Oklahomans head to polls for primary races

Sunday, August 25th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A runoff was considered a possibility in the Democratic gubernatorial primary Tuesday, while Republican Steve Largent was poised for a runaway victory over poorly financed opposition.

Meanwhile, six Republicans and four Democrats are fighting to replace U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts in the 4th Congressional District. Watts, the fourth-ranking House member, is quitting Congress after four terms.

Restaurateur Vince Orza is running for governor again as a Democrat and has led in fund-raising and poll results among a field of five.

Three veteran Democratic state lawmakers oppose Orza _ Sens. Brad Henry of Shawnee and Kelly Haney of Seminole and Rep. Jim Dunegan of Calera. Retiree James E. Lamkin of Bixby also is on the ballot.

Polls open Tuesday at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. in all 77 counties.

Mike Clingman, state Election Board secretary, is guessing the turnout will be between 600,000 and 650,000.

That's far less than the 732,000 who voted in a similar election in 1990, when Orza ran as a Republican and surprised everyone by leading a strong field that included former U.S. Attorney Bill Price, Oklahoma City attorney Burns Hargis and businessman Jerry Brown.

Price nipped Orza in a runoff, but lost in the general election to Democrat David Walters.

Walters was embarrassed as governor by a lengthy grand jury investigation of his campaign finances. He is running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday against Tulsa attorney Tom Boettcher, who has hammered on Walters' past problems. Others running are little-known Jim Rogers of Oklahoma City and perennial candidate George Gentry of Checotah

Republican incumbent Sen. Jim Inhofe of Tulsa is unopposed.

Walters, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor campaign violation and received a deferred sentence, said he has admitted making mistakes and it is time to move to important issues such as education and health care.

Boettcher said character is an important issue and argues that Walters could be a drag on the rest of the Democratic ticket in December.

Clingman predicts a heavy turnout in the 4th District, where a pair of well-known GOP political strategists _ Tom Cole or Moore and Marc Nuttle of Norman _ are among six Republicans running.

Democrats believe they have a good chance of recapturing the 4th District with the departure of Watts, a popular former University of Oklahoma football star and dynamic speaker.

Seeking the Democratic nomination are Norman attorney Ben Odom, the 1998 nominee; former state Sen. Darryl Roberts of Ardmore; Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes and Lance Compton of Hinton.

Voters will cast ballots in only five congressional districts this year. The state lost one of its six Congress members because the state did not grow as fast as other states.

The governor's race has been tame, when compared with past contests, although Orza has been criticized over his party switch. Both Democratic and Republican candidates have vowed to increase teacher pay and bring more jobs to the state.

Largent, a former pro-football star, left Congress to run for governor. He is opposed by Jim Denny, a motivational speaker from Oklahoma City, and retiree Andrew Marr Jr. of Norman. Denny raised less than $10,000 in his preprimary campaign report and Marr said he was not accepting donations.

Republicans are matched in three hotly contested races for statewide office. Incumbent Labor Commissioner Brenda Reneau faces a challenge from state Rep. Tim Pope, R-Mustang. State Rep. Lloyd L. Fields of McAlester and Virginia Jenner of Wagoner are on the Democratic ballot.

Denise Bode, now a corporation commissioner, is seeking the GOP nomination for attorney general and has been trading charges with Guthrie attorney Tim Green. The winner faces incumbent Democrat Drew Edmondson, who was unopposed.

A trio of Republicans are battling for the Corporation Commission post being vacated by Ed Apple. They are Jeff Cloud, former congressional and gubernatorial aide; state Sen. Mark Snyder and Dana Murphy, former administrative law judge at the commission. Democrats are Keith Butler of Ada, Curtis Speaker of Edmond and Jeff Tomlin of Muldrow.

Auditor and Inspector Clifton Scott is retiring after two decades in office and three Democrats are seeking to replace him. They are Jeff McMahan of Tecumseh, Rod Dillard of Ada and John Fodge of Edmond. Gary Jones of Cache is the only GOP candidate.

Republican Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin is opposed in the primary by Jim Clark, a vo-tech teacher from Edmond.

Tulsa attorney Gary L. Richardson, another former Republican, is on the ballot in November in the governor's race as an independent. Richardson is spending $2 million of his own money to get the job.

Incumbent Democrat Brad Carson of Claremore is facing a challenge in Tuesday's 2nd Congressional District primary from state Rep. Mike Mass of Hartshorne and newcomer Dorothy Vandiver of Checotah. Republican Kent Pharoah of Henryetta was unopposed.

Republican incumbents John Sullivan in the 1st District and Frank Lucas in the 3rd District are heavily favored in their primary contests.