Andrew Rice, state senator from Oklahoma and Jim Inhofe's sole opponent for U.S. Senate this year, will be on Daily Kos today at 4:30 pm Central (5:30 Eastern/2:30 Pacific) to liveblog about his US Senate race. He'll focus on the problems created by a combination of record gas prices and record oil company profits, but all questions will be welcome!
PS - If you want to find out more about Andrew, go to http://www.andrewforoklahoma.com. And if you'd like to make a contribution now (so you're not having to nav away from the liveblog later), how about donating to our "Turn Oklahoma Green" page on ActBlue? Click here - http://www.actblue.com/page/tu...
In his 35 years, Andrew Rice has accomplished a lot.
He represents a diverse Oklahoma City district in the state senate, where he has established himself as a consensus-builder and a strong advocate for children and families. As a freshman senator, he has already built an impressive legislative record that includes cosponsoring and helping pass the "All Kids Act" - legislation similar to SCHIP - and forming a bipartisan coalition to create the Hunger Task Force, in order to find solutions to Oklahoma's hunger crisis.
Before his election to the state senate, he received a master's degree in theology, worked with the Texas Freedom Network, founded the Progressive Alliance Foundation, and performed other humanitarian work abroad. After his brother, David, was killed on 9/11 in the World Trade Center, Andrew became heavily involved in the push for the creation of the 9/11 Commission and worked with victims' family groups in opposing the Iraq War, citing it as a distraction from the fight to destroy the terrorist networks that killed his brother.
We can make this Sen. Inhofe's last year in office.
Andrew Rice has a proven record in the Oklahoma Legislature having worked on issues like health care, veteran's rights, and the environment. Andrew will bring his experience to Washington to fight to end the War in Iraq, provide access to health care for all Americans, and solve the crisis of global warming.
The fight for a pro-working family government doesn’t end with the race for the White House. Around the country, union members in key states are looking to elect new members of Congress who will help turn around America.
Ever since the New York Times suggested earlier this month that Oklahoma could be the critical 60th Democratic seat in the U.S. Senate, evidence backing up that statement has been pouring in.
First, Andrew Rice - an Oklahoma state Senator and the only challenger to incumbent/entrenched Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe - became the first U.S. Senate candidate to pick up the endorsement of the Sierra Club.
Rice followed a unique path to politics, winning a state senate seat after graduating from Harvard Divinity School, doing humanitarian work in Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand, and working with nonprofits such as the Texas Faith Network and the Red River Democracy Project. After losing his brother David, who worked in the South Tower of the World Trade Center, on 9/11, Andrew became an advocate for open government and policy reform. Along with other 9/11 victims' families, he helped push for the formation of the 9/11 Commission and opposed the Iraq War from the beginning.
One of the most Republican areas of Oklahoma is the north Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond. State Senator Andrew Rice is making waves in a political climate where people, even Republicans, are wanting a change.
On Monday, the Run Andrew Run draft blog informed us that Oklahoma Democratic state Senator Andrew Rice was very likely to challenge crumb-bum extraordinaire Jim Inhofe in the state's 2008 U.S. Senate election:
After a few weeks on the road in Oklahoma and a whirlwind of meetings in Washington, D.C., it now seems likely State Senator Andrew Rice will soon be filing papers to challenge U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe in the 2008 election.
Since winning election to the State Senate from a diverse, inner-OKC district, Rice has already proven to be a skilled consensus builder who gets results. He offers a stark contrast to the right-wing curmudgeon, Jim Inhofe.
Rice still says he will make a formal announcement after Labor Day but fundraising prospects have surpassed his expectations and sources close to him say he may be “all in” within the next 10 days. He has received encouragement on this site and in meetings throughout the state. We also hear the DSCC now views Rice as a potential upset challenger in the style of a Jim Webb or a Jon Tester.
Rice lost a brother in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and believes that Bush and Inhofe took their eye off the ball by waging war in Iraq while Al Quaeda rebuilt its global terror network. Inhofe, who once called global warming a “hoax,” boasts of being "one of the last true conservatives left in the Senate".
Andrew Rice for U.S. Senate P.O. Box 1027 Oklahoma City, OK 73102 August 2, 2007 Dear Friends,
While I have deliberated during these past few months, I have also encouraged other, more widely-known Democrats to take up the challenge. To date, none has done so. I have also thoroughly discussed the pros and cons of running with my wife Apple and my family.
Today, I want you to know that I have decided to run and that I intend to win!
I want you to be assured that I will not have to vacate my State Senate seat in order to run and I will continue to make myself accessible and accountable to my constituents in Senate District 46.
I believe Oklahomans deserve a choice for U.S. Senate in 2008.
Washington is paralyzed by partisan bickering, and Jim Inhofe may be one of the most partisan Senators of all. He even boasts of being the "most conservative" Senator. In contrast, as a member in the evenly divided Oklahoma Senate, I have proven that I can work with both Republicans and Democrats to get results for our state.
Divisive politics is harming our country. That’s not my style. I have already met many Oklahomans from across the state. They tell me that Washington no longer listens to them.
This will be a tough and expensive race. In fact, I will need to raise several million dollars just to compete against Inhofe and the National Republicans who will stop at nothing to help him extend his 40-year career in elective politics. [...]
Despite having a very lackluster approval rating for a senior senator in his third term (the last time that SUSA polled this race in November, he was at a 46% approval), more prominent names in Oklahoma's Democratic cycles (and there are a few, including Gov. Brad Henry and four-term Attorney General Drew Edmondson) have not jumped at the chance to challenge Inhofe. Perhaps the hesitancy stems from watching former Democratic Rep. Brad Carson's surprisingly wide loss (42%-53%) in the 2004 open seat race against Tom Coburn--a candidate who nicely complements Inhofe's nuttiness in the Senate.
There's no doubt that Rice, a young progressive with a compelling biography, will face a tough climb in the state, especially in a Presidential year when Duncan Hunter carries the state by a 30-point margin (kidding). Still, Inhofe is older, he has a tendency to say stupid shit, and the dynamic of a fresh face versus a doddery loon could be fun to watch, given a reasonable amount of funding in Rice's campaign coffers.
With Jeff Merkley in Oregon and now Andrew Rice in Oklahoma, 2008's Senate races are beginning to take more shape as we approach the fall.
On the web: Andrew Rice for Oklahoma (I'm assuming that this will be updated once Rice makes his official announcement)
Jim Inhofe is worried. And he may very well be justified. Accoridng to the Tulsa World, Chuck Schumer and the DSCC are gunning for him and looking hard for a candidate.
Andrew Rice, state senator from Oklahoma and Jim Inhofe's sole opponent for U.S. Senate this year, will be on Daily Kos today at 4:30 pm Central (5:30 Eastern/2:30 Pacific) to liveblog about his US Senate race. He'll focus on the problems created by a combination of record gas prices and record oil company profits, but all questions will be welcome!
