Oklahoma now plurality-Republican by registration

[ElectionsGuy]

An example of how ridiculous the registration in OK is...

Pushmataha County has a 63% D advantage but went 71-25 Inhofe in 2014.

[Türkisblau]

The Dixiecrats are dying.

Literally and figuratively.

Gotta love that big tent. Thanks national Democratic party.

[Miles]

I wonder if the SoS has historical data to see where the biggest shifts over time have been.

The earliest they have on the SOS site was for 1996:



To be consistent, I used the same scale as the first map, but some of those bright red southeastern counties have Democratic advantages far past 60%.

The overall Democratic advantage over Republicans was 61/34.

And the 'swing' map from 1996 to 2015:

[IceSpear]

The Dixiecrats are dying.

Literally and figuratively.

Gotta love that big tent. Thanks national Democratic party.

No thanks on the tent that includes people who consistently vote for Jim Inhofe.

[morgieb]

The Oklahoma "Democrats" defecting are conservative on both fiscal and cultural matters rather than just cultural matters. No real loss.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

The Dixiecrats are dying.

Literally and figuratively.

Gotta love that big tent. Thanks national Democratic party.

No thanks on the tent that includes people who consistently vote for Jim Inhofe.

Gov. Fallin thanks you for your support.

[smoltchanov]

The Dixiecrats are dying.

Literally and figuratively.

Gotta love that big tent. Thanks national Democratic party.

No thanks on the tent that includes people who consistently vote for Jim Inhofe.

By your logic you prefer Fallin to Dorman. You are good Republican!!!!!

P.S. When some idiotic "progressives" will understand that not everyone is so enamored of their "progressive savoirs" candidates and wants to vote for them??? And that in many states such candidates cause nothing, but resentment (sometimes - even hatred) of majority of voters, and insisting on running only them as Democratic candidates is a guarantee of failure.....

Sometimes i get a feeling that "progressives" are absolutely convinced that they bought the whole party with hard cash and now can do with it what they want. That never was, and, as long, as there are only 2 big parties in the country, probably, will never happen.... If there would be 3-4 - then may be... But then party success would be much more modest...

[hopper]

An example of how ridiculous the registration in OK is...

Pushmataha County has a 63% D advantage but went 71-25 Inhofe in 2014.

Oh cool....Registered Dems in Oklahoma are Dems in Registration only! Oklahoma is like Louisiana now.

[Türkisblau]

The Dixiecrats are dying.

Literally and figuratively.

Gotta love that big tent. Thanks national Democratic party.

No thanks on the tent that includes people who consistently vote for Jim Inhofe.

You're never going to win over anyone with that attitude...

I love this idea from so many democrats that for whatever reason they will just win over the hearts and minds of voters even while the Republicans are doing incredibly well at almost every level of government. So please write off Oklahoma when they voted for a dem for rep. in 2010 and had a dem governor for most of the 2000's. We should be wanting to at least try to whittle down the Republican advantage that they have usurped from us all over country.

But please keep that faith that there's nothing wrong with our message and that we're going to win eventually while Republicans win Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, and 2/3rd's of statehouses.

[IceSpear]

The Dixiecrats are dying.

Literally and figuratively.

Gotta love that big tent. Thanks national Democratic party.

No thanks on the tent that includes people who consistently vote for Jim Inhofe.

By your logic you prefer Fallin to Dorman. You are good Republican!!!!!

P.S. When some idiotic "progressives" will understand that not everyone is so enamored of their "progressive savoirs" candidates and wants to vote for them??? And that in many states such candidates cause nothing, but resentment (sometimes - even hatred) of majority of voters, and insisting on running only them as Democratic candidates is a guarantee of failure.....

Sometimes i get a feeling that "progressives" are absolutely convinced that they bought the whole party with hard cash and now can do with it what they want. That never was, and, as long, as there are only 2 big parties in the country, probably, will never happen.... If there would be 3-4 - then may be... But then party success would be much more modest...

When did I say that? Dorman is fine for his state, better than Fallin would've been. But saying Democrats should make an extra effort to include far right Oklahomans in their coalition is like telling the GOP they should try to bring far left hippies from the Bay Area in their coalition. It's ludicrous.

And stop lying. They don't run progressives in Oklahoma, they ran blue dogs and lose in a landslide anyway.

[IceSpear]

The Dixiecrats are dying.

Literally and figuratively.

Gotta love that big tent. Thanks national Democratic party.

No thanks on the tent that includes people who consistently vote for Jim Inhofe.

You're never going to win over anyone with that attitude...

I love this idea from so many democrats that for whatever reason they will just win over the hearts and minds of voters even while the Republicans are doing incredibly well at almost every level of government. So please write off Oklahoma when they voted for a dem for rep. in 2010 and had a dem governor for most of the 2000's. We should be wanting to at least try to whittle down the Republican advantage that they have usurped from us all over country.

But please keep that faith that there's nothing wrong with our message and that we're going to win eventually while Republicans win Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, and 2/3rd's of statehouses.

You're assuming that these "registered Democrats" have any Democratic values whatsoever. Stats like this beg to differ:

An example of how ridiculous the registration in OK is...

Pushmataha County has a 63% D advantage but went 71-25 Inhofe in 2014.

Don't get me wrong, if these people were sympathetic to any vaguely left position whatsoever it wouldn't be a good thing. But it's pretty clear they aren't. They're simply relics from an earlier time going to the party they already vote straight ticket for every single election. Even local Democrats are dead in these conservadem bastions, so what's the point of them remaining registered in the party?

