Thank you to the College Republicans and the hundreds of people who came to the Congressional debate tonight at UCO. It was a great crowd. Any candidate looks forward to a moment when they can talk about the issues and answer the questions. But, tonight was especially important, it was the first moment when all the candidates could sit on the same stage to allow everyone to hear unfiltered from each person. (You will notice in the picture that four of the five candidates debated tonight, only one skipped it). 
While I am sure I will always be a little nervous, it is good to get the first debate behind me. Our staff was overwhelmed with people after the debate asking for materials and signing up as a supporter. I hope we have many more debates like this one in the days to come.
The sport of now choosing who “won” the debate is on. Obviously all of our supporters think we “won.” But, I would assume other campaigns thought they did as well. I pray that the facts and ideas were clear. The real winner will be determined July 27 at the ballot box. See you there.
I thought the debate was wonderful. I really liked what I heard from all the candidates but made the decision last night that my vote would be going for James Lankford. For me, the forum provided an opportunity to hear Mr. Lankford for the first time. He had handed me his card at a Tea Party event (in fact I think I ran into him at two) but I wanted to know what he had to say. He had impressed me as kind of timid and I wanted more info. Since the debators were all conservative we heard the things we agree with like term limits, no earmarks, balanced budgets, but Mr. Lankford really hit home with me. He spoke with a confidence that was very impressive (James, you got better as the evening went on). He knew the facts (not all of the panel did) and was able to communicate to me the future as I wanted to see it. With my short term memory issues I held on best to the last point. He is not a career politician. I like that very much. Thanks James for making this sacrifice. I’m behind you.