Numbers Demonstrate Ernest Istook's Challenge, Voter Apathy

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The unofficial results for Oklahoma's primary election reinforced the depth of the challenge facing Republican Congressman Ernest Istook in his bid for governor.<br/><br/>The

Thursday, July 27th 2006, 6:24 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The unofficial results for Oklahoma's primary election reinforced the depth of the challenge facing Republican Congressman Ernest Istook in his bid for governor.

The results also show voters may be tuning out more than they are tuning in this political season.

Governor Henry got about 226,000 votes in the Democratic primary against a little-known candidate. That's more than twice the 99,000 votes Istook received in the GOP contest against three opponents.

The total vote of Istook, Tulsa businessman Bob Sullivan, state senator James Williamson and political novice Jim Evanoff was 182,000, almost 45,000 less than Henry received.

Overall, only 445,000 voted in the primary, or about 24 percent of voters. A turnout of 600,000 to 700,000 had been forecast.