Early Voting for General Election Begins Earlier This Year
(Oklahoma City) – An extra day of early voting has been added for the November 8 General Election this year thanks to new legislation enacted in 2021, the Secretary of the State Election Board reminded voters today. “For the first time ever, early voting will begin on the Wednesday prior to the General Election, adding an extra day for voters to cast their ballots,” said Secretary Paul Ziriax.
Tuesday, November 8th, is the Oklahoma General Election, and voters all across the state will be heading to the polls to decide who will hold elected offices for the next two to six years (depending on the position). Below are a few of my voting picks. I know I'm just a lowly blogger, but hopefully the information in this post will be helpful with your voting plans.
If you don't know where to vote, or want to see your sample ballot, use this helpful link from the Oklahoma State Election Board to find out. Early voting is Wednesday, Nov. 2nd, through Friday, Nov. 4th, from 8am to 6pm, and Saturday, Nov. 5th, from 8am to 2pm, at these locations. Election day voting is 7am to 7pm at your polling place.
I'm a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican -- in that order. While I am a conservative's conservative, as longtime readers of my blog know well, it is my faith first and foremost that informs and directs my politics. I make no apologies for that.
Let's just say Democrat gubernatorial candidate Joy Hofmeister hasn't had a great 24 hours.
It started with her going on camera to say that, when it comes to immigration issues, she supports Sanctuary Cities.
Then there was this Washington Examiner article, Democratic nominee for Oklahoma governor appears to have 'violated' state laws, experts say:
Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Says She Supports Sanctuary Cities
SARAH WEAVER
October 26, 2022 -- 4:25 PM ETDemocratic Oklahoma governor candidate Joy Hofmeister said she supports sanctuary cities during a campaign event Saturday.
October 26, 2022 (Oklahoma City, Okla.) – The Stitt for Governor 2022 campaign announced today U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) will be the featured guest at a Red Wave Rally in support of Governor Kevin Stitt on Nov. 2.
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| Artwork by T. Russell Hunter |
October 24, 2022 (Oklahoma City, Okla.) – Governor Kevin Stitt blasted Democrat Superintendent Joy Hofmesiter today after the Nation's Report Card showed Oklahoma's test scores have had one of the steepest drops in the nation:
OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 24th) – American Federation for Children – Oklahoma (AFC-OK) today called on state leaders in education to pursue systemic change to address plummeting student achievement.
A report released today by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) shows alarming declines in student performance in both math and reading in Oklahoma. While attributable in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, student performance in Oklahoma has declined throughout Superintendent Joy Hofmeister’s tenure, which began in 2015.
After taking hits from pro-Hofmeister dark money groups for over a year, Governor Stitt's reelection campaign is going on the offensive:
October 26, 2022 (Oklahoma City, Okla.) – The Stitt for Governor 2022 campaign launched today a new statewide television ad highlighting how Democrat State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister is bought by special interests who have spent at least $25 million to date in the election cycle to cover up her record of closing classrooms, leading the nation in public schools with plummeting test scores, and advocating for a laundry list of tax hikes.
From Tony Lauinger, Oklahomans For Life state chairman:
In a stunning betrayal of unborn children, gubernatorial candidate Joy Hofmeister has reversed the pro-life commitment she made when she entered public office. When she was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2014, she promised to defend unborn children from abortion. Now she has abandoned that commitment.
If you've never read the story of Task Force 3, the Battle off Samar, and the heroes of that cataclysmic clash of sea and steel like Oklahomans Ernest E. Evans and Paul Henry Carr, you need to remedy that immediately. Go read The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, by James D. Hornfischer. It's a story of unparalleled heroism and sacrifice that has been largely forgotten.
I'm thrilled that Muskogee is recognizing Commander Evans with this memorial.
A dedication ceremony will be held on Tuesday, October 25 at 10:00 a.m. at Depot Green to dedicate a memorial to a Muskogee soldier who was posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor for his heroic efforts during World War II. Commander Ernest E. Evans was killed in battle on October 25, 1944.
Oklahoma’s future economic growth is linked to the quality of today’s education system. That’s why the latest round of ACT test scores is reason for concern. Academic outcomes have declined almost continuously for eight years now. If we don’t reverse that trend, today’s children will be deprived of opportunity and state growth will be stymied.
