Fallin Announces Governor Bid

U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin will be a formidable candidate in the 2010 Oklahoma governor’s race, and her election could give Republicans control of the state government.

Fallin, 54, a former lieutenant governor and state representative, announced she was running for governor on Friday. She has widespread name recognition and deep political experience. She is telegenic. She also supports the GOP hard-line conservative platform, which continues to sell well in Oklahoma, the reddest of red states.

Political pundits have speculated U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, another Republican, might run for governor as well.

On the Democratic side, both Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins and Attorney General Drew Edmondson have indicated they will run for the position.

The 2010 elections are distant, but Democrats need to energize around their gubernatorial candidates. Republicans hold majorities in both the House and Senate. A Republican governor, along with the GOP legislative majority, could advance an ultra-conservative agenda—an agenda of “isolation”—that would limit the state’s economic opportunities and further damage the state’s national image. For now, Gov. Brad Henry, a Democrat who cannot run again for governor, can veto the worst GOP legislation.

If you think the state is conservative now, just wait until the GOP controls the legislative and executive branches of government here.

Much could depend on the economy. If President Barack Obama’s financial rescue plans are successful and the local economy is thriving in 2010, Democrats here can depict Fallin as an obstructionist and a hard-line ideologue. If the economy has not improved by 2010, and Democrats move to the right, as many do in Oklahoma, then Fallin’s chances increase.