Republican Markwayne Mullin voted into 2nd District seat
BY RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
11/07/12 at 3:43 AM
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MUSKOGEE - Conservative politics beat party politics in the 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday.
Republican Markwayne Mullin, up against a sizable disadvantage in registered voters and eastern Oklahoma tradition, glided to victory on the wings of a staunchly anti-Obama platform.
"People are tired of party politics," Mullin said Tuesday night.
With only a handful of precincts still out, Mullin led Democrat Rob Wallace by 19 percentage points. In so doing, he won a seat held only twice before by Republicans, the last time by Tom Coburn in 1994-2000.
The 2nd District was easily Oklahoma's most hotly contested congressional race, with Mullin and Wallace each spending well in excess of $1 million. The campaign got rough at times, with both sides accusing the other of shoddy business practices and dirty tactics.
Mullin said he was never too concerned.
"I didn't really pay much attention to that," he said when asked if he ever thought the race was close. "We didn't want to get distracted. We said we would outwork everyone. We started strong and finished strong."
His promise to eschew party politics aside, Mullin remained unmoved in his opposition to President Obama. With Obama having won a second term on Tuesday, Mullin said he believes he will be "defending the Constitution against that president" upon his arrival in Washington.
"It has nothing to do with Republicans," he said. "It has nothing to do with Democrats. It's about that piece of paper."
Mullin said he might be able to work with Obama "if he has America's best interests in mind, but from what I've seen we'll be defending ourselves."
RESULTS
518 of 530 precincts - 98%
Rob Wallace (D) 93,027 38%
x-Markwayne Mullin (R) 139,764 57%
Michael Fulks (Ind) 10,485 4%
Original Print Headline: Republican Mullin glides into election
Randy Krehbiel 918-581-8365
randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Markwayne Mullin (left) is welcomed as the new 2nd District U.S. representative for a victory speech at his watch party in Muskogee on Tuesday. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
Wallace
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