Published: June 05, 2008 10:51 am      

Elections to fill coming weeks

Candidates at local, state levels

This year is all about elections. And for three days, all election boards in the state have been focused on candidate filings.

On Monday, there were eight county filings. Since then, there has been one more county filing.

This filing was for Republican Tom Arnold’s bid for the Stephens County sheriff’s office. Arnold will be up against Wayne McKinney during the July 29 primary election. The winner of that race will face one of two Democratic candidates, Jimmy D. Williams or Bob Hill, in the Nov. 4 general election.

Stephens County Election Board Secretary Peggy Winton said she expects the county seats to help get voters to the polls for both the primary and general elections.

“It looks very interesting,” Winton said. “This year, we are having what I term ‘a good election.’”

She said all of the candidates are adequately qualified for the positions they are seeking. Each candidate wants to avoid mudslinging in his or her campaign, she said.

“I think we’re going to have a good election, a clean campaign,” Winton said.

“The candidates that I talked to want a good, clean race.”

Aside from the county races, Stephens County residents can also look forward to three state races at the local level. Those elections consist of the House of Representatives District 50 and 51, and the state Senate District 31 elections. To vie for any of these positions, candidates had to file at the state Election Board in Oklahoma City.

Republican incumbent Dennis Johnson and Democrat Daisy Lawler have both filed for House District 50. District 50 oversees Duncan, Meridian, Corum, Empire, Temple, Hulen, Letitia and Central High.

For the House District 51 seat, both Democrat Tommy Cosgrove and Republican Corey Holland have filed. This district covers the Marlow, Velma and Comanche areas.

District 51 incumbent Ray McCarter will be leaving the seat because of term limitations.

In the Senate District 31 race, incumbent Republican Don Barrington will find competition in Democrat Keith Erwin. District 31 encompasses portions of the Duncan and Marlow area, from Camelback north to the county line and from Cason Road east to the county line.

With all the races coming up for the primary and general elections, Winton said she thinks county residents will have an interesting time making these choices.

“I think this is going to be an exciting time for Stephens County,” Winton said.