UPDATED: AP: Big-Name Dems Missing From 2014 Elections
Big-name Oklahoma Dems missing from 2014 elections
By Sean Murphy, Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Three years after a Republican steamroll flipped all of Oklahoma’s statewide elected offices to the GOP, few strong Democratic candidates are emerging to take on Gov. Mary Fallin and other high-ranking Republican incumbents.
A key deadline to file campaign finance reports ahead of the 2014 elections is Wednesday, and there hasn’t been much movement by higher-profile Democrats. Most of those on the party’s already thin political bench in Oklahoma appear to be taking a pass next year.
“If you’re fishing for a name for a gubernatorial candidate, we’re still fishing, too,” Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairman Wallace Collins said bluntly.
An exception for Democrats is the state superintendent post held by Republican Janet Barresi, whose first term got off to a rocky start with highly publicized clashes with the state school board and resistance from local superintendents over some GOP education initiatives.