OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline)-Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson is trailing in his race for governor, a poll released Sunday indicates.
Edmondson, the four-term state attorney general vying for his state's Democratic gubernatorial nomination, was bested by U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Okla., in a SoonerPoll.com survey this month sponsored by The Tulsa (Okla.) World.
Edmondson was, however, the favorite in race for the state's Democratic nomination. The poll found that Edmondson leads Lt. Gov. Jari Askins 46 percent to 36 percent, with 18 percent undecided.
On the Republican side, more than two-thirds of GOP respondents said they back Fallin for their party's nomination, while 16 percent said they support state Sen. Randy Brogdon.
In a hypothetical general election matchup, Fallin beat Edmondson 51 percent to 39 percent. Against Askins, Fallin won 52 percent to 36 percent in her bid to succeed fellow Democrat Gov. Brad Henry, who is barred by term limits from seeking reelection.
Elected attorney general in 1994, Edmondson won reelection in 1998, 2002 and 2006, winning more than 60 percent of the vote in his last two elections.
He is currently in the throes of a high profile federal lawsuit against 13 large-scale poultry companies he said polluted the Illinois River Watershed. He claims the companies allowed bird waste from their facilities to flow into the 1 million-acre watershed.
The Jan. 2-5 poll of likely voters was conducted by SoonerPoll.com.
It included 325 Democrats, 267 Republicans, 28 independents and one Libertarian. The newspaper noted that the breakdown reflects the state's actual voter registration and recent voter participation patterns.
The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3.93 percentage points except on the questions concerning the primary elections. For those questions, the margin of error on the Republican primary question is plus or minus 6 percentage points. The margin of error on the Democratic primary question is plus or minus 5.4 percentage points.
From Legal Newsline: Reach staff reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.
