Edmondson Enters Governor Race

(Gov. Brad Henry is an outstanding centrist governor in an extremely conservative state. Read DocHoc's commentary this week in the Oklahoma Gazette. Be sure to check out Brandon Dutcher's companion article, which calls Henry a "lefty.")

Oklahoma Democrats now have two excellent candidates for governor in 2010.

Attorney General Drew Edmondson announced his bid for governor Wednesday. He will face fellow Democrat Lt. Gov. Jari Askins in the primary. Both candidates have name recognition and a loyal following. Both candidates would be great Oklahoma governors.

On the Republican side, U.S. Rep Mary Fallin and state Sen. Randy Brogdon have announced their candidacies for governor.

At this point, the Democrats face these two issues:

(1) Could a contentious primary election weaken the winning candidate, who will likely face Mary Fallin in the general election? Will Edmondson and Askins have to spend more money than Fallin in the primary election and thus be at a financial disadvantage? Will Democratic supporters fracture and lose energy for the general election? Edmondson and Askins, in debates and in their campaign rhetoric, need to commit early to the idea that the losing candidate will unequivocally throw his/her support to the winning Democrat.

(2) Who will run best against Fallin? This is a difficult question to answer at this point. Edmondson has probably made more political enemies than Askins in his career just because of the nature of his job as attorney general. In political parlance, it means he probably has more “negatives” than Askins. But he also has widespread name recognition, and he comes from a well-known Oklahoma family. There’s no question he will be able to raise the campaign money to challenge Fallin, who will be heavily funded in the general election. Askins has few negatives, but doesn’t have the same long-term name recognition as Edmondson. Can she raise as much money as Edmondson? That might be the main question. As of May 1, Edmondson had $472,774 in campaign money on hand compared to Askins’s $90,052. Another important question is this: Will fellow Democrat Gov. Brad Henry support one of the candidates in the primary or stay neutral?

The governor’s race in 2010 is vitally important for Democrats. Republicans now hold majorities in the Oklahoma House and Senate. Gov. Brad Henry has been able to check the right-wing agenda through his veto pen and bipartisan approach to governing. If Fallin becomes the next governor and Republicans maintain their majority status, then Oklahoma will tilt even further right. This could isolate the state even further from the current national political dynamic.