My Votes in the Oklahoma General Election

I've already told you how I am voting on the 11 State Questions on the ballot, so I won't reiterate them here. This is how I plan to vote for the statewide offices on the ballot on November 2nd.

Governor - Mary Fallin (R)

This is definitely a tough choice and truly a choice between two evils. In this case, I see Fallin as the lesser of the two. While Fallin hasn't been all that upfront about her positions, Askins has been rather cryptic when it comes to the important ones. My gut also tells me that Askins is reminding me a bit too much of Brad Henry.

Lieutenant Governor - Richard Prawdzienski (I)

Some of you might have expected this pick. It should be pretty obvious to most that I would stray from the standard Democrat vs. Republican rhetoric and support a third-party candidate.

Prawdzienski is a Libertarian that has run for office twice before — once for Corporation Commissioner and again for the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

I cannot support Todd Lamb because of his support for restricting the freedom of Oklahomans. Additionally, he supported legislation meant to intimidate women seeking abortions. I cannot support Kenneth Corn because his voting record closely parallels that of Lamb. A vote for either of those candidates is truly like voting for the same person.

Thankfully, we have a third option this year.

Auditor - Steve Burrage (D)

Burrage was appointed by Governor Brad Henry in 2008 to take the place of Jeff McMahan after McMahan's resignation due to a Federal conviction of conspiracy and two violations of The Travel Act. Prior to Burrage's appointment, there were plenty of questionable findings by the State Auditor and Inspector's office that resulted in slaps on the wrist. One only has to look through the publicly available audit reports to see what I mean.

So far, Burrage has proven to be a good choice for this position. I'd much rather keep someone who has been able to start the process of turning around the Auditor's office than put someone in who is not on the same page.

Attorney General - Scott Pruitt (R)

The Office of Attorney General is a very powerful position to hold. This is who gets to choose what cases (civil and criminal) to pursue on the State's behalf, in addition to having the final say in how certain things (such as ballot titles) are worded.

Jim Priest says on his website that he would prefer to file a Bill of Complaint with the Supreme Court over Obamacare. He cites cases where that has worked in the past and asserts that they are similar to the new healthcare law. I disagree in their degree of similarity, but do agree that it would have been good idea to attempt that route. However, he doesn't say if he would actually take that step; he only says that's what he would do if he were to do anything.

However, that's where I stop agreeing with Priest. He mentions his support of gun rights and says that the Supreme Court has recently affirmed the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. He couldn't be any more wrong in that conclusion, as I presume he is referring to the recent rulings in Heller and McDonald.

While I don't agree with Pruitt on everything, I agree with his positions a little bit more than Priest.

Treasurer - Stephen Covert (D)

This was a simple choice. Here's Ken Miller's voting record: borrow $25 million for Oklahoma to fund a river entertainment district in Tulsa after Tulsa citizens had voted against a local tax, give the five owners of the OKC Thunder approximately $80 million via corporate welfare, and (my personal favorite) a sales tax exemption for building materials for Lake Texoma project developer Aubry McClendon. Additionally, Miller's involvement with Barry Switzer in the InsureNet spycam tax credit scam ($48 million in credits for a $5 million investment) really causes my blood to boil.

Superintendent of Public Instruction - Janet Barresi (R)

Barresi is the clear front-runner for me in this race, as Susan Paddack (D) and Richard Cooper (I) both support irresponsible measures such as State Question 744. (Paddack will not give a "yes" or "no", while Cooper says that it's time to "put up or shut up".)

Barresi opposes government mandates against local schools. However, she is not very clear about standardized testing, which I believe to be one of the biggest problems with our education system.

Labor Commissioner - Mark Costello (R)

All I have to say is that the incumbent is Lloyd Fields. If that isn't enough of a reason, hit up Google.

Insurance Commissioner - John Doak (R)

To me, the choice here is clear. While Kim Holland does not support Obamacare in whole, she does support key parts such as the mandate prohibiting private insurers from not covering pre-existing conditions.