C-Seg; 2004 Election Results

Oklahoma Republicans gained victories in many of the local and statewide races last night. In one of the closest watched U.S. Senate races in the country, Democrat Brad Carson conceded the race around 9.30 p.m. before supporters at the Renaissance Hotel in Tulsa. It has been a defeat tonight for sure, but it is not a failure. And we will move behind the news campaign and legacy I hope of the thousands of people who are some here tonight but spread out across the state of Oklahoma, who for the first time have been involved in a political campaign. People who share a vision for a better state, why not quite realize tonight that one that awaits us as our destiny, to be realized by other people perhaps. But tonight, the first steps have been taken in that direction. About half an hour later, Tom Coburn delivered his acceptance speech to a cheering crowd in downtown Oklahoma City. This is a victory for freedom. It's a victory for our children. But it's also a victory for truth.

The fact is, Oklahoma's no better than to take what's been dished out in this campaign, and they fared it out the difference. And I want to tell you, I'm so honored to have the privilege to represent this great state for the next six years as your next U.S. Senator. In addition to the Coburn win, Republicans also gained victories in all except for one of the U.S. House races, and they secured control of the state House of Representatives. But University of Oklahoma political science professor Keith Gaddy says that was to be expected. It's been a big evening for Republicans, but that's not necessarily a surprise. I mean, it's been a real good night for club for growth. Ernest is took the more grassroots oriented elements of the state GOP. You know, they have the Senator against all odds in the minds of many.

And the way Tom Coburn closes, he just closes strong and he doesn't hesitate to take victory. Republicans won seats in all the state Senate districts within KGOU's listening area, as well as all the state House districts in Central Oklahoma, with the exceptions of Democrats Bill Nations in District 35, Debbie Blackburn in District 88, Richard Marisette in District 92, Al Lindley in District 93, Mike Shelton in District 97 and Opio Torre in District 99. Speaking to KGOU last night, state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Parmley expressed disappointment with the results, but vowed to move forward. Well, you know, we started the morning with one member of Congress, with the majority in the state House, the state Senate. We, in the evening, with one member of Congress, Dan Boren, was victorious the second district. And we started with the majority in the state Senate. We obviously lost our majority in the state House. I never thought we'd lose 11 seats in the House. I thought it mostly would lose four, but for the most part, I think it was just a pretty difficult night for Democratic candidates. They worked very hard, but in the end it just wasn't enough.

On a final note, Republican Denise Bodie was elected State Corporation Commissioner, surpassing John Wiley with 63% of the vote. Voters also approved all nine state ballot questions. Stay tuned to KGOU for more post-election coverage over the next several days. I'm KGOU News Director Scott Gurion.