Education May Spell Doom for Oklahoma’s Republican ‘Subprime’ Gubernatorial Candidate
Oklahoma educators have had enough of outsiders imposing their untested opinions on classrooms.
Much has been made in this election season of the success educators have had in winning down-ballot primaries and competing strongly in the November midterms. There’s also evidence of a “trickle up” effect, even in the reddest states where you’d expect to see Republican candidates skating to easy victories.
In Oklahoma, the governor’s race would ordinarily result in a solid victory for an enthusiastic Trump supporter like Republican Kevin Stitt, who brandishes a “100 percent Pro-Life score” and an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association.
But this year’s focus on education could turn the election for Stitt’s competitor, veteran Democrat Drew Edmondson, who trails by only four points, according to a recent poll.
At a recent forum, Stitt has evaded the question of how he would fund a teacher pay raise without raising taxes. Edmondson, in contrast, committed to a $300 to $350 million annual increase for education, funded by taxes on oil and gas production, removing a capital gains exemption for high-income taxpayers, and a 50-cent tax hike on cigarettes.
Asked about this difference in strategy, Edmondson’s campaign manager Michael Clingman said in an email, “the lack of specificity in Kevin Stitt's messages is troubling. Teachers marched on the Oklahoma Capitol last April demanding real solutions, not vague promises.”
The Stitt campaign did not respond to a request for an interview.
Stitt is basing much of his campaign on running government like a publicly-traded company—setting performance metrics for state governance and holding subordinates accountable for measurable outputs. Drawing from his Continue Reading: Education May Spell Doom for Oklahoma’s Republican ‘Subprime’ Gubernatorial Candidate - Progressive.org
