OKLAHOMA CITY — For decades, Oklahoma’s political history has shown that in statewide races the contest for governor draws the most attention. And, more often than not, second place almost always goes to the attorney general’s campaign.
This year is no different. Though campaign filings don’t open until April, the contest for attorney general in Oklahoma has already drawn four candidates — Republicans Jon Echols, Jeff Starling and Christopher Kannady, and Democrat Nick Coffey.
Ethics Commission reports show that three of the four candidates have been actively raising and spending money.
Kannady filed on Feb. 14. His campaign has not yet reported any income.
Coffey, the Democrat, reported $232,027 in contributions with no in-kind contributions or loans. Coffey’s filing indicated he spent $69,730 and has $171,296 on hand. Coffey’s report was filed on Jan. 26.
Starling’s report listed contributions totaling $914,469 as of Jan. 30. Starling, a Republican, reported $4,286 in in-kind contributions and $212,574 in expenditures. He listed $701,894 in cash on hand.
The top fundraiser in the race, former House Majority Leader Jon Echols, reported raising $1,331,812 on Jan. 31. Echols, a Republican, reported $17,053 in in-kind contributions and $7,417 in in-kind expenditures. Echols reported other expenditures of $398,639. His ending balance was listed as $933,173.
This race — much like the contest for governor — is expected to be loud and intense.
Jeff Starling: protect Oklahoma values
Starling, a trial attorney, said he decided to run for office because he wanted “to protect Oklahoma’s values and way of life.” Starling serves as Governor Stitt’s Secretary for Energy and the Environment.
“We are a state, I think, that has enormous potential in front of us over the next decade, and we have to have the right people in the right spots,” Starling said. “We’ve got to quit hiring the same folks and expecting different results. We need private-sector experiences, people with real- world experience, and for the AG in particular, real courtroom and legal experience.”
Starling said one of his primary goals would be to address issues involving fentanyl and illegal marijuana.
“The reason I say they’re related like that, they’re largely backed by foreign criminal cartels, mostly out of China, but some others as well,” he said. And you just take marijuana, for example, you know, we have more grow houses in the state of Oklahoma than we do schools. We have 10 times as many marijuana facilities as we do public libraries.”
Starling said the state hasn’t made enough progress in these areas. “We need the attorney general focused on it and partnered with the Trump administration and our federal resources that can look beyond Oklahoma’s borders and pull out these criminal cartels,” he said. “We can look at these criminal organizations and pull them out, root and branch, which we’ve done in the past.”
And while Starling acknowledged Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s call to eliminate the medical marijuana industry in Oklahoma through another public vote, he said he would deal with the issue practically.
“So, from a criminal justice standpoint, you know we’re going to be dealing with this no matter what that ballot initiative does and whether it succeeds or not,” he said. “We’ll see what the Oklahoma public does when this gets to a ballot initiative. But I can say, I sense, without a doubt, there’s real frustration with the status quo on marijuana that exists in Oklahoma today.”
While Starling said fentanyl and marijuana were major concerns, he said he would also work to bring a pro-business mindset to the office of Attorney General through selective use of artificial intelligence.
“The way this works, for example, is regulatory reform,” he said.
Starling said he would also work to better the relationships between the state and tribal nations.
“We need to work with the tribes to come to a resolution on things,” he said. “We need to have a better tone in doing that, and that’s certainly what I plan to do.”
Nick Coffey: AG needs extensive trial, courtroom experience
For Nick Coffey — the lone Democrat in the race — the idea of being Oklahoma’s attorney general requires an attorney with extensive experience in the courtroom and with criminal issues.
“I think the attorney general needs to be an actual attorney, the state’s top prosecutor. I was the U.S. Attorney’s Office for seven years and did high-profile drug and money laundering cases. You know, I’m the only one in the in the race. I’ve overseen the extradition of Mexican drug nationals. I was regularly in federal court. I was regularly arguing the 10th Circuit. When I heard who was going to be running for attorney general, you know, people that never did a jury trial before, people that hadn’t worked with law enforcement a day in their lives, I thought ‘Oklahoma can do a lot better than that,’” he said. “I want to enter the race to give people a real option to vote for a real attorney.”
