Talk Elections

Under which circumstances would Oklahoma vote for a Democratic presidential candidate?
Remember, the last time OK went blue was 1964, and both 2004 and 2008 all of its counties were red.

President Romney, overseeing the Second Great Depression, is indicted on felony charges before the 2016 election against Brian Schweitzer.

probably a centrist democrat or a populist democrat.

That is the only scenario in which Oklahoma votes against President Romney (if he becomes President.)

Never it is now the reddest state in our country.

And he goes to Oklahoma, insulting the cookies and trees. :P

Even in that scenario, he'd win by double digits. It'd be his second strongest state, trailing only Utah.

It's not completely impossible per se. Though their numbers and influence are obviously diminishing in Oklahoma, registered Democrats still hold a plurality in the state (47D-40R), so a D next to one's name isn't immediately a curse.

Now of course, this type of Democrat would be an utter disaster nationwide and would absolutely never be nominated. I grant that Schweitzer would probably be more attractive than any other potential Democratic candidate, but even he wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance against your typical Republican.

Randall Terry wins the nomination!

Schweitzer would get about 41% max in a wave year. It's not just your ordinary Dixiecrat state; it's dominated by oil interests as well, which is why it was among the first Southern states to flip R.

Clinton/Schweitzer vs. Huntsman/Ayotte, with Clinton leading by a 2008-like margin.

lolwut?

Coming from somebody from Oklahoma, the last person they would want is "Hiterly" Clinton.  Yes, I know we border Arkansas, but that doesn't mean jacksh*t.

And even with Huntsman/Ayotte, Clinton would need to be leading by a hell of a lot more than "2008-like" margins to even get 45% of the vote, much less win the state.

Now, if you had Schweitzer as the Presidential Nominee, that would be a different story.

Also, please PLEASE people stop referring to Republican states as "red".  This is the Atlas forum, not CNN or Fox News.  The Republican Party is blue and the Democratic Party is red.

Schweitzer?  Clinton?  Hahahahahahahahahaha, no.

Gene Taylor/Zell Miller (or vice-versa) is probably the only Democratic ticket that would stand half of a chance of winning Oklahoma on a presidential level.

Is Oklahoma really a "southern" state, in a geographical sense? Maybe politically they are. But geographically, they seem more mid-western. I mean, how are Kansas and Nebraska mid-western, but Oklahoma "southern"?

Regions don't completely follow state borders. Eastern Oklahoma, traditionally the most Democratic part of the state, is more like Arkansas or Southwest Missouri. Northern and western Oklahoma more closely align with the Great Plains.

We would need a conservative Democrat.  I think Hillary Clinton could actually make the state closer.  She definitely wouldn't win it, but she could close the gap because, if everyone remembers, she skunked Obama in the 2008 Primary with Obama only winning Oklahoma County, IIRC.  She could possibly get back to Gore's levels in Oklahoma (low 40's).  Other than that, possibly Mark Warner (D-VA) or Bill Nelson (D-FL) or Ben Nelson (D-NE) could have a shot in the state.  If the Democrats keep nominating far left candidates, then they have no shot in Oklahoma.  As far as downballot in Oklahoma, one has to remember, we are only 2 years into a Republican Governor Administration (Mary Fallin) after 8 years of a Democrat in the Governors Mansion (Brad Henry).  The Republicans in 2010 have just taken over all of the State Constitutional Offices and I can see that changing in 2014 with a few Democrats taking control back.

We are a Deep Red (or Deep Blue for Mechaman) state federally, but still a Light Pink (or Light Sky Blue for Mechaman) state locally.