Negative Ads Mark Primary Campaigns In Oklahoma

Wednesday, July 19th 2006, 6:06 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The negative television ads are coming fast and furious as the July 25th primary election nears, with one commercial showing a grainy image of a candidate slipping greenbacks into his pocket.

It's not the big races for governor or Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District that are dominating the TV screens with negativity in the final days of the primary races.

Instead, it's the campaigns for down-ticket state offices, especially for lieutenant governor. In that race, ads run on behalf of outgoing House Speaker Todd Hiett and state Senator Scott Pruitt make accusations about everything from shaking down lobbyists to being missing in action from the legislature.

Pruitt's latest negative commercial shows a photo illustration of Hiett that appeared on the cover of the Oklahoma Gazette in which the speaker appears to be sticking money into his inside coat pocket.