Regardless of whether you support Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, the results of Oklahoma's primary on Super Tuesday should be encouraging for Democrats: Andrew Rice can beat Jim Inhofe in the race for the US Senate. Given that this is one of the most important Senate races in the country this year, that news should be encouraging for Americans outside of Oklahoma as well.
According to my calculations based on CNN's results, the gap in voter turnout was huge on February 5th: approximately 418,000 Democrats voted, but only around 333,000 Republicans. This gap becomes even more exciting when we consider that the Republican turnout broke records in the Sooner State. So if the Oklahoma GOP is coming out in full force but still falling short, they're in trouble come November.
Now, a note of caution. Oklahoma's primary only allowed registered party voters to participate, so that means a number of independents didn't get represented. And George Bush won the state by almost half a million votes in 2004, and in 2002 Inhofe received almost 215,000 more votes than his Democratic opponent. But I doubt that turnout numbers this year were encouraging for Oklahoma's GOP. With Democratic turnout beating Republican turnout all over the country, and with that trend likely to hold in the general elections, the past may not mean much.
Add to that the fact that Rice is a strong candidate with a great chance of energizing the base and swaying independents, and the picture looks even brighter. With youth turnout in Oklahoma tripling for the primary, and college Democrats turning their attention to state races, it looks like young people will be an important and effective part of the coalition Rice is putting together. Rice has already begun raising money, and you can help him out here. And though Inhofe may have lined the pockets of his corporate buddies, Americans are beginning to see through the fog on these corporate, "values"-based Republicans who don't actually care about ordinary people. With ordinary Oklahomans at risk of losing jobs, homes, and incomes, they may well turn to a leader like Rice who wants to protect patients, save energy and increase efficiency. With the leadership Rice has shown in the State Senate, Oklahomans would do well to consider how much he could achieve as a US Senator. And with Americans in general concerned about the economy, global warming, and the war in Iraq, they would do well to remember that races like the one in Oklahoma have national significance. Knocking out Inhofe would be a coup not just for Democrats, but for everyone who wants to live in a cleaner, safer, more prosperous America.
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