Senate Candidates Get Campaigns Up To Speed
Top candidates for Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn’s seat spent fast to get up to speed
by Chris Casteel
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. James Lankford and state Rep. T.W. Shannon each went through more than $300,000 in less than three months as they positioned their U.S. Senate campaigns for an intense fight in a compressed time frame.
Shannon, a Republican from Lawton, and Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, each raised more than $800,000 in a little more than two months after announcing their intent to run for the unexpired term of Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, who is stepping down.
Lankford started the race with a financial advantage: He could convert money from his U.S. House campaign to the U.S. Senate campaign since the same federal fundraising rules govern both. Lankford already had more than $500,000 in that House account.
Shannon couldn’t convert his state campaign money to a federal race. But he had an established base of financial support before he announced for Coburn’s seat and got resources quickly to buy advertising in the state’s two major media markets.
Lankford ended March with just more than $1 million in his campaign account, while Shannon had about $503,000.