The 1978 United States Senate election in Oklahoma took place on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Republican Senator
Dewey F. Bartlett
Dewey Follett Bartlett Sr. (March 28, 1919 – March 1, 1979) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Oklahoma from 1967 to 1971, following his fellow Republican, Henry Bellmon. In 1966, he became the first Roman Ca ...
retired, leaving the seat vacant. He was succeeded by popular Democratic Governor
David Boren
David Lyle Boren (born April 21, 1941) is a retired American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and three terms in the United States Senate ...
.
Boren won a competitive Democratic primary against former U.S. Representative
Ed Edmondson and State Senator
Gene Stipe
Eugene E. "Gene" Stipe (October 21, 1926 – July 21, 2012) was an American politician from Oklahoma. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
Early life and career
Gene Stipe was born in Blanco, Oklahoma, the son of Jacob Irvin Stipe, a farme ...
, then defeated Edmondson in a run-off election. Boren easily defeated Republican nominee
Robert B. Kamm
Robert B. Kamm (January 22, 1919 – October 10, 2008) served as the 13th president of Oklahoma State University–Stillwater from July 1, 1966 to January 31, 1977. He was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for the United States Senate in 1978, ...
in the general election.
Democratic primary
Candidates
*
David Boren
David Lyle Boren (born April 21, 1941) is a retired American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and three terms in the United States Senate ...
, Governor of Oklahoma
*Dean Bridges
*
Ed Edmondson, former U.S. Representative from
Muskogee and nominee for Senate in 1972 and 1974
*George Miskovsky Sr., former State Senator and Representative from
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
*Anthony Points
*Rosella Peter "Pete" Saker, retired
Chief Master Sergeant and Vietnam veteran
*
Gene Stipe
Eugene E. "Gene" Stipe (October 21, 1926 – July 21, 2012) was an American politician from Oklahoma. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
Early life and career
Gene Stipe was born in Blanco, Oklahoma, the son of Jacob Irvin Stipe, a farme ...
, State Senator from
McAlester
Campaign
Edmondson called Boren "a Republican"
[Mother Jone]
We're OK; How's Oklahoma
Dev. 1978[Bob Burke, Oklahoma Historical Society, Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture]
, accessed July 16, 2013 due to a Boren policy as Governor which eliminated the state tax for inheritances between spouses.
Edmondson took a pledge recited on a biography of President Harry Truman, that he was not nor had never been "a Republican."
During the campaign, both Miskovsky and Points accused Governor Boren of being a homosexual. Boren held a press conference denying the accusation.
Following his victory, Boren swore an oath on a family Bible, declaring "I know what homosexuals and bisexuals are. I further swear that I am not a homosexual or bisexual. And I further swear that I have never been a homosexual or bisexual. And I further swear that I have never engaged in any homosexual or bisexual activities nor do I approve of or condone them."
In 2019, Boren was accused by multiple witnesses of sexually harassing male subordinates while President of the University of Oklahoma.
Results
Run-off results
General election
Results
See also
*
1978 United States Senate elections
References
{{United States elections, 1978
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...