And if we're going to talk about attitude, how badly did GOP voters (AND their elected officials, which isn't the case with Democratic elected officials) constantly bash Massachusetts in 2004? I'm pretty sure that didn't stop them from electing Scott Brown or Charlie Baker.

[smoltchanov]

And stop lying. They don't run progressives in Oklahoma, they ran blue dogs and lose in a landslide anyway.

Lying? It's you who is lying. The names of Fred Harris and Mike Synar are not familiar to you as i see? Both even won, and not once. Oklahoma tolerated them for considerable time. But whom Democrats ran for Senate last time in Oklahoma? A couple of liberals (if i remember correctly - one black and one gay). And that in a very conservative Oklahoma!!! Idiocy, to say the least. Both REALLY lost in a landslide (by 38-39%), while moderate conservative Dorman lost only by about 14-15%, getting more then 41% in very conservative state in very Republican year (instead of 32-33% for your beloved Obama even with much bigger turnout). Feel the difference and REALLY stop lying, a "progressive")))))

[The Mikado]

Any candidate the Democrats ran against Inhofe, a personally popular and very senior and powerful Republican Senator who has been in the Senate longer than many people on this site have been alive, in one of the three most Republican-voting states in the country, in a Republican landslide year was necessarily a sacrificial lamb. Why does it matter who that person was? It's just a matter of getting a name on the ballot, there's no serious electoral prospects there.

[IceSpear]

And stop lying. They don't run progressives in Oklahoma, they ran blue dogs and lose in a landslide anyway.

Lying? It's you who is lying. The names of Fred Harris and Mike Synar are not familiar to you as i see? Both even won, and not once. Oklahoma tolerated them for considerable time. But whom Democrats ran for Senate last time in Oklahoma? A couple of liberals (if i remember correctly - one black and one gay). And that in a very conservative Oklahoma!!! Idiocy, to say the least. Both REALLY lost in a landslide (by 38-39%), while moderate conservative Dorman lost only by about 14-15%, getting more then 41% in very conservative state in very Republican year (instead of 32-33% for your beloved Obama even with much bigger turnout). Feel the difference and REALLY stop lying, a "progressive")))))

Uh, the guy who ran against Inhofe has a wife. But regardless, how would the fact that they're black and/or gay automatically make them "progressive liberals"? And you seem to be under the impression that these people still support "the right kind of Democrat". Long time incumbent Democrats who were extremely conservative lost in West Virginia last year. The liberal wing of the Republican Party died a long time ago, and the conservative wing of the Democratic Party is following suit. It's no huge surprise.

[smoltchanov]

And stop lying. They don't run progressives in Oklahoma, they ran blue dogs and lose in a landslide anyway.

Lying? It's you who is lying. The names of Fred Harris and Mike Synar are not familiar to you as i see? Both even won, and not once. Oklahoma tolerated them for considerable time. But whom Democrats ran for Senate last time in Oklahoma? A couple of liberals (if i remember correctly - one black and one gay). And that in a very conservative Oklahoma!!! Idiocy, to say the least. Both REALLY lost in a landslide (by 38-39%), while moderate conservative Dorman lost only by about 14-15%, getting more then 41% in very conservative state in very Republican year (instead of 32-33% for your beloved Obama even with much bigger turnout). Feel the difference and REALLY stop lying, a "progressive")))))

Uh, the guy who ran against Inhofe has a wife. But regardless, how would the fact that they're black and/or gay automatically make them "progressive liberals"? And you seem to be under the impression that these people still support "the right kind of Democrat". Long time incumbent Democrats who were extremely conservative lost in West Virginia last year. The liberal wing of the Republican Party died a long time ago, and the conservative wing of the Democratic Party is following suit. It's no huge surprise.

You will be surprised, but liberal wing of Republican party is still alive - in Vermont (Scott, and substantal number of state legislators) Connecticut (in legislature), Massachusetts  (Baker, for example, but not only him) and other states. May be - somewhat less liberal then, say, Jacob Javits was, but still - substantially "left of center" (on general political scale, not what "progressives" call "center" - even Javits would, probably, be to the right of it). The same is even more true for conservative Democrats: i will not mention local level (there are tons of them and not only in the South), but - there are still lot of rather conservative Democratic state legislators in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas. Even - in Alaska there are some rather very conservative ones. The higher level - the more "nationalized" elections become, and yes, it's extremely difficult for even moderate conservative to prevail statewide or for Congress - you are immediately dubbed "an Obama's enabler", and in the eyes of most Southern voters that's probably worse then "Hitler's enabler" or "Stalin's enabler" It's THAT simple.... Obama almost buried Democratic party in the South.. For now....

BTW, there are not many "economical progressives" even among, say, Democratic governors. Pragmatic moderate liberals - yes, many, but "fiery progressives" - i am at difficulty to name even 3 (even Shumlin moderated considerably in office). That's a sign that "class warfare", which was a hallmark of "economical progressives" in the past, gradually fades from being fashionable. Practical governing leaves much less space for "radical follies" then abstract legislating, where radicals of all stripes flourish. Though even in liberal California a lot of "business Democrats" (who could be Republicans under different circumstances and in different states) were elected to the legislature in 2012 and 2014... Possibly - as reaction to hyperpolarization of recent past, when most Democratic legislators were insanely liberal, and most Republican - mindbogglingly conservative..

P.S. There are ideological ratings for almost all state legislators for the last 20 years available. I checked black candidate, who was a member of legislature, and i KNOW that she was a liberal. Almost identical percentage and it's distribution by counties make very likely (almost sure) that second Senate candidate had similar ideological positions. Look on "Dorman by county" - the distribution is very different from those...