And so the Oklahoma Blue Wave begins

When the 56th Legislature of the State of Oklahoma was sworn in back in January, the Republicans occupied 75 of 101 seats in the House and 42 of 48 seats in the Senate.  Since the swearing in of the state’s lawmakers, there have been six Republicans that have had to resign their seat under the cloud of scandal.  On Tuesday, July 11th there were two special elections held to fill seats vacated by the disgraced Dan Kirby in House District 75 and the disgusting Ralph Shortey in Senate District 44.  Recent history has been on the side of the Democrats in legislative special elections in traditionally GOP-heavy districts.  That trend appears to be continuing.  As of the initial vote tally after the close of the polls on Tuesday evening, both Democratic candidates have emerged victorious!

Unofficial Results of Special Legislative Races – July 11th, 2017

Yours Truly was present at the watch party for the the HD 75 candidate, one Karen Gaddis.  When the initial numbers were tabulated and it became apparent Mrs. Gaddis had a clear victory, the cheer that erupted from the party venue I’m sure could be heard for blocks around.

Special elections are notorious for low voter turnout.  The preliminary numbers indicate that the number of registered voters who cast ballots in this HD 75 race was around 11.5%.  All the same, Mrs. Gaddis ran a clean and professional campaign and is certainly going to be a wonderful addition to the State House Democratic Caucus.  Yours Truly was not able to go knock doors for her but I certainly ponied up an ample amount of coin to contribute to her success.  That makes me proud.  It also makes me proud to know that the Democrat, Michael Brooks, has won his race in Senate District 44.  SD 44 is in south OKC and Moore area so I was not involved with it but I did hear a fair amount about it.

So, as of sundown on the evening of the two July special elections, the Democratic perimeter expands by one in the State House and by one in the State Senate.  It does make a difference to run a campaign against a member of the party that has done very real harm to the State of Oklahoma without the drag of a unpopular and polarizing name at the top of the ticket.  Oklahoma Democrats are now two for two in special legislative races this year.  Here’s to helping the trend continue.  Here’s to that big blue wave in solid red Oklahoma!