Poll shows Mullin, Lankford with big leads in races for Oklahoma's US Senate seats

Republican Sen. James Lankford and U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin hold big leads in a new poll and in fundraising for the two U.S. Senate seats on the Nov. 8 ballot in Oklahoma, as Democratic candidates face long historical odds and headwinds created by President Joe Biden’s low approval in the state.

Mullin, who is running for the unfinished term of retiring Sen. Jim Inhofe, leads former Democratic congresswoman Kendra Horn by 13 points — 52% to 39% — in an Amber Integrated poll released Monday, while independent Michael Delaney had 4% and Libertarian Kenneth Blevins had 3%.

Lankford, who has been in the Senate since 2015, leads Democrat Madison Horn by 16 points — 52% to 36% — according to the poll, which showed Libertarian Robert Murphy with 3% and independent Ray Woods with 1%.

Amber Integrated, of Oklahoma City, conducted the poll Oct. 13-15 among 500 likely voters; the survey’s margin of error is 4.4%.

Pollster Jackson Lisle, a partner at Amber Integrated, said, “Biden is certainly impacting the federal races. His unpopularity in Oklahoma seems to be keeping Republican voters in lockstep behind the Republican U.S. Senate candidates. President Biden received less than 33% of the vote in Oklahoma in 2020. His unpopularity has certainly grown with increased economic anxiety.”

An Amber Integrated poll in June showed 68% of Oklahoma voters had a negative view of the president, and only 28% had a positive view.

Neither of the Democratic candidates had an advantage among women, according to the new poll, even after Oklahoma enacted strict abortion bans.

Kendra Horn, of Oklahoma City, who served in Congress from 2019 to 2021, was supported by 45% of women in the new poll, while Mullin, who has been in the U.S. House since 2013, was backed by 46%.

Lankford had the support of 46% of women, while Madison Horn was backed by 41%.

Lankford and Mullin oppose abortion and would support a federal ban on abortion, while the two Democrats favor abortion rights.

Lisle said, “Abortion is plainly not the top priority for most voters, including women.

“Our survey from a few weeks ago showed only 19% of women thought abortion was the most important issue motivating their choice for U.S. Senate. The economy and inflation was the largest concern among women — at 40%. Further, when asked if Roe v. Wade being overturned had any impact on who they were voting for in November, 63% of female voters said no.”

Biden said in Washington on Tuesday that he would make abortion rights a priority if Democrats retain control of Congress and, importantly, expand their numbers in the Senate to overcome a Republican filibuster.

Kendra Horn’s current ads against Mullin don’t mention abortion, focusing instead on small business and bipartisanship.

No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in Oklahoma since 1990, when David Boren was reelected. In 2020, Inhofe beat his Democratic opponent, Abby Broyles, by 30 points. Inhofe announced in February that he would resign when the next Congress begins in early January. There will be four years left on his term.

Lankford and Mullin have declined to debate their Democratic opponents. Though Mullin engaged in a televised debate with his runoff opponent, T.W. Shannon, Lankford ignored his GOP opponent. Both have had light campaign schedules in the last few weeks, while the Democrats have been campaigning extensively around the state.

The Democratic candidates are not related.

Kendra Horn raised nearly $700,000 from July 1 through Sept. 30, with most coming from individuals in Oklahoma, and had about $375,000 left in her campaign account when October began. The quarterly report filed last week showed she had raised about $1.5 million in total for the race.

Mullin’s latest campaign finance report covered Aug. 4 through Sept. 30 and showed he raised nearly $996,000 in that period and began October with $434,285. The Mullin campaign has received about $4.6 million, counting a $1 million loan made by the candidate and money transferred from his House campaign account. The campaign reported $1.23 million in debts.

Lankford has raised more than $6.9 million and reported having nearly $2.5 million in his campaign account at the end of September. Madison Horn, a cybersecurity expert from Oklahoma City, reported that she had raised about $270,000 for her campaign this year and had just under $36,000 in her account at the end of September.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Poll shows Mullin, Lankford with big leads in Oklahoma's U.S. Senate races