Incumbent Senator Inhofe (R-OK).
I finally checked up on Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), and the 85-year old has filed papers for the Republican primary in order to be eligible for reelection to his current Senatorial seat; in the post that kicked off this thread covering the various Senate seats this cycle, Inhofe had not yet filed papers or stated intentions.
Inhofe has several primary challengers, but there’s little reason to think there’s a serious alternative. However, Dr. John Tompkins, a retired surgeon, is noteworthy:
Tompkins, 63, is a semi-retired orthopedic surgeon from Oklahoma City who says he never paid much attention to politics until he began winding down his practice.
His particular beef with Inhofe, Tompkins said, began about a year ago when he began reading the senator’s book, “The Greatest Hoax,” which claims to debunk climate change.
“I got through about 75% of it and said, ‘This is garbage.’ It’s just nonsense. … It’s poorly written and is only loosely related to any science whatsoever.”
Tompkins said he became further disenchanted by the nation’s handling of the COVID-19 epidemic, and by what he says is a national fixation on “the craziest things … It’s just driving me nuts!” [Tulsa World]
He sounds like one of those Republicans who still has some sanity about him. I don’t expect him to upend Inhofe, but just getting those issues out on the table is an important contribution to the public debate that must ensue during the primary campaign.
None of the Democratic challengers in the primary appear to be a serious threat to Inhofe, so I still expect he’ll be reelected. The only question will be whether Inhofe once again wins by 40 points, or if there’s a large decline in his margin.
