By Scott Meeker
Globe Staff Writer
—
Having served a maximum two terms, the departure of Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry has set the stage for a two-way race and a four-way race on Tuesday.
Two Democrats and four Republicans are each seeking their party’s nomination on the way to a spirited contest in November.
Democrats
Jari Askins, 57, of Oklahoma City, is the current lieutenant governor.
She is a native of Duncan, and has journalism and law degrees from the University of Oklahoma. She formerly served as a state representative and a special district judge.
Drew Edmondson, 63, of Oklahoma City, is the state’s current attorney general.
He graduated from Muskogee High School, and Northeastern State University.
He served three consecutive terms as Muskogee’s district attorney and served a term in the state Legislature. He attended law school at the University of Tulsa.
Edmondson was elected attorney general in 1994, and was re-elected in 1998, 2002 and 2006.
Republicans
Roger L. Jackson, 59, of Oklahoma City, is a retired businessman.
A lifelong resident of the state, he holds a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Oklahoma.
For more than 20 years, he worked for Bill Jackson’s Business Products, including nine years as owner. He has also worked for Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages and several Oklahoma liquor wholesalers.
Mary Fallin, 55, of Edmond, currently serves as a member of the U.S. House from Oklahoma’s 5th District.
She holds degrees from Oklahoma Baptist University and Oklahoma State University. She was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1990 and as lieutenant governor in 1995. She was elected to the U.S. House in 2006.
Randy Brogdon, of Owasso, is a lifelong resident of Oklahoma.
Prior to being elected as state senator in 2002, he was a business owner for 30 years in the air-conditioning industry.
Robert Hubbard, 65, of Oklahoma City, has a background in business.
A graduate of Southern Nazarene University, he ran Hubbard Ranch Supply. He is also a ranch owner and former contractor and land developer.
Lieutenant governor
Five Republicans are seeking the office of lieutenant governor.
The winner will face Kenneth Corn, a 33-year-old Democrat who is a state senator from Oklahoma’s 4th district.
Republicans
Bernie Adler, 78, Oklahoma City, is an Oklahoma native.
He is a real estate investor, and holds degrees from the University of Oklahoma and the University of Denver.
Todd Lamb, 38, of Edmond, is the Republican majority floor leader in the state Senate.
He has a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University and his law degree from the Oklahoma City University School of Law. He became an agent with the U.S. Secret Service in 1998. He was elected to his first term in the state Senate in 2004.
John Wright, 55, of Broken Arrow, is the House Republican Caucus chairman in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
He holds an associate degree from Jamestown Community College in Jamestown, N.Y.; a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Fla.; attended Oral Roberts University; and graduated from Rhema Bible Training Center in Broken Arrow in 1984.
He has served in the state Senate for the past 12 years.
Bill Crozier, 63, of Hinton, formerly ran for Oklahoma’s state superintendent of public education in 2006, losing that race.
He made headlines in that race by advocating keeping kids safe from school shooters by using thick textbooks to shield themselves from bullets.
Paul Nosak, 39, of Owasso, is the owner of Nosak Tree Service, a specialty roofing company.
He is the producer of “Nosak Raw,” a reality TV show about urban forestry that airs in the Tulsa area.
The November ballot also will carry the name of Richard Prawdzienski, 62, of Edmond, who is an Independent.
Attorney general
Two Republicans are vying to face off with Democrat lawyer Jim Priest, of Oklahoma City, in the fall election.
Scott Pruitt, 42, of Broken Arrow, served as state Senator from 1998 to 2006.
Ryan Leonard, of Oklahoma City, is an attorney, a former state prosecutor and served as an aide to U.S. Sen. Don Nickles.
State auditor
Two Republicans are competing in the July 27 primary. The winner will run against Democrat Steve Burrage, 58, of Antlers, in November for the office of state auditor and inspector.
David Hanigar, of Edmond, is a veteran of the Navy and is a certified public accountant.
Gary Jones, of Cache, resigned his post as the Oklahoma Republican Party chairman last month to make a third run for state auditor.
Other races
State treasurer: Republicans Owen Laughlin and Ken Miller, both of Edmond, are running in the primary. Stephen E. Covert, of Midwest City, is the lone Democratic candidate who filed for the treasurer’s post.
Superintendent of public instruction: Three Democrats, Jerry Combrink, of Durant; Susan Paddack, of Ada; and Larry Huff, of Oklahoma City; and Republicans Janet Barresi, of Edmond; and Brian S. Kelly, of Edmond, are vying for their parties’ respective nominations for education superintendent.
Commissioner of labor: Two Oklahoma City Republicans, Mark Costello and Jason Reese, are competing for the opportunity to face Lloyd L. Fields, an Oklahoma City Democrat, in the fall.
