Georgianna Oliver for CD-1

Georgianna Oliver's campaign sent me an e-mail fundraising solicitation this afternoon. I had been feeling pretty cynical about that race because I hadn't heard much of anything about it in quite some time, and I worried that we were in for another token race in which Sullivan would just cruise to victory.

I shot an e-mail back expressing my frustration that I hadn't heard anything from the campaign, basically saying that if I was going to give them my money, I had to be sure that it wasn't wasted.

To my very pleasant surprise, the candidate herself sent me back an e-mail explaining that while the campaign had had trouble getting media coverage, there are television commercials airing and volunteer activity is ramping up. Oliver's website has also been updated since I last looked at it - she has a blog that is updated fairly regularly.

Stay tuned for more news from Oliver's campaign. Now that I know that there is indeed life there, I'll be providing coverage of the race. I want to see Sullivan defeated, and this district has had too many bitter disappointments over the years.

Latest poll shows Obama trailing badly in Oklahoma (as expected)

Obama isn't going to win Oklahoma in November.

But there is something happening here.

In 2004, I saw very few Kerry bumper stickers and yard signs around town. Maybe a handful.

Recently, however, I'm seeing Obama bumper stickers and yard signs everywhere. I can think of two possible reasons for this. The first reason is probably more likely: I'm spending most of my time in Midtown, which can kind of be thought of as Tulsa's "liberal oasis." The second reason, which would be really something, is that Obama is getting more traction here than the polls show.

Again, I'm leaning towards the first reason. I don't see much visible support for Obama when I go down to South Tulsa. But if Obama is gaining more traction in Tulsa than the polls show, then that's a pretty significant thing, and it bodes well for down-ticket races, especially Georgianna Oliver's race against John Sullivan. If Obama can energize enough Dems in District 1 to go to the polls, Oliver might just have a shot. Obama might even help Andrew Rice, who is also trailing in the polls.

Congrats to Andrew Rice and Georgianna Oliver

CD1 now has a decent candidate to try to oust John Sullivan, who is a real right-wing asshat, and I'm excited about Rice's chances to oust another real right-wing asshat, Jim Inhofe.

Full election results up top.

I voted.

For those who haven't voted yet, here is the election guide that I posted yesterday.

I decided to vote for Mark Manley for Congress, because, for once, I wanted to vote for principle over politics, which I did not do in the Presidential primary. I'm pretty confident, though I'm not entirely sure of this, that Georgianna Oliver will win this primary handily, and she's doubtless the best candidate to face Sullivan in November. However, Manley's grassroots cred appeals to me, so I threw him some support.

I also voted for Andrew Rice. You should, too.

Tulsans, vote tomorrow.

Get out and vote tomorrow!

Here's the League of Women Voters election guide.

Here are the links to the two candidates for US Congress, Oklahoma District 1:

Georgianna Oliver

Mark Manley

Oliver is positioning herself as a centrist and she has a lot of money to spend. Manley's campaign is a grassroots effort from the anti-war crowd.

I'm not making an official endorsement in this primary. Oliver may be better positioned to beat Sullivan, but I like a lot of Manley's politics. I'm not sure who I'm going to vote for in this race, but I will absolutely endorse the winner of this primary.

For US Senate, I am endorsing Andrew Rice, and I encourage every registered Democrat in Oklahoma to get out and vote for him. Rice's campaign is a real chance to unseat one of the most reactionary members of the US Senate, Jim Inhofe. Not only can we unseat a bad Republican, but we can replace him with a really good progressive Democrat, someone who will actually care about his constituents and solving real problems.

I'm not making any endorsements in local/state legislative races.

CD1 has candidates!

Oklahoma's Congressional District 1 has two candidates vying to replace John Sullivan: Georgianna Oliver and Mark Manley.

Oliver doesn't have her website working yet, but Manley does. I'm familiar with Manley's work in the local peace and impeachment movement, so I'm inclined to support his candidacy. However, in the spirit of fairness, both candidates' websites will now be featured in the "Links" section of this blog.

The primary election is July 29th.