Republican Mike Mazzei recently picked up another high-profile endorsement in his quest to become Oklahoma’s next governor – this one from outgoing, term-limited Gov. Kevin Stitt.
In concert with his most-coveted imprimatur from President Trump, Mazzei’s campaign should be rolling as the Aug. 25 runoff battle with Attorney General Gentner Drummond nears, right?
Not exactly.
Mazzei, a Tulsa wealth advisor and former state senator, instead continues to give GOP voters reason to doubt he’s ready for political primetime: the Capitol’s second-floor, corner office.
Mazzei’s missteps began in late May when, at a Lawton debate, he careened away from a question about OETA funding to declare Oklahoma’s 541 public school districts have been “hijacked by the radical left” and are now “run by liberal, left-leaning radical socialists.”
That would be news to thousands of teachers and administrators who’ve been reliable Republican voters in recent years.
Then Mazzei executed one of the most breathtaking flip-flips in recent political memory – deciding he supported construction near Inola of what could become the nation’s first new aluminum smelter since 1980.
The reversal enraged Rogers County residents who fear the smelter could pollute the area’s water, soil and air … and who suspect it was a quid pro quo to win Trump’s endorsement since the president is gung-ho for the project.
And finally, Mazzei rejected an invitation from Lawton’s KSWO and online news’ NonDoc to participate in a second debate – even though he promised in May that he would.
As expected, Drummond’s team pounced, campaign manager Matt Parker telling NonDoc, “Mike Mazzei is trying to run a basement campaign straight out of Joe Biden’s playbook.
“As voters begin paying attention and realizing there is something not quite right about Mike Mazzei, he is withdrawing from forums, avoiding public scrutiny, and hiding from the very people whose votes he’s asking for. If he can’t handle tough questions on the campaign trail, how can Oklahomans trust him to handle the challenges facing our state? Gentner Drummond will continue showing up, taking questions, and making his case directly to voters.”
An opponent’s shot … to be taken with a grain of salt? Of course. But it gives voters pause – or should.
Has Mazzei’s team concluded the fewer unscripted moments the better in the final weeks before the runoff? If so, it signals just how weak Mazzei’s candidacy is that he can’t risk participating in what should be a bare minimum – a debate.
Nonetheless, it may turn out to be smart politics.
Here’s why: August runoffs – when combined with oft-searing late-summer heat – tend to be lower-than-low turnout affairs dominated by a party’s most rigidly ideological voters.
That would seem to favor a Trump-endorsed Mazzei. After all, the president’s MAGA base has proven itself nothing if not rabid. He speaks, they obey. Why would Mazzei take any unnecessary risks that could spur a larger turnout which possibly could benefit Drummond?
It’s hardly a risk-free strategy. It could backfire if enough voters come to believe Mazzei is hiding from them. It also could be that Trump’s base is beginning to splinter in places like Inola.
Or maybe, just maybe, some voters took note of Stitt’s description of Mazzei when he unveiled his endorsement.
“I was going to wait until the runoff just to let the process work,” Stitt said recently in Duncan. “But Mike Mazzei is the guy that I think should be the next governor. And he is a little goofy, but he’s so smart; he’s an accountant type.”
A “little goofy”?
GOP runoff voters may want to see more, not less, of Mazzei to decide for themselves.
[Editor’s Note: Despite Mazzei rejecting the KSWO-NonDoc invitation, OKC’s News9 and Tulsa’s News on 6 are promoting an Aug. 3 debate between the two candidates, starting at 6:30 p.m.]
Photo: Screenshot from C-Span’s simulcast of May 29’s NonDoc/KSWO debate featuring the four leading contenders for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.
