Political Analysis: Little Dixie Is Now Solid Red

By A Seasoned Observer

The biggest news in Little Dixie in the 2014 election may not have been how even the State Chamber of Commerce couldn’t turn red to blue, but how Senate Republicans painted the region solid red.

Say it ain’t so if you’re an old-time Democrat; Little Dixie for nearly a century was the most reliable rural region for the party of FDR.

But the re-election of Senator Josh Brecheen, a Republican targeted by every powerhouse in Oklahoma City politics from the chamber to the AFL-CIO, is now overshadowed by the new seats the GOP picked up down south.

Senator-elect Joseph Silk, a Republican Party activist, was elected in McCurtain County, and not many even saw it coming. Only the Republican Party leadership reportedly worked in the race while most of the Capitol crowd (and media) didn’t have the race on their radar screen until the very last week.

Senator-elect Roger Thompson won from the Democrats a district that includes Okfuskee, McIntosh and Okmulgee Counties, previously solid Democrat country.

Senator Mark Allen, from Sallisaw, was also targeted for defeat but sailed to a victory.

This could be a daunting reality when national Democrats look at whether it really wants to challenge Markwayne Mullin in a quirky special election that could be called due to the death of Mullin’s opponent two days before the election.

In all, the former 2nd Congressional District picked up three new state senators since Rep. Marty Quinn was elected to the Senate in Claremore replacing the outgoing Democrat state senator without even a fight.

If there is a bright spot for Democrats, the small dependent school districts delivered Little Dixie for their nominee for state school superintendent, Dr. John Cox, though he lost statewide.

Little Dixie is now one of the reddest regions in Oklahoma for the leaders of the state Senate, though western Oklahoma has turned solid red as well.

Senator Tom Ivestor, the lone Democrat from Beckham County, was replaced by Kingfisher’s Darcy Jech, a Republican, and adding salt to the wound, Ivester ran for District Attorney but was defeated by none other than Republican Angela Marsee, an assistant prosecutor and the daughter of Weatherford Republican Rep. Harold Wright.