Gov. Kevin Stitt drops new statewide ad, says he 'was right about COVID-19'

Gov. Kevin Stitt’s opponents have regularly criticized him over his handling of the pandemic, but in a new statewide campaign commercial the governor proclaims he was right all along.

“Kevin Stitt was right about COVID-19,” said a narrator in the 30-second ad. “The left criticized him, but Stitt kept kids safely in school and our businesses open.”

The commercial will run on broadcast and cable channels and comes a week after Joy Hofmeister, his Democratic opponent, celebrated a poll that showed a 1-point difference in the race. The survey, from SoonerPoll, showed Stitt with a one-point lead among likely voters.

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Although, other polls have shown a much larger gap, including a recent Echelon Insights poll that had Stitt with a 19-point lead.

Hofmeister, who is the current state superintendent, often disagreed with Stitt during the pandemic, including over the issue of mask mandates and whether schools should be forced to keep buildings open.

Stitt regularly criticized some school districts for remaining closed when they struggled to have enough COVID-free teachers.

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While the commercial doesn’t mention Hofmeister by name, it does promote the governor as a leader who fought to keep schools and businesses open.

The election will be on Nov. 8. In addition to Stitt and Hofmeister, the ballot includes Libertarian Natalie Bruno and independent Ervin Yen.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt commercial says he was right about COVID