June 29, 2016
By Paul Joseph, Paragon Communications News Director –
Election board officials are reporting light to average turnout for yesterday’s Oklahoma Primary.
The only ballot issues here in Western Oklahoma were that of Beckham County Sheriff, and two statewide elections – one for US Senate and one for US Representative. Another ballot issue was in Sayre, a proposition on removing a penny sales tax.
In Beckham County where there were three races, County Board Secretary Deidre O’Briant says voter turnout was average for a primary, then again, there were several issues.
It wasn’t quite the case in other counties where there was fewer issues.
Ann Brown, Custer County’s Election Board Secretary called her county’s turnout light.
Brown says the bad weather was threatening, but it didn’t have an immediate impact on the turnout, only the collection of the ballots. She says Mother Nature cooperated with the voters coming well-enough after 7 pm.
(Beckham County voters overwhelmingly picked Derek Manning for Sheriff, beating his rival by 87% of the vote. Manning received 778 votes, while Barry Don Gowdy received just less than 3%. Even current Sheriff Scott Jay received more votes than Gowdy, but Jay withdrew from the race several weeks prior to the election for sheriff. Jay received 8% of the vote.)
Statewide, in the Republican primary for US Representative, District 3 which covers the western third of the state of Oklahoma, incumbent Frank Lucas defeated his opponent Desiree Brown with 78% of the vote over Brown’s 22%.
There was no Democratic primary in Western Oklahoma.
The only other vote was the one Ann Brown mentioned. Statewide, in the Libertarian primary for US Senate, Robert Murphy defeated his opponent Dax Ewbank, 59% to Ewbank’s 41 percent.
In Sayre, residents – both Democrat and Republican – turned out to vote to rescind Sayre’s penny sales tax. The tax that was voted in in 2013, was used specifically to keep Sayre Memorial Hospital financially solvent. With the doors of the hospital closing in early February, it was unneeded and unnecessary so citizens overwhelmingly removed the tax by a 94% vote to do so over 6 % of the voters wanting to keep the tax.
Statewide, Oklahoma’s four other Republican congressmen – besides Lucas – all easily survived primary challenges but three GOP state legislators lost amid anger at funding cuts to public education.
A grassroots group called Oklahoma Parents and Educators for Public Education campaigned against incumbents who supported vouchers or cast other votes that were perceived as harmful to public schools.
The group backed candidates in 59 races, identifying them as legislators who would be supportive of public schools. In those contests, 33 won nominations and at least eight others will be in runoffs.
Despite frustration with Washington politicians expressed during this year’s presidential primaries, none of Oklahoma’s GOP House members got a major scare in the primaries Tuesday.
Custer County’s Ann Brown says she’s happy that last night’s severe weather caused no serious damage. She says the windy-thunderstorm that blasted through the area is one for the books.
Custer County’s Election Board Secretary, Ann Brown.
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