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 Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon and U.S. Congressman James
Lankford and Jason Weger, a Norman paramedic, have said they will
run in the June 24 Republican primary.
Analysts said the winner of the primary will likely be the candidate
who brandishes the staunchest conservative credentials. The winning
Republican will also be the favorite to win November's special
election to replace Coburn in Oklahoma, which has not elected a
Democrat to the Senate since 1978.
The likely winner will probably be to the right of Coburn, who is
stepping down at the end of the current congressional session. While
conservative, Coburn has criticized Tea Party darling and fellow
Republican, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
In nine years in the Senate, Coburn earned a reputation as a
blunt-speaking conservative who waged war against federal waste and
denounced what he called a "dysfunctional Washington."
But last year, he criticized Cruz for tactics that led to the
government shutdown, saying the campaign was "intellectually
dishonest". In turn, Coburn was raked over the coals by some in the
party for not being conservative enough.
No major polls have been released but Shannon and Lankford are far
better known in the state than political novice Weger.
Shannon announced his decision to run on Tuesday, saying in a news
conference that he would "go to Washington and say 'no' to the
spending and the debt."
Trav Robertson, executive director for the Oklahoma Democratic
Party, said Oklahoma State Senator Constance Johnson and Tulsa
attorney and businessman Clark Brewster have indicated they will run
for the seat on the Democratic ticket.
Johnson told Reuters on Friday she has not decided yet.
In the Republican field, Shannon previously worked for retired U.S.
Rep. J.C. Watts, a former football star who later became one of the
few African-American Republicans in Congress.
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Lankford said he was running to address the health care law, known
as Obamacare, and to slash the national debt. Lankford ran a youth
camp and coordinated missionary trips before being elected to the
U.S. Congress in 2010.
Weger has called for cuts in corporate taxes and in government
spending.
The Tea Party is expected to prod the candidates to the right, and
could line up a potential Republican contender if those in the field
show any signs of wavering when it comes to cutting government
spending and overturning Obamacare, local media reports said.
In the 100-seat Senate, where Republicans need to win a net six
seats in the November 4 elections to reclaim a majority, Democrats
must defend seats in seven states where Republican Mitt Romney beat
Obama in 2012.
Obama's ratings are particularly low in those states: Alaska,
Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West
Virginia.
Coburn, 65, is a two-term senator elected in 2004. He announced
earlier this month that he would leave the Senate amid news that he
was battling a recurrence of prostate cancer.
(Writing by Jon Herskovitz; editing by David Gregorio)
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