Oklahoma students achieved an average composite score of just 17.9 on the ACT test given last spring. That was the third-lowest average among the 50 states. Making things worse, the national average ACT composite test score was the lowest seen in three decades.
OKLAHOMA CITY (October 21st) – Sen. Julia Kirt [D-OKC] will hold an interim study on Oct. 24 focused on Oklahoma’s laws for ethics and accountability for elected officials.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct.18, 2022) – Governor Kevin Stitt today announced Adria Berry has been appointed to serve as Executive Director of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) which will officially transition to an independent state agency on November 1, 2022, per SB 1543.
“For over a year Adria Berry has been leading Oklahoma’s efforts to enforce our laws and crack down on the marijuana black market,” said Governor Kevin Stitt. “Now that OMMA is becoming a stand-alone agency, I am pleased to officially appoint Adria as executive director and have full confidence in her continued leadership and dedication to get the medical marijuana industry under control and keep our communities safe.”
GOVERNOR STITT, COMMISSIONER REED CLARIFY KIDS IN OKLAHOMA NOT REQUIRED TO GET COVID VACCINE TO ATTEND SCHOOL
OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct.20, 2022) – Governor Kevin Stitt released the following statement after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) approved adding the COVID-19 vaccine to childhood immunization schedules.
“Regardless of what the CDC in Washington says, nothing changes in Oklahoma and kids are not required to get a COVID vaccine to attend school,” said Governor Stitt. “It’s up to parents to decide how to protect their child from viruses and as long as I am governor, we will never force kids to get a COVID vaccine to go to school.”
Congressman Lucas Announces October Town Hall Meetings in Northwest Oklahoma
Cheyenne, OK (October 20th) – Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) will hold town hall meetings in Woods, Woodward, Harper, and Ellis Counties on Thursday, October 27th and Friday, October 28th. Residents around the locations are invited to attend and share their thoughts on current events in Washington, DC and across Oklahoma.
Lucas will be discussing recent work in Congress, taking questions about issues important to constituents of the Third Congressional District, and seeking input on legislation currently before Congress.
State Sup Hofmeister trading Epic donations for??
Oklahoma City, October 19th | Governor Kevin Stitt tonight questioned State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister why she has not given back more than $50,000 in donations from Epic Charter School administrators to her campaigns.
The reason is clear. From 2016-2018, State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister was taking donations from Epic Charter Schools to pay down her debt simultaneously while Superintendent Hofmeister was considering an application by Epic Charter’s administrators to expand their operations in Oklahoma.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 20, 2022) – Governor Kevin Stitt today announced the appointment of Adam Panter to serve as district attorney for the 23rd Judicial District, encompassing Pottawatomie and Lincoln Counties. Panter will serve the remainder of the current term, following the vacancy created by the resignation of Allan Grubb.
The Republican Governor's Association is out with a new ad hitting Democrat gubernatorial candidate Joy Hofmeister. The RGA Right Direction PAC is putting at least a million dollars into supporting GOP incumbent Kevin Stitt in this race:
New Ad: Hofmeister & Biden Raised Gas Prices & Cost Oklahoma Jobs
October 18, 2022 | WASHINGTON, D.C. – The RGA Right Direction PAC today released a new ad explaining how Joy Hofmeister and Joe Biden both raised gas prices and put 90,000 Oklahoma jobs at risk. Life hasn’t been easy under Biden’s leadership and Oklahoma needs a leader who will fight back against his radical agenda, not support it.
If there's anything Oklahoma needs more of, it's more pot. [insert eyeroll emoji]
GOVERNOR STITT ISSUES PROCLAMATION TO DECLARE SPECIAL ELECTION FOR SQ 820
October 18, 2022 (Oklahoma City, Okla.) – The Stitt for Governor 2022 Campaign has today announced the Tulsa Firefighters PAC endorsement of Governor Kevin Stitt for re-election in 2022.
“Governor Stitt has championed firefighters across our state and it’s our honor to endorse him for a second term,” said Matt Lay, President of the Tulsa International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 176 in Tulsa, Ok. “Gov. Stitt has prioritized resources to support active firefighters and ensured our retired firefighters are respected and receiving the compensation they earned and deserve.”
