Bill LaFortune and Kathy Taylor gear up for next month's general election

The Tulsa mayorsâ€™ race reached a turning point Tuesday as voters chose their party nominees. <br/><br/>Now, Democrats must either unite or divide to conquer. <br/><br/>News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan

Wednesday, March 8th 2006, 10:11 am

By: News On 6

The Tulsa mayorsâ€™ race reached a turning point Tuesday as voters chose their party nominees.

Now, Democrats must either unite or divide to conquer.

News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan says Tuesday, the Republicans split their votes three ways - the Democrats decided on two - but if all those voters stuck with their party - the Republicans would win, so the challenge for the Democrats is to unite the party and pull over some Republicans.

Looking at the support for each candidate - Kathy Taylor got more votes Tuesday night than Mayor Bill LaFortune - but the Republicans were more divided, so both have some work to do in the next few weeks.

Kathy Taylor: "I can unify this party, I can unify this city."

Bill LaFortune: "The party can unify, but this is a citywide election, and we'll pull support from other Republicans, as well as Democrats.â€

Both candidates are working on getting their former opponents to pledge their support. There's nothing they can announce just yet, but that's one way they hope to pick some voters from their own party.