2018 Likely To Be ‘Transformational’ Election Year In State
After ho-hum year for state political contests, 2018 will be ‘transformational’
by Chris Casteel
WASHINGTON — Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb will run for governor in 2018 and be the heavy favorite. Attorney General Scott Pruitt will either run against Lamb or try again for a seat in Congress. And a long list of current and would-be officeholders will try to replace Lamb and Pruitt.
Those are the predictions of Oklahoma political experts polled by The Oklahoman with the promise of anonymity. A dozen elected officials, consultants and other campaign veterans — people who have run and won political races in Oklahoma — were asked to name the most likely candidates for the state’s highest offices two years from now; nine responded.
Aside from some high-stakes state questions on raising the sales tax, expanding liquor sales and other topics, there are few competitive or meaningful Oklahoma contests on the ballot next month.
The opposite is likely to be true in 2018.