By former District 85 State Representative, Porter Davis:
Officials in the Oklahoma Republican Party are still in denial about the September loss of a perpetually GOP-held seat in a Elephant Mary special election for House District 85. At recent county and state GOP meetings, I heard the often-repeated mantras that the Democrat “outworked” the Republican, that more “liberals” are moving into the district, and that the Carter campaign thought they could just cruise to victory in this “safe” seat. They either don’t see, or don’t want to address, the real issue, the elephant in the living room.
My perspective on HD 85 is unique. I ran for the seat twice, once losing as an Independent in 1976, and again winning as a Reagan Republican in 1982. I received 63% of the vote in a district with a majority of registered Democrats. I’ve kept a watchful eye on that district since. Subsequent GOP Reps in that seat were Mike Hunter, Mary Fallin, Odelia and David Dank. All did a good job representing their district.
So what happened? Is it really so simple that Cyndi Munson, an energetic, personable liberal Democrat just “outworked”political veteran and insider, conservative Republican Chip Carter?
