Ex-mayor, businessman in GOP runoff for Oklahoma governor
OKLAHOMA CITY — A former Oklahoma City mayor and a Tulsa businessman who ran as a political outsider are advancing to a runoff for the Republican nomination in the race to become Oklahoma’s next governor.
Mick Cornett, a former four-term mayor, advanced to an Aug. 28 runoff with Kevin Stitt, who leveraged his status as an outsider to knock off Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, the early favourite and the establishment pick to win the nomination.
Stitt, the founder of Gateway Mortgage Company, also had a $4.2 million campaign war chest, the most of any candidate in the race, and tapped into an anti-incumbency mood among the Oklahoma electorate that resulted in six Republican incumbents getting bounced from office on Tuesday.
“I think we need some new blood,” said retired teacher Cindy Hazelwood, 64, who said she voted for Stitt in Oklahoma City.
Stitt’s fundraising total also included $2.1 million in personal loans to his campaign.
With no race for the U.S. Senate this cycle, much of the money and attention focused on the 15 candidates trying to succeed term-limited Gov. Mary Fallin.
Cornett, who served four terms as mayor, helped oversee a revitalization of the state’s capital city that included landing an NBA basketball team.
Other candidates in the GOP field included Tulsa trial attorney Gary Richardson, state Auditor Gary Jones and ex-state Rep. Dan Fisher, a fiery Baptist preacher whose campaign centres on the abolition of abortion.
On the Democratic side of the governor’s race, former four-term state Attorney General Drew Edmondson, 71, secured the nomination over ex-state Sen. Connie Johnson, 66, the party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2014.
Johnson, a longtime marijuana legalization advocate, had hoped to leverage her popularity with pot supporters to pull an upset over Edmondson, whose $1.5 million in contributions was more than 20 times as much as she raised.
Two Libertarian candidates also advanced to a runoff: Chris Powell and Rex Lawhorn.
Oklahoma’s next governor will take over as head of a state government just beginning to rebound after facing several consecutive years of cuts to agency budgets. Revenue collections have been steadily increasing over the last year, and lawmakers this year already approved a series of tax increases to fund pay raises for teachers and help shore up the state budget.
——
Follow Sean Murphy at http://www.twitter.com/apseanmurphy
Source: http://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/cornett-stitt-advance-to-gop-runoff-for-oklahoma-governor
Chronicle AM: Support Not Punish Rallies at UN, Worldwide; NH Dems Endorse Legal Pot, More… (6/26/18)
Read More
Wiz Khalifa Throws Down in Latest MMA Training Videos
Read More
Ban on 'intoxicants' will keep legal cannabis off N.W.T. reserve
Read More
Nunavut’s new official name for cannabis — ‘surrarnaqtuq’ — leaves some with bad buzz
Read More
Robyn Rabinovich sharing her story at the @RNMKRPR Women Trailblazers talk. Robyn is one of the, if not the, youngest VP in the #Canadian #cannabis space. #womenincannabis
Check this out and share please! Super dank bowl art for your viewing pleasure! #cannabis https://t.co/ZLciabhBs9
Doctors shocked when cannabis oil cures woman of terminal cancer. https://t.co/BkUEGpr9EK #cannabis #health #cancer
Canada to allow mail-order marijuana sales | TheHill https://t.co/K1GtJz6GiD #cannabis
https://t.co/GoCNCbq6XO #mmj #thc #weed #hemp #cannabis #seeds #cbd The Alternate Vaporizer by Vivant is a highly effective portable vaporizer for dry herbs and concentrates. Its heating chamber has been designed to diffuse heat so that your herbs/concentrates heat evenly. It a…
Marijuana Is Now Legal In Canada — Here’s Why The U.S. Will Not Be Far Behind
https://t.co/MpnyhKSs8d #MME #marijuana #cannabis #Canada #USA
@WWE Hall Of Fame #wrestler Hillbilly Jim weighs in on #Canada upcoming #Marijuana #Legalization. 12 #Podcast guests in total share their opinions. https://t.co/rQFX1QmLT3
Prohibitionist Teens Share This Shocking View: https://t.co/ux2e5nfFX3.
More and more of #GenZ are saying no to anti-cannabis #propaganda and yes to needed change. #dare #cannabis #legalize #youth #mentalhealth
Was, wenn meine Apotheke kein Cannabis mehr hat? Das deutsche Bundesgesundheitsministerium weiß Rat: Besuchen Sie eine andere oder wechseln Sie die Sorte. „Dauerhafte Lösung“ buchstabiert sich anders …
https://t.co/yaqiF2Opeb
#Cannabis #HanfHeilt… https://t.co/yaqiF2Opeb
La réglementation sur le #cannabis régira de manière stricte la production, la distribution et la vente de cannabis, et imposera à l’industrie des normes rigoureuses en matière de contrôle de la qualité. #C45 #LoiSurLeCannabis https://t.co/jajcMz92mO