Coffey said one of his main goals as attorney general would be to examine what’s going on with the insurance industry in terms of homeowner insurance premiums.
“There’s been a lot of reporting on this in terms of how Oklahoma’s premiums are 50% higher than neighboring states that also have tornadoes and floods and severe weather problems,” he said. “And you know, we have the highest homeowner you know, insurance premiums, despite the fact that, nationally speaking, our homes are much more affordable.”
Coffey said the attorney general should make written findings in administrative law issues and explain those findings.
“Right now, no one has ever done that. And the attorney general, I think, needs to make sure the insurance commissioner did his job and followed the law in terms of evaluating part just, you know, carrying out a statutory duties,” he said.
In addition to examining insurance rates and serving as the state’s top prosecutor, Coffey said the AG should not push political positions but instead, fairly apply the law.
“I think the attorney general’s position, an independent position, is supposed to be about applying the law and doing it fairly,” he said.
Echoing other politicians seeking the office, Coffey said he would work with tribal nations and not antagonize them. He said would do everything he could to negotiate compacts between the tribes, local police departments and other state agencies.
“I certainly would not bring any antagonistic position into the agency’s office when it comes to tribes,” he said.
Jon Echols: next AG must understand government, issues
Former House Majority Leader Jon Echols, the candidate polls list as forerunner in the GOP primary, said if he became attorney general he would work aggressively to address the growing number of illegal — and mostly Chinese — cartels that own medical marijuana grows in the state. Echols said those groups are also bringing in fentanyl and are involved in human trafficking.
“As the next attorney general, I’m going to do something about this,” he said.
He said he would work with local law enforcement to go after the cartels. “We’re going to rip them from the state of Oklahoma,” he said. “I’m the guy that has police backing and the ability to, I think. That’s a large reason why we’re so far ahead in this race.”
Echols said he would also work with state lawmakers to change a law that allowed non-U.S. citizens to purchase medical marijuana grows.
“The first thing I’m going to do is (get rid of) this absolutely ridiculous form that says someone can buy a medical marijuana grow and say they’re here, even if they’re a non-U.S. citizen,” he said. “I’m calling on the Legislature to get rid of that this session.”
Echols said the three big issues Oklahomans care about are simple: they want somebody who’s going to stand with law enforcement, someone to back state’s conservative principles and someone to state government accountable.
“I think that’s what this race will be about,” he said. “I mean, I’m not a typical platitude politician. I’m talking about what the attorney general actually does, the real-world work. That’s why we’re in the lead. We think we’re going to continue to hold on to it.”
Echols, who served 12 years in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, said he also would work to improve relations with the state’s tribal nations. “My view on Tribal Relations is more compacts, less losses,” he said. “We have to find a way to reset relations and work with our tribal partners.”
Echols said the next attorney general needs to be a peacemaker who can get a deal with the tribes. “It’s good for all Oklahoma,” he said.
He said that his goal was to find a way to reset relations with tribal nations. “We’re going to find a way to work together,” he said. “I know how to try cases, but that’s not going to be my ‘go-to’ move. We all need to be working together.”
Christopher Kannady: the latest entry in the contest
Though the official filing period for the attorney general’s seat is still two months away, the latest entry in the contest is Christopher Kannady.
Kannady, a member of the Oklahoma Legislature, submitted paperwork to the state Ethics Commission on Feb. 14. However, searches on both Google and Facebook did not show any website or information about Kannady’s campaign for the attorney general’s office.
Kannady could not be reached for comment.
Oklahoma’s primary election is scheduled for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16. Early voting runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 11 and 12 and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 13.
A primary runoff election — if needed — is set for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Early voting is set for 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 20 and 21 and from 8 a.m.