach Wamp (R) will also be on the ballot in an increasingly bitter GOP race in Tennessee.
Photo Credit: AP / Swamp Composite
GOP frontrunner Bill Haslam, the mayor of Knoxville, criticizes Wamp in a new TV ad by using his record in Congress against him. "He spent his career in Washington, broke his promises on term limits and special interest contributions. Voted for billions in earmarks, helped run up the federal debt to record highs," Haslam says.
Two members of the House who resigned to run for governor full time still await their fate: Nathan Deal, who faces Karen Handel in Georgia's GOP runoff August 10; and Neil Abercrombie (D), who faces the mayor of Honolulu in Hawaii's September 18 primary.
Comments
Interesting article that Representative Mary Fallin (R-OK) is the first sitting Congressman to win a gubernatorial primary this year. It seems that there is an anti-Washington trend this year. I do not know what happens but many of our elected leaders of both the Democratic and Republican Parties when they go to Washington lose contact with the country and what is going on. They seem to become isolated in the Beltway around Washington.
Posted by: depot jim | July 28, 2010 3:13 PM