By Traci Chapman
Published on July 31, 2008

Republicans Kyle Loveless and Steve Russell will meet in a Aug. 26 runoff election to determine who will serve as District 45 state Senator.

In Tuesday’s primary vote, Russell led the five-way Republican race, garnering almost 41 percent of the vote. Loveless, who called himself the “underdog from day one,” captured more than 27 percent of the tally, with Oklahoma City attorney Jerry Foshee, Melinda Daugherty and Marty Gormley, a teacher from Moore, rounding out the slate. Wilcoxson, R-Oklahoma City, could not seek re-election because of term limits.

Russell, a retired Lt. Colonel with the U.S. Army who most recently served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the 2,307 votes he received in the primary “humbled” him, and he looks forward to an Aug. 26 runoff against Loveless.

“I think these are pretty decisive numbers,” he said. “I appreciate the fact that 41 percent of the voters chose me.”

Loveless is manager of his family’s business, Loveless Shoes. He kick-started his campaign last summer, walking 45 miles in two days and knocked on 5,000 doors in the process, he said.

He received 1,526 votes Tuesday, and he credited his second-place finish to the hard work and dedication he put into his campaign, starting with that “hot, hot walk” through the district’s neighborhoods.

“I think it’s telling that despite being outspent 3 to 1 by two candidates, I’ve gotten this far,” he said. “I believe with the field narrowed to two candidates, that will make it much easier for voters to decide who the best candidate is in this race.”

Foshee served on the Oklahoma City Council for 14 years and worked as a teacher before entering law 30 years ago. He received 1,127 votes, to Daugherty’s 549 total and 130 ballots cast for Gormley.

As Loveless and Russell prepare for a runoff to determine who takes Wilcoxson’s District 45 seat, the battle for the House District 47 seat will continue to November.

Tuttle resident Leslie Osborn, a Republican, will face Democrat Harold Jackson in the Nov. 4 general election. Osborn defeated Mustang residents John Paul Jordan and Jane McNeff to capture her party’s nomination.

Osborn owns Osborn’s Pickup Accessories and helps operate her family’s farm. She captured 1,885 votes to 582 received by Jordan and 440 cast for McNeff, and said she looks forward to her November contest against Jackson.

“I’m gratified that the message I’ve been promoting — family values, helping Oklahoma farmers — appealed to the voters,” she said. “I think that will help me prevail in November.”

In the race for U.S. Senator, incumbent Jim Inhofe will face Democrat Andrew Rice in November. Both candidates won their respective party’s nomination decisively, with Inhofe garnering 84.18 percent of the vote among a field of four Republicans and Rice defeating opponent Jim Rogers by a vote of 113,779 to 76,970 votes.