Daily Oklahoman

Bolt Move: Could Henry Strike Lightning Again?

5/25/07

Oklahoman Editoral

HOWARD Dean all but begged Gov. Brad Henry to run against U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe next year. The Democratic National Committee chairman, in Oklahoma for a party convention, said Henry would make an excellent candidate.

Henry has the advantage of being able to keep his job should a race against Inhofe fail, which it likely would despite the governor's popularity. That popularity is starting to slip, polling shows, but Henry remains well-liked.

Like Dean (but not Henry), Inhofe, R-Tulsa, is a lightning rod. When Dean really speaks his mind (or screams), he raises as much money for Republicans as he does for Democrats. Inhofe also shoots from the hip but enjoys a high approval rating here.

The war in Iraq will play a role in Inhofe's re-election bid, as will his outspoken skepticism of global warming. Unknown factors include President Bush's declining popularity and the effect of Democratic control of Congress.

Henry stormed to re-election, but his second term has been rocky so far. Yet, the Sooner Survey says he enjoys a favorable rating of 73 percent, which makes his appeal for a higher office plausible. On the other hand, the number of Oklahomans who think the state is on the right track slipped from 65 percent in January to 52 percent in April.

Dean declined to say whether the 2008 Oklahoma Senate race will be a priority for national Democrats. At this point, that seems unlikely. Inhofe has an approval rating of 58 percent, according to the Oklahoma Poll. Democratic control of Congress looms large — as it did in 2004, when an attractive young Democratic nominee lost to Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, who is also something of a lightning rod.

A key question in Senate races is whether Oklahomans want to contribute another vote to a majority peopled by folks such as Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. Henry must decide if he wants to raise that question himself.

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