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Oklahomans returned to the voting booth Tuesday.
And despite all the advertising and the questionable statements made by many candidates, the voters had the opportunity to choose for themselves.
Across this state, those choices were made. The residents who went to the polls said publicly who they believed in and, at the same time, told other candidates, “thanks but no thanks.”
Consider the governor’s race.
In the Republican contest to choose a nominee for governor, voters narrowed those choices to two, which forced a runoff election in August.
And while it is true that one of those candidates, former state Sen. Mike Mazzei – the candidate with the presidential endorsement – did earn a spot in that runoff election, Mazzei came in with fewer votes than the GOP’s frontrunner, Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
Drummond earned 105,707 votes. Mazzei captured 104,629. Voters will go back to the polls in August to decide. Mazzei will need more than just kind words from the president to win.
Here in Comanche County, there was another interesting election. Here, voters settled for a runoff in the state Senate District 32 contest.
Even though he was considered the frontrunner earlier this year, area voters ended the senatorial career of incumbent state Sen. Dusty Deevers. Deevers captured a total of 1,470 votes, which put him third in the three-candidate contest.
The vice chairman of the Senate’s Freedom Caucus, Deevers’ ‘heavy-handed’ approach to governing and his far-right policies apparently weren’t popular with those he represented. He lost his seat.
In August, area voters will choose between Jean Hausheer – who captured 1,815 votes and came in at the top of the list and Curtis Erwin, who earned 1,627 votes, for second place for the Senate seat.
The result was, once again, a statement by voters of the district that they expect certain traits from their elected officials. Traits that often are forgotten once that official becomes the officeholder.
Oklahomans can be flexible. And here voters have been forgiving of errors and known for their support of those who truly focus on representing all the people of their district.
But recently, in Senate District 32, many voters said Deevers wasn’t trying to serve the entire district but only those who believed as he did. Deevers’ political philosophy – fueled by his far-right doctrine and heavy with religion – drove away more people than he served.
Senate Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton said Deevers “went to the Capitol to represent his church, not his district and he paid for it.”
Tuesday night’s vote, Paxton said, “was an absolute rebuke of the policy positions” of the extremist positions that the Freedom Caucus holds. “The voters absolutely threw them out of office,” he said. “I mean, you have their leader who termed out. You have their vice chairman, Senator Deevers, (who) came in third out of three.”
Paxton was correct. Instead of focusing on issues and working as part of a team to solve problems, Deevers simply sought power – and lost.
This fall, the state will choose a new governor, several state officials and a new Senator for Senate District 32.
Here’s hoping the district’s new senator will focus on the district’s core needs rather than simply trying to grab power. Because there’s always another election in the future.
M. Scott Carter is an award-winning political and investigative reporter with more than 40 years’ experience covering federal and state government and politics in Oklahoma. He can be reached at scott.carter@swoknews.com.