Published: November 04, 2008 10:25 am      

Oklahoma voters to choose president, senator

OKLAHOMA CITY — Voters eager to have their voice heard in the presidential election faced an hour-long wait as they lined up Tuesday morning at the Superbia Retirement Village in northwest Oklahoma City.

The line started on a sidewalk around the front corner from the entrance to the polling place, and took voters down a hallway with doors 15 residents' apartments, around an atrium and then back down the same corridor before they could pick up their ballots.

But with a historic election that would result in either the nation's first black president of first female vice president, voters were willing to stand in line.

"This is one of the first elections in a long time that I think we have two good men running. I think John McCain is a good guy. I think Barack Obama is a good guy," said Jerry Wheat, 44, of Oklahoma City, after casting his vote for Obama.

"I just am tired of Republican rule for a while, and I voted for George Bush in the last election."

Wheat left the Superbia voting booths only minutes after Dwight and Ann Bruss of Oklahoma City, who had the opposite viewpoint.

"We want our country to go down the same road it's been going down for a long time, and we don't want that to change," said Dwight Bruss, 65.

The latest surveys before election day gave McCain, the Republican, about a 2-1 lead in Oklahoma over Obama, the Democrat. History is also on his side.

The state hasn't voted Democratic in a presidential race since 1964 but has more Democrats than Republicans as registered voters.

In other races, incumbent U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, a Republican, faced a challenge from Democratic state Sen. Andrew Rice and all five U.S. House members from Oklahoma — Republicans John Sullivan, Frank Lucas, Tom Cole and Mary Fallin and Democrat Dan Boren — were seeking re-election.

Republicans also were shooting to take over the state Senate for the first time in history. Key races were in Tulsa, where incumbent Democrat Nancy Riley was opposed by Republican Dan Newberry, and in Stillwater, where Republican Jim Halligan faced Robert Murphy, a former judge. Halligan is the former president of Oklahoma State University.

But the nation's main focus was on the race between Obama and McCain. The Brusses considered it a notable election because of Obama's status as the first black candidate and Dwight Bruss said it's also "the first time we've had an African-American that is so liberal."

"He's the most liberal representative in the history of the U.S.," he said.

"And that's scary," his wife added.

Wheat also considered it an important election, considering not only Obama's candidacy but also foreign policy issues and "the economy is in a shambles."

"I guess for me the Iraq war has probably been the deciding factor, and wanting a change of administration," Wheat said. "The economy is a very close second."

There was the possibility of a record turnout for the second straight presidential election in the state. The 2004 presidential race between Bush and John Kerry brought out a record 1.46 million Oklahomans to the polls.

State Election Board Secretary Mike Clingman said the state had set a record for early voting.

"Early voting has shown there is a lot of enthusiasm among supporters, perhaps of both camps," Clingman said. "That doesn't always translate to a record turnout, but a record wouldn't surprise me."

Republicans gained 2,000 registered voters in the state leading up to this year's election, but Democrats still hold an edge over the GOP with about 1.1 million registered voters, compared to about 860,000 Republicans and 245,000 independents.