You're looking at the face of the Governor of Oklahoma from January 2023 to January 2027. If Republicans sleep on this race, it could be the one on the left (God forbid).
"Oklahoma is the reddest of the red", an often-used phrase in GOP politics here in Oklahoma.
Well, not exactly.
While it's true that the state legislature is dominated by Republicans, all statewide office holders since 2010 have been elected as Republicans, and a majority of registered voters now are Republican, Oklahoma is not quite as red as one might think.
Back in 2016, Republicans lost State Senate District 34 in the aftermath of scandal (the GOP incumbent went to federal prison after embezzling nearly two million dollars from his employer). Democrat J.J. Dossett was a perfect-storm candidate, taking advantage of a weak GOP candidate and the Brinkley scandal to flip the seat from red to blue. The GOP inexcusably failed to field a candidate in 2018, so this is the first time Dossett has faced a challenge since the initial special election.
Dana Prieto is the Republican nominee in SD34, hoping to return the district to the red column. To help introduce him to voters, I asked him the following brief survey, which he was gracious enough to complete.
Oklahoma families are feeling the financial pinch from progressives’ anti-fossil-fuel regulations. OG&E utility customers have received notice that their bills will be increased to recoup costs for higher natural gas and coal prices.
That’s just one small example of how Democratic environmental policies are indirectly draining families’ pocketbooks. Democrats are now trying to deflect blame by claiming “greedy” energy producers have created high prices. That excuse doesn’t withstand scrutiny.
Congressman Lucas Announces October Town Hall Meetings in North-Central Oklahoma
Cheyenne, OK (October13th) – Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) will hold town hall meetings in Alfalfa, Grant, Garfield, Noble, and Logan Counties on Wednesday, October 19th and Thursday, October 20th. Residents around the locations are invited to attend and share their thoughts on current events in Washington, DC and across Oklahoma.
Lucas will be discussing recent work in Congress, taking questions about issues important to constituents of the Third Congressional District, and seeking input on legislation currently before Congress.
Tulsa, Okla. – Americans for Prosperity Oklahoma (AFP-OK) today announced its endorsement of three candidates for the Oklahoma State House of Representatives: Kendra Wesson (HD-46), Brad Banks (HD-70), and Paul Hassink (HD-79).
OKLAHOMA CITY (OCtober 10th) – Thousands of Oklahoma families have used Oklahoma's new open transfer law to send students to the public schools that best meet their needs.
Nearly 11,000 transfer requests have been made since the open transfer law took effect this year, with more than 8,400 transfers approved, according to State Department of Education data.
Oklahoma has seen a huge amount of dark (and gray-ish) money hit the mailboxes and airwaves this election cycle, but no race has had more spent - and more one-sided - than the race for Oklahoma Governor.
In some excellent reporting from The Frontier's Reese Gorman, we now know that dark money groups have spent in excess of $12.5 MILLION against Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) and for Joy Hofmeister (D).
Some excerpts from Gorman's article:
A lack of transparency surrounding spending from outside groups makes it difficult for voters to discern who is behind the political ads.
Just another reminder that a vote for that lying con artist Joy Hofmeister is a vote for Joe Biden's policies:
Oct. 12, 2022 (Oklahoma City, Okla.) – The Stitt for Governor 2022 campaign launched today a new statewide television ad highlighting Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joy Hofmeister’s record on oil and gas in Oklahoma that mirrors the agenda of the national Democratic party and Joe Biden.
I attend church in a rural community, where many of the members have a hand in ranching. I've heard most of them discuss this problem over the past several years, particularly during calving.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Blake “Cowboy” Stephens held an interim study Monday to look into the significant harm done to livestock and property by predatory birds. Stephens, R-Tahlequah, said the most destructive is the black vulture.
“Most people have no idea how deadly and vicious black vultures can be for livestock. They will attack baby calves as they are being born and literally eat them alive, and they’ll attack the mother as she’s giving birth,” Stephens said. “It is a gruesome situation that can cost a family thousands of dollars in lost livestock, but their hands are literally tied by federal law.”
Stephens said black vultures are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Oklahomans can get a permit to take up to five birds per permit, per year, but Stephens said that’s woefully inadequate to address the exploding population of vultures.
