Cornett Announces Endorsement Of Stitt In Gubernatorial Race

“That’s a bunch of bull Stitt.”

It was the most talked about political ad during the Republican runoff race for Governor.

In the end, the “Bull Stitt” ad didn’t do enough and some say it actually hurt former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett’s campaign against Tulsa businessman Kevin Stitt.

8/20/2018 Related Story:  Stitt, Cornett Continue Attacks In New Campaign Ads

Cornett was the front-runner after the June primary, but now he’s on the sidelines watching Stitt face off against Democrat Drew Edmondson.

The night of the runoff election, Edmondson said that he really felt like he let people down.

Nearly two months later, he says he feels the same, but he doesn’t regret how he ran his campaign.

“You know, you can always go back to the campaign and say, ‘maybe if we’d done this or that,’ but in general, I was who I was.  I tried to stick to my philosophies,” said Cornett.

He says he believes voters started to turn against him when TV ads made him look like a political insider.

As for the “Bull Stitt” ad, Cornett says, “I think responding to that seems to imply that I’m overly focused on what happened in the campaign, or I’m still weighing it in my mind, or I’m bitter … I’m not and I don’t want to say anything at this point that makes it sound like I’m not over it or not moving on because I am.”

8/16/2018 Related Story:  Cornett Says He And Stitt Have Mutual Respect But Are Highly Competitive

Cornett initially hesitated to endorse anyone, but he announced Thursday that he’s backing Stitt, saying, “I believe Kevin Stitt is the right candidate to move Oklahoma forward, to raise the standards on education and health, and to demand better outcomes from our state government.”

As for what’s next for Cornett, he’s currently on a book tour, promoting “The Next American City,” in which he details how America’s mid-size cities, like Oklahoma City, are leading the country.