The four days before Tuesday’s election, we got 20 political mailers at our house.
All were 6 inches by 11 inches and printed on card stock.
We tossed probably another 50, maybe upwards of 75, before I started keeping them to count.
I’ll bet you got a bunch, too.
Some gave reasons why they thought I should vote for the candidate in question, but others were downright mean-spirited and pandered to people’s lowest prejudices and biases.
So, I got to reading them closely and looking at who paid for them. Turns out only five were paid for by candidates or their committees.
One of those was from Stephanie Bice, two were from Tanya Roland, one from Allan Grubb and one from Traci Soderstrom.
In the interest of full disclosure, I may have voted for some of those candidates, but certainly not all, so please don’t take this as an endorsement of anyone.
Those five gave plenty of reasons why I should vote for them, showed photos of the candidates meeting and greeting folks and posing with their families.
It was the other 75 percent that concerned me. They all had the same disclaimer: “Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.”
And all were paid for by political groups.
The list includes:
- Battle Ready PAC, with an address in Yukon. I got two mailers from them that endorsed Joel Kintsel for governor.
- Hometown Freedom Action Network, with an address in Tulsa. They sent me two mailers attacking Gov. Kevin Stitt.
- Right Direction 2030, LLC, with an address in Oklahoma City. They sent me three mailers attacking District Attorney Allan Grubb.
- American Values First, with an address in Tulsa. They mailed me two pieces supporting Steve McQuillen for state auditor, promising he would stand with former President Trump to build a wall along the Mexican border. That seems a curious expansion of the state auditor’s role, but what the heck.
- Americans for Prosperity OK, with an address in Tulsa. I got four pieces from them, all supporting Ryan Walters for state superintendent of schools.
I applaud an interest in good government and participation in the political process, but one has to wonder who is behind these political groups. Who gives them money and what are their ultimate goals?
Why should a political action committee in Oklahoma City care who wins the race for district attorney in Lincoln and Pottawatomie counties?
Candidly, none of these mailers changed my mind about who to vote for, and I suspect that’s the case with most people, but it still concerns me that faceless people from who knows where are trying to buy elections and manipulate who we elect.
Special interest groups have always contributed to candidates they think will support their goals.
Dairy farmers, newspapers, trucking companies, unions. You name it. They contribute to candidates, but they’re up front about it and they show up in the campaign contribution filings.
I think we’ll look into this funding between now and the runoff and primary elections and report back to you.
It will be interesting to know who is spending all this money and why.