We all have our “hot-button issue.” Among conservatives, it might be gun rights, or property rights, or religious liberty. Accounting nerds like me can even get worked up over tax policy. But whatever we care about, if we want to win, we had better protect parental rights.
This is especially true as elite culture becomes more hostile to conservative values and religious faith. If the next generation is taught our Constitution is fundamentally flawed, nothing in the Bill of Rights will be safe.
Cheyenne, OK – Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) will hold town hall meetings in Harper, Cimarron, Texas, and Beaver Counties on Wednesday, October 12th and Thursday, October 13th. Residents around the locations are invited to attend and share their thoughts on current events in Washington, DC and across Oklahoma.
October 5, 2022 (Oklahoma City, Okla.) – The Stitt for Governor 2022 campaign announced today that the Oklahoma Public Employees Association (OPEA) endorsed Governor Kevin Stitt for re-election in 2022. During his first term, Governor Stitt has been recognized for his work on civil service modernization and agency accountability reform to improve efficiency for state employees and Oklahomans.
During the COVID surges starting in 2020, advocates of school shutdown insisted any associated learning loss would be short-lived and easily recovered.
That was a false promise as state testing now shows beyond a doubt.
This year’s state testing was the second annual round since COVID hit in spring 2020. The 2022 results, recently released, show students remain well below the pre-pandemic norm. And that’s not because the pre-pandemic numbers in Oklahoma were stellar.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Attorney General John O’Connor released the following statement, “Barry Van Treese was murdered with a baseball bat in the middle of the night in a room of the hotel he owned. Richard Glossip managed that hotel and received an apartment in the hotel as part of his compensation. After meeting with Mr. Van Treese about mostly financial issues, Glossip had reason to fear that he would be fired the next day.
“Justin Sneed was an 18-year-old maintenance man at the hotel. He also received a room at the hotel as part of his compensation. The evidence at trial showed that Glossip had significant influence over Sneed.
“Sneed testified that Glossip offered him money to kill Mr. Van Treese at Glossip’s first jury trial in 1998. The jury unanimously convicted Glossip of murder for hire and recommended the death penalty. The judge imposed the death penalty.
“The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals sent that conviction back for a second jury trial, because the court did not believe Glossip’s attorney adequately represented him.
“Before the second jury trial, Glossip’s new attorney met with Sneed in an apparent attempt to get Sneed to not testify against Glossip at his second trial. Glossip’s attorney admitted that he met face-to-face with Sneed. It’s on the record before Glossip’s second trial that Glossip’s attorney gave Sneed a copy of a court decision that would allow Sneed to keep his sentence even if he refused to testify against Glossip in the second trial.
“Despite these efforts by Glossip’s attorney to influence him, Sneed again testified in the second jury trial in 2004 that Glossip offered Sneed money to kill Mr. Van Treese. The second jury unanimously convicted Glossip of murder for hire in 2004 and recommended the death penalty. Again, the judge imposed the death penalty. The State did not make any kind of additional deal with Sneed in respect to his testimony in the 2004 trial.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 4, 2022) – Today Governor Kevin Stitt signed SB 3XX which blocks funding to prevent gender transition services for minors at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital at OU Health. The bill went into effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.
(Oklahoma City) – The voter registration deadline for the November 8 General Election is quickly approaching. The deadline to register to vote or update your registration before the upcoming election is Friday, October 14. Applications must be received or postmarked by the deadline in order for voters to be eligible to participate in the November 8 election.
Senate Leaders Respond to Gov. Stitt’s Continued Call for Tax Cuts
OKLAHOMA CITY (September 27, 2022) – Leadership in the state Senate Republican Caucus today released the following statements after Gov. Kevin Stitt continued his call for tax cuts.
“Philosophically, I am for lower taxes,” said Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat. “Last year, I championed tax cuts and the members in the Senate were able to send responsible tax cuts and inflation relief to the governor’s desk. I’m proud to be part of the leadership in the state of Oklahoma, who has contributed to our current record savings, made critical investments into essential services, while living within our means. As we enter a recession, we must remember just a few short years ago we were scrambling with a $1.3 billion shortfall. We must be mindful and do tax cuts the right way. That is why I have appointed a tax policy working group. The members of this group are making serious strides to a long-term, sustainable plan to responsibly cut and reform taxes in our state.”
