In runoff race for Oklahoma County DA, both candidates have found support

Since the primary election June 28, Oklahoma County Commissioner Kevin Calvey has put another $150,000 of his own money into his campaign for district attorney, his reports show.

Calvey finished first among the four Republicans on the primary ballot for Oklahoma County DA but needed 31 more votes to go on to the general election, according to the machine count that night.

He also would have advanced if 16 voters had cast their ballots for him instead of his opponents.

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Calvey, a former state representative, paid $11,650 for a hand recount of nearly 58,000 ballots. He remained at 49.97% after the recount was complete. He had needed 50% of the primary election votes, plus one, to win the Republican nomination outright.

The outcome put him in a runoff against Gayland Gieger, a longtime Oklahoma County assistant district attorney. Both are 56. The election is Tuesday.

The winner faces Democrat Vicki Behenna, a former federal prosecutor, in the general election Nov. 8. The current district attorney, David Prater, is retiring.

Calvey and Gieger have found continued support during the runoff race.

As of Saturday, Calvey has raised more than $84,000 in cash from donors since the primary, his reports show.

Gieger has kept up, raising almost $82,000 in cash from donors since the primary. He also has had almost $2,000 in so-called in-kind donations. Those in-kind donations included refreshments for fundraisers and yard signs.

Calvey has predicted he will win Tuesday, with votes to spare.

Gieger got only 23.25% of the primary vote but has remained optimistic about his runoff chances, particularly because the commissioner has become a polarizing figure.

Calvey has loaned his campaign $620,100 since announcing his candidacy last November. The campaign has paid some of that back. The loan balance as of Aug. 8 was $495,000.

Gieger's senior campaign adviser, Evan Handy, has accused Cavley of "trying to buy the election," Handy said Gieger is a "proven prosecutor who has not had to self-fund his campaign.”

Calvey has been endorsed by Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson, former Gov. Frank Keating and former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett.

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In a statement of support, the sheriff called Calvey "a battle-tested conservative." The former mayor said Calvey "has proven he has the integrity, grit and competence to be a great district attorney."

Calvey's notable donors include Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett, who gave $5,800, and state Rep. Jon Echols, who gave $4.500.

Gieger has been endorsed by four current district attorneys across the state, as well as former Oklahoma County DA Wes Lane.

"Experience matters. There is no time for on-the job training. Gayland Gieger is a prosecutor and not a politician,” said Angela Marsee, the district attorney of Beckham, Custer, Ellis, Roger Mills and Washita counties.

Geiger also has the support of police officers across the county. A number have shown up in high-traffic areas on their time off on weekends to campaign for him. His notable donors include a former state schools superintendent, Janet Barresi, who gave $5,800.

Calvey was elected county commissioner in 2018 and also serves on the trust overseeing the troubled county jail.

He was first elected to the state House from Del City in 1998 and served eight years. He then ran unsuccessfully for Congress twice. He was elected to the state House from Oklahoma City in 2014 and served four more years.

Gieger began work as an assistant district attorney in Oklahoma County in May 1999. He left in 2010 to be an assistant U.S. prosecutor but returned four months later. He pointed out in his mailers that he has never run for office before.

Both have touted their experience as prosecutors to voters.

In mailers, Gieger said he "has successfully tried 100+ criminal jury trials." He also said he has prosecuted violent gang members, murderers, drug traffickers and thousands of child abusers, molesters and rapists. He said Calvey has tried "zero criminal cases in Oklahoma."

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Calvey was a prosecutor in the U.S. Army in Iraq.

In a fundraising letter, Calvey said he knows how to bring the focus of the DA's office back to public safety because of his Army experience as well as his experience and relationships in public service. "Our future is on the line." one mailer states. "Will you help him protect it?"

Calvey was awarded the Bronze Star for his prosecutions as a captain in the U.S. Army in a hostile fire zone during Operation Iraqi Freedom from Jan. 28, 2007, to Jan. 27, 2008. "Captain Calvey obtained numerous death penalty convictions and long-term prison sentences against the terrorists he prosecuted," according to a narrative accompanying the award.

Each candidate also has accused the other of corruption.

"Justice has a name and it's Gayland Gieger," one side of a new Gieger mailer states.

"Corruption has a name and it's Kevin Calvey," the other side states.

Calvey has called Prater "the most corrupt public official in Oklahoma." He has described Gieger as "David Prater’s protege."

"I ask for your vote on Tuesday so we can put a stop to Prater‘s corrupt machine and the spawns it has produced," Calvey posted on Facebook Thursday.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: In runoff election for Oklahoma County DA, both candidates get support