SOME are blaming U.S. Rep. Steve Russell for his unexpected loss to Democrat Kendra Horn, hinting that he ran a poor campaign and a more focused candidate would have won. It's true that in a race this close — Horn won with less than 51 percent of the vote — a shift of perhaps 3,000 votes would have made the difference and one can argue Russell had a path to a narrow victory.

Even so, those who think Horn's victory is a fluke are ignoring the data from nearly every other race in Oklahoma County. Republicans underperformed in almost all races.

While Russell had commanding margins in Seminole and Pottawatomie counties, Horn carried Oklahoma County with just over 52 percent of the vote. That gave her the edge in the congressional election. And the Oklahoma County results for other GOP candidates were comparable to those in the congressional race.

In the governor's race, Republican Kevin Stitt carried 74 counties. But he lost Oklahoma County to Democrat Drew Edmonson by 12 points. Lt. Gov.-elect Matt Pinnell won nearly 62 percent statewide but was held just under 50 percent in Oklahoma County.