Tom Coburn leaving the Senate due to Health Issues

[Bch2014]

OK people, we need to find somebody good here!!! (Bad pun, I know)

 

[pulp8721]

OK people, we need to find somebody good here!!! (Bad pun, I know)

-Establishment may try to push Tom Cole
-Anyone know anything on T.W. Shannon, current OK State house speaker? If he's solid and he decides to run, how great would it be to have two republican black senators?
-If Shannon decides to pass and/or he's not solid, hopefully Jim Bridenstine decides to take a shot at the seat.


Also, this means John McCain is now the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee (yikes)

 

[eduardo89]

Bridenstine would be great.

 

[mz10]

-Establishment may try to push Tom Cole
-Anyone know anything on T.W. Shannon, current OK State house speaker? If he's solid and he decides to run, how great would it be to have two republican black senators?
-If Shannon decides to pass and/or he's not solid, hopefully Jim Bridenstine decides to take a shot at the seat.


Also, this means John McCain is now the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee (yikes)

Shannon gets pushed pretty hard by the RNC. That throws up a red flag in my book. Bridenstine seems like the best choice, Markwayne Mullin is pretty good too.

 

[MichaelDavis]

Does the governor of Oklahoma appoint a new Senator if the incumbent resigns? Bridenstine is one of the best Congressmen in the country. He's leagues better than any other Oklahoma Congressman.

 

[Smart3]

Does the governor of Oklahoma appoint a new Senator if the incumbent resigns? Bridenstine is one of the best Congressmen in the country. He's leagues better than any other Oklahoma Congressman.

I don't think so, the seat will be vacant until the special election.

 

[MichaelDavis]

I don't think so, the seat will be vacant until the special election.

Here's what I found: "Oklahoma require special elections, Oklahoma permitting its governor to appoint only the winner of a special election." "Under Oklahoma law, the special election will be held within 30 days of the vacancy."

 

[Gage]

Jim Bridenstine is personal friends with Thomas Massie, and he probably agrees with us on about 90% of the issues.

 

[Warlord]

I hope Bridenstine goes for it.

 

[eduardo89]

Thread title contradicts what Coburn said:

"But this decision isn't about my health, my prognosis or even my hopes and desires," he said in a statement.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/16/politics/tom-coburn-retire/

 

[compromise]

I like Bridenstine and would support him if he ran, but State Sen. Randy Brogdon (endorsed Ron in 2012, currently primarying Fallin for Governor) is also a strong candidate who might be interested in jumping into this race.

 

[acptulsa]

This isn't exactly news. Coburn already announced he won't seek reelection.

Does the governor of Oklahoma appoint a new Senator if the incumbent resigns?

Fallin already announced a special election. She won't be appointing anyone.

I hope Mullin doesn't run for it. He's far from the best choice for it. Bridenstine would be a strong choice, though Tulsans don't traditionally do well in statewide elections. Brogdon would be a respectable choice from our perspective, but is unlikely to get any establishment support. Bridenstine has, to date, been strong enough for the MIC to get enviable establishment and voter support.

 

[Gage]

Fallin already announced a special election. She won't be appointing anyone.

Just so there isn't confusion, Oklahoma law prevents the Governor from appointing anyone.

 

[MichaelDavis]

"Coburn can issue his resignation date early, apparently allowing Fallin to set the election before he resigns and potentially for the same day as the 2014 general election. In that case, Coburn's resignation date would be binding."

This would be very bad because Bridenstine would be much less likely to run, since he cannot run for reelection and the U.S. Senate at the same time.

 

[eduardo89]

"Coburn can issue his resignation date early, apparently allowing Fallin to set the election before he resigns and potentially for the same day as the 2014 general election. In that case, Coburn's resignation date would be binding."

This would be very bad because Bridenstine would be much less likely to run, since he cannot run for reelection and the U.S. Senate at the same time.

Does Oklahoma have a similar law to Kentucky where you can't appear on the ballot twice?

 

[MichaelDavis]

Does Oklahoma have a similar law to Kentucky where you can't appear on the ballot twice?

Every state, to my knowledge, has this rule. The only exception is presidential elections where you can appear on the ballot for president and another office (Kentucky's law stating otherwise is unconstitutional). Some states, like Hawaii have resign to run laws. If you want to run for another office, you have to resign from your current one first. This only applies to individuals who hold a state or local position.

 

[invisible]

I had said in the OK Governor election thread that this year's election here will have national impact, and now that is even more true. Probably the best case scenario here would be for Bridenstine to run, because if he loses in the primary he can still hold onto his Congressional seat. Harris backing out of the Governor's race has the potential to set this election up for a Ron Paul supporter on both the Republican and democrat side instead, if he jumps into this one. A worse case scenario would be for cole, wankford, or even fallin to run. fallin would probably be the least likely of those three to do it, though. OK's midterm election just got even more interesting!

acptulsa, I'd be curious to hear your analysis of this election. Why would you feel that Brogdon would do it, when he's already running in the primary for Governor? He'd have to choose one or the other primary to run in. Do you know of any other possible good, viable choices?

 

[MichaelDavis]

I had said in the OK Governor election thread that this year's election here will have national impact, and now that is even more true. Probably the best case scenario here would be for Bridenstine to run, because if he loses in the primary he can still hold onto his Congressional seat. Harris backing out of the Governor's race has the potential to set this election up for a Ron Paul supporter on both the Republican and democrat side instead, if he jumps into this one. A worse case scenario would be for cole, wankford, or even fallin to run. fallin would probably be the least likely of those three to do it, though. OK's midterm election just got even more interesting!

acptulsa, I'd be curious to hear your analysis of this election. Why would you feel that Brogdon would do it, when he's already running in the primary for Governor? He'd have to choose one or the other primary to run in. Do you know of any other possible good, viable choices?

"Gov. Mary Fallin announced Friday morning that the special election to fill Coburn’s seat will be held on Oklahoma’s regular election days this year: a primary on June 24, runoff election on Aug. 26 if necessary, and the general election on Nov. 4. The filing deadline is April 11."

"Because the special election will be held at the same time as the state’s regularly scheduled elections, anyone whose current position is up for reelection this year will have to consider whether to give up his or her seat in order to run for Senate."


http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/tom-coburn-senate-seat-102332.html#ixzz2qjVaXHYP

 

[tangent4ronpaul]

What does Coburn have in common with us? I thought he was one of the people that attended Ron's Thursday afternoon Liberty Caucus meetings.

If there is common ground on some issues, he's going to be there for a year and has political capitol - so why not petition him to try and push through some stuff?

-t

 

[TheTyke]

Already got an email from Senate Conservatives Fund saying they hope Bridenstine runs.... he has a really good voting record, so it's encouraging to know they'd be on our side.