Stitt's false claim about Oklahoma's crime rate a key moment during governor's debate

During Wednesday’s debate between the top two candidates for governor, Democrat Joy Hofmeister listed off statistics about violent crime being higher in Oklahoma than in New York and California, two Democrat-controlled states that Gov. Kevin Stitt regularly criticizes as being crime-infested.

“That’s not true,” Stitt responded with a laugh.

“That’s a fact,” Hofmeister shot back.

Hofmeister was correct — Oklahoma has a higher homicide rate, and higher rates of violent and property crime than New York or California, according to FBI statistics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although The Frontier, a news organization that released a fact check of the debate, pointed out that Oklahoma has led California and New York in those categories for nearly 20 years.

It was just a 60-second exchange during a debate that hit on dozens of critical issues facing the state, including tribal sovereignty, capital punishment and Oklahoma’s energy sector.

But the clip drew national attention and added fuel to the larger debate over whether blue states or red states are managed better.

More:Are red states like Oklahoma bad for business? California thinks so.

National Democrats quickly jumped in with their own thoughts, even though some admitted they hadn’t really been following the Oklahoma race that closely.

“The people of Oklahoma are not stupid and Stitt was hoping they would be stupid,” said Howard Dean, a former national Democratic Party chairman, who was discussing the debate this week on MSNBC.

“A poll I just saw five minutes ago showed that that lady, whose name I don't even know, is ahead by five points in that race in Oklahoma, one of the reddest states in the country.”

Stitt says nobody believes in the crime stats

Stitt never conceded his inaccuracy on crime stats, and a top official in his office later tweeted that journalists were wrong with their fact checks.

“Nobody believes this,” said Carly Atchison, Stitt’s communications director.

During Wednesday’s debate, Stitt said no matter what the statistics might show, Oklahomans are better off trusting their instincts.

“Oklahomans, do you believe we have higher crime than New York or California?” said Stitt as he looked directly into the camera.

More:Six takeaways from the Oklahoma governor's debate between Kevin Stitt, Joy Hofmeister

Kyle Ibbotson, who moved from California to Oklahoma earlier this year, said he understood what Stitt was saying.

“I 100 percent feel safer here,” said Ibbotson, who lives in Edmond with his wife and two children. “Even when I am in the areas here that you hear on the news about having higher crime, I still feel safer.”

Ibbotson said crime in his community in Los Angeles County has appeared to increase with drug use and robberies in recent years. He once caught a man breaking into his car who threatened to shoot him.

Most Americans believe local crime is getting worse, according to a 2021 survey by Gallup that found 51% of adults think crime in their community is higher than the year before, a significant jump from the previous year's survey.

Although some local polls show crime is not a top concern for voters.

Just 4.8% of likely Oklahoma voters said crime and violence was the most important issue to them, according to a SoonerPoll from September.

Inflation, jobs, taxes, infrastructure and education were greater concerns, according to the poll.

Stitt has made support of law enforcement a top campaign issue

Stitt has made supporting law enforcement one of his top goals as governor, including this year when he approved a pay raise for state public safety employees and established a new mental health support program for law enforcement.

Stitt also has strong support among law enforcement groups and unions, including the Oklahoma Fraternal Order of Police, which has endorsed his reelection bid.

“His support of law enforcement is unwavering,” said Mark Nelson, president of Oklahoma FOP. “He has proven that protecting Oklahoma families comes first, and we are proud to stand with him as he makes public safety a top priority.”

More:Entering election year, Gov. Stitt champions ‘red state’ policies in State of the State address

But Alicia Andrews, chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, said Wednesday's debate showed the governor does not have a handle crime or how to stop it.

"In that moment, instead of listening to the question, he took a posture of just saying 'that’s not true, that’s not true,'" Andrews said. "Either he did not know the facts about his own state, or he knew the facts and chose to gaslight us to try and convince us of a different reality."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Are Oklahoma crime rates higher than New York? False claims in gov. debate