Political Rookies Face Off
Oklahoma's Second Congressional District

October 27, 2000: The Democratic party held Oklahoma's second district for 70 years before Tom Coburn landed the seat in the Republican sweep of 1994. Six years later, Coburn is retiring to fulfill his promise to limit his House duty to three terms. The man Coburn handpicked to be his successor, fellow Republican Andy Ewing, is a former car salesman from the town of Muskogee. Ewing's opponent is 33-year-old attorney and former Rhodes scholar Brad Carson; both candidates are political rookies.

Fur traditionally flies during election season in Oklahoma's second district. In 1996, Democrats embarked on a labor-funded negative advertising campaign on behalf of their candidate, Glen Johnson, in a tooth-and-nail attempt to defeat Tom Coburn. The extreme negativity was such a turnoff to voters that the plan backfired, in fact helping to propel Coburn to victory.

Following in the footsteps of candidates before them, Carson and Ewing are embroiled in a stiff ad war, with the two camps trading a steady stream of barbs. Ewing claims one of Carson's ads violates copyright law and has asked him to pull it from Tulsa stations. Carson's campaign refuses to pull the spot, and the Ewing camp is taking the opportunity to question Carson's trustworthiness if he "cannot adhere to copyright law."

Ewing is running as "the local candidate", billing Carson as a carpetbagger as he recently moved back to the second district from Tulsa. Ewing, a district resident since 1971, is also focusing on the year Carson spent working at the Department of Defense, describing him a Beltway insider. Carson is countering with reminders that his family has lived in the area since arriving on the Cherokee Trail of Tears.

Ewing is running for office because it is "what God wanted me to do." For 20 years, the car dealer has appeared in his own television ads, giving him unusually high name recognition for a political first-timer. Ewing pledges that he will do everything he can to "return America to its moral compass", and to that end, promises to fight to allow prayer in public schools, to end taxpayer-funded contraceptive programs, to end abortion rights, and to end National Endowment for the Arts funding.

In debates and community forums, the two are locking horns over everything from their views on education to their political aspirations. Ewing charges that Carson is not interested in serving second district constituents but is using the seat as a springboard to a political career. "I want to serve as a three-term ... citizen legislator," Ewing said, "while my opponent is concerned about climbing the political ladder." Carson is firing back with criticism of Ewing's plans for education, which include consolidating rural schools to save funds. In a pre-debate interview with the Tulsa World, he said, "All Oklahomans who care about public education should be alarmed by Andy's position supporting rural school consolidation."

In opposition to Ewing's staunch anti-abortion stance, Carson would protect a woman's right to choose; he is, however, against late-term abortions and opposes federal funding of abortions. Carson's solid public-service record and youthful enthusiasm seem to be playing well with second district voters, as is the fact that his family has deep roots in the district. A survey of 300 registered voters from the week of October 8 had the former Rhodes scholar up by 15 percent.