GOP hopes to gain control of state Senate
Oklahoma GOP hopes to gain control of state Senate

By Michael McNutt

Published: August 8, 2008

The GOP leader in the state Senate said Thursday chances are good Republicans will control the Legislature's upper chamber for the first time in state history.

While not exactly predicting Republicans would win enough seats in the Nov. 4 general election to take over the Senate, Sen. Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, said, "We really like our chances.”

Coffee, co-president pro tempore of the evenly split Senate the past two years, said the GOP's chances of winning a Democratic seat in Stillwater improved this week when it was disclosed the Democratic Senate candidate, former Payne County Judge Robert Murphy, applied for his old judicial post.

"He can't seem to decide what job he wants,” Coffee said. "It also suggests he's not confident that he's going to win.”

Coffee, in the middle of serving his last four-year term because of legislative term limits, made the comments after he and House Democratic leader Danny Morgan talked to more than 100 employees of Cox Communications as part of the company's weeklong voter education efforts in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. More than 100 of the company's 2,200 workers have registered to vote this week, a company spokeswoman said.

Coffee and Morgan, who is unopposed, told employees gathered at Cox's call center in northwest Oklahoma City they are helping campaign for legislative candidates.

"We're very pleased with how hard our candidates are working,” Coffee said of the GOP senatorial candidates.

Morgan, D-Prague, said he is enthused by the House Democratic candidates and the number of people turning out for their campaign events.

Republicans last session outnumbered Democrats 57-44, and Morgan said he's "hopeful” Democrats can pick up seven seats to regain control.

"We're very excited that we will pick up a number of seats,” Morgan said.

Coffee and Morgan said they were disappointed with the low voter turnout in last week's primary election, the lowest since 1952.

Both Coffee and Morgan complimented Cox employees for turning out for the session and then encouraged them to ask questions of candidates instead of being influenced simply by advertisements or endorsements.

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