Democrat Edmondson challenges GOP dominance in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma Republicans gained control of every statewide elected office in the 2010 midterm election in a state where large urban areas are divided across multiple Congressional districts to dilute liberal votes and not have too many in any one district. They’ve maintained these elected offices ever since.
However, in a state Republicans like to boast is the “reddest of the red,” 72-year-old Democrat Drew Edmondson is seeming more likely to break the GOP stranglehold and win back the Governor’s Mansion after eight years under GOP Governor Mary Fallin.
Polls have consistently shown 46-year-old Republican mortgage company owner Kevin Stitt slightly ahead of Edmondson, but the race appears to be tightening.
The Cook Political Report has moved the race from “likely Republican” to “toss up,” while FiveThirtyEight.com, another online site that analyzes political contests, still projects Stitt likely to win. Polls have infamously been off in their projections in recent years and only the counting of the votes will finally determine who serves as Oklahoma’s Governor for the next term.
In addition to Edmondson and Stitt, Libertarian Chris Powell is also in the race, though polling very low in all projections.