With the Nov. 8 general election just around the corner, two political advertisements appearing in Garvin County mailboxes over the last week have caused upheaval in the race for Garvin County Associate District Judge.
The mailers appear to support candidate Laura McClain and contain anti-Republican rhetoric, stating she will support a liberal Democratic agenda from the bench. But McClain said that is patently untrue and the mailers are intended to sabotage her campaign.
“They stole my logo, and they placed it on a false, misleading, illegal, unauthorized mailer intended to appear as if it came from my campaign,” McClain said.
The flyers are problematic, in part, because in Oklahoma elections for district judgeships are nonpartisan and candidates are not allowed to disclose or discuss their party affiliation.
“Many people don’t understand that,” McClain said. “Often, the first question I get asked (when campaigning) is ‘What is your party affiliation?’ I explain to them the law does not allow me to tell, and the reason is that as a judge my job is to be objective and decide cases based on the law. Party affiliation, age, race, gender matters not, if you do your job. You’re sworn to uphold the state and the federal constitution and follow the law. My personal opinions and my personal beliefs don’t matter, and that’s why.”
McClain’s opponent, Associate District Judge Steve Kendall, also denounced the mailers on social media over the weekend.
In a written statement to the News Star on Monday, Kendall repeated his condemnation of the mailers, saying he had no part in their creation or distribution and said he found out about them along with everyone else when they began arriving in mailboxes.
“I believe that the mailers are false and misleading, and that type of tactic has no place in a campaign—especially a judicial campaign,” Kendall said. “Chips fall where they may, I would rather lose than win by anyone using false mailers (or any tactic involving false statements) to influence this campaign.
“Aside from these false mailers, this has been a clean race, and I will not be the one who changes that. I am also confident that Laura will not do that, either,” he continued. “I encourage everyone to disregard the mailers and to vote based on qualifications and experience.”
The flyers, which began arriving in mailboxes late last week, contain typographical errors and misspell McClain’s name at least once. They also state they were paid for by Democrats for Social Justice and Democratic Women United and give the same San Francisco address for both organizations.
“Those groups are false. They don’t exist. The address is an office building that rents space,” McClain said. “(The mailer) came from Oklahoma City. It came from a legitimate political mail house that we’re trying to track, but they don’t have to tell us who paid for it. It’s dark money that’s covered in layers, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it, probably after the election, but we’ll figure it out, and those responsible will be held accountable.”
Though the rules do not allow her to speak about party affiliation, McClain said since she has been attacked, the law does allow her to respond.
“That flyer purports to be from groups – liberal Democratic groups out of San Francisco – claiming that I am going to push the liberal Democratic agenda and I am not,” McClain said. “I can state this as a fact. I am not a registered Democrat. I have a concealed carry permit, and I own guns. I’ve been a conservative prosecutor for the past nine years. I have not promised anyone that I will follow a liberal Democratic agenda regarding abortion, LGBTQ rights, or assault bans. I will not.”
McClain said she decided over a year ago she wanted to run for the associate district judge position and has worked diligently over the last 11 months, trying to meet as many voters as she can and give them a sense of who she is.
“I’ve been to every festival, every street fair, every event, parade, and every speaking engagement I’ve been invited to. I’ve been knocking doors for six months trying to meet every voter, to give them an opportunity to know me. I’ve given my cell phone, on my card, to every person I’ve met in this county. I’m as transparent as they come,” McClain said. “I play by the rules. That’s how I was raised. I do that every day of my life. That’s what I’ve done in this campaign and that’s what I intend to finish doing. And I hope the voters see through this farce and don’t fall prey to it.”
