Poll shows Markwayne Mullin leads Rob Wallace in 2nd Congressional District race
BY RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
Friday, November 02, 2012
11/02/12 at 7:29 AM
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Republican Markwayne Mullin appears headed to victory in the sometimes-bitter 2nd Congressional District race with Democrat Rob Wallace.
An Oklahoma Poll of 300 likely voters, conducted Oct. 25-31, gives Mullin a 12-point plurality against Wallace and independent Michael Fulks, with 18 percent undecided or declining to answer. The poll has a 5.66 percentage point margin of error.
Although the district is majority Democrat in registration, only 43 percent of Democrats surveyed said they intend to vote for Wallace, with 20 percent undecided.
"The Democrat Party I joined years ago, they've kicked me out with their beliefs," said David Boyd, one of the 34 percent of Democrats who said they intend to vote for Mullin.
Boyd and his wife, Carla Boyd, who are retired and live south of Vinita, said they respect Mullin for building up his family's plumbing business and that there are "too many giveaways and (people who) don't have to work."
"Every kid on the block has a picture-taking cell phone," David Boyd said. "It's very annoying to see the direction we've gone in the past few years."
Robert Lunsford of Atoka said he has spoken to Mullin and found him to be a straight shooter.
"What I like about him - if asked a question, he'll give an upfront answer," Lunsford said.
"Our country is in mortal danger," Lunsford said. "We need people who will stand up for values."
Lunsford said he is most concerned about the national debt, deficit spending and "social values."
He cited a recent survey showing church attendance at or near an all-time low and said, "I don't know what to make of that except just a slip in the moral fabric of our country."
Marion and Muriel Parker of Coalgate have a completely different view.
"Back when Oklahoma was absolutely dry," Marion Parker said, "the preachers and bootleggers would get together and made sure they kept liquor illegal. Now it appears the preachers and Republicans get together, and then as soon as the election is over the Republicans forget what they told the preachers."
Muriel Parker said she will vote for Wallace, although she resents what she says is his implication that a lot of Democrats don't believe in God.
"I'm just as good a Christian as anybody," she said.
"The other man (Mullin) is a typical Republican liar," she added. "Everything he puts out ... if you fact-checked it, it's just not possible."
Yolanda Whitworth of Tahlequah said she and her husband, Ralph Whitworth, will be voting for Wallace because of recommendations from others who know him and because of their concern about "women's issues."
"Too many preachers are preaching from the pulpit, and they're trying to influence people in a compromised situation," she said. "We wish that would stop."
Alisha Baggs of Westville said her concern about issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage and the size of government will cause her to vote Republican, even though she disagrees with the party on environmental policy.
"I'm a pretty strict Republican," she said.
About the poll
The poll of 300 likely voters was conducted by soonerpoll.com using a random digit dialing technique that included both cellphone and landline telephone numbers.
Interviewers collected the data Oct. 25-31. Results were weighted by gender, political party and phone status (cell phone only/landline only/both). The Tulsa World sponsored the poll.
The margin of error is plus or minus 5.66 percentage points. This poll conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. A complete description of the methodology can be found at tulsaworld.com/SoonerPoll
Upcoming
Saturday: 1st Congressional District Oklahoma Poll
Sunday: Vision2 Oklahoma Poll
Early voting
In-person absentee voting begins Friday at county election board offices throughout the state. In-person absentee voting will be available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Monday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Original Print Headline: Mullin has lead in poll for 2nd District
Randy Krehbiel 918-581-8365
randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com
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