U.S. Senate runoff: Markwayne Mullin campaign reports major fundraising haul
U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin raised more than $162,000 for his Senate campaign in just the first two days of this week, tapping Oklahoma business executives, the president of the University of Oklahoma and political action committees.
The 64 contributions dated Aug. 8 and Aug. 9 totaled $162,350 and were reported to the Federal Election Commission in a 48-hour filing. Oklahoma City bank executive T.W. Shannon, Mullin’s opponent in the Aug. 23 Republican runoff, reported raising $2,000 from two contributors on Monday.
Mullin's campaign on Saturday reported $10,500 in donations from last week, while Shannon reported contributions totaling $3,900 over the weekend.
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The lopsided fundraising figures suggest Mullin has been adding to his financial advantage in the two-month sprint between the June 28 primary and the runoff. Mullin finished June with more than $533,000 in his campaign account, while Shannon was down to about $48,000. No fundraising figures for July have been reported by the two campaigns.
Markwayne Mullin and T.W. Shannon facing off to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe
Mullin, who has been in Congress since 2013, and Shannon, the former speaker of the Oklahoma House and CEO of Chickasaw Community Bank, are running to succeed U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, a Republican who will resign in January with four years left on his term.
Mullin came close to capturing the GOP nomination outright on June 28, taking 43.6% of the vote, with Shannon finishing second with 17.5% in the 13-candidate field.
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Mullin after the primary, and Mullin has featured that endorsement in his statewide television advertising.
Donors to Mullin this week included political action committees for Chesapeake Energy, Continental Resources, Alliance Coal, the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, American Fidelity, Novartis, AT&T, sugarbeet producers, nurse anesthetists, urologists, optometrists and others.
OU President Joseph Harroz; Johnny Stephens, the president of the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences; and Joseph W. Craft III, president and CEO of Alliance Resources Partners, were among the individual donors listed on the report filed Wednesday by Mullin's campaign.
“Voters and donors across Oklahoma are clearly excited about making Markwayne our next U.S. senator,” a Mullin campaign spokesperson said Wednesday. “They know Markwayne will fight for Oklahoma values in the Senate and never back down from the radical Left. With the help of thousands of grassroots supporters, Markwayne looks forward to delivering a massive victory for Oklahoma and for America this November.”
Shannon, who has been making several stops a day across the state, has posted on social media from towns in eastern and central Oklahoma this week.
“We need a disruptor,” he said on Instagram on Tuesday. “Send me to Washington and I promise you we will get it done.”
The Republican nominee will face former Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, of Oklahoma City, in the Nov. 8 general election, along with Libertarian Robert Murphy and independent Ray Woods.
Horn was scheduled to hold a town hall meeting in Tulsa on Wednesday night after stops earlier in the day at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa and an Owasso bank.