'Kind of baloney': Candidate faults Pott. Co. GOP over handling of primary
MACOMB, Okla. (KOKH) — Ron Sharp, a Republican candidate running to reclaim his seat in the Oklahoma State Senate, is raising his concerns over how the Pottawattamie Republican Party is handling the primary election.
In an interview with FOX 25, the former state senator asserted a Tuesday town hall demonstrated how the county party is giving certain candidates preferential treatment.
In his view, "It doesn't pass the smell test. And that's... what my problem was. Of course, all of us candidates were sitting there going, 'What's going on?'"
According to Sharp, only two candidates running for office were allowed to address attendees at the event—incumbent State Sen. Shane Jett (R-Shawnee) and Pottawattamie County Commissioner candidate John Stanley.
Other candidates for various offices present were not permitted to share formal remarks, Sharp added.
"Unprecedented. I've never seen that before, ever," he noted.
Sharp said party leaders allowed Sen. Jett and Stanley to speak because they had signed a "loyalty oath" and gained the county GOP's endorsement.
He argued that any such endorsements before a primary or runoff election are inappropriate.
In his view, "This is a loyalty oath to a political party. That is 1930's Nazi Germany kind of baloney."
"The extremists are taking over the party. And we have to have common sense. We have to be able to reach across the aisle," he added.
The county GOP is pushing back against Sharp.
According to PCGOP Chairman William Rooth, "To help clarify the issue a bit more, I have attached a copy of the Republican Party Platform Candidate Survey Form here so that you may see what is required for a self-identified Republican candidate to receive support from the State OKGOP, of which our county is a member. Please read the first two paragraphs at the top of this attached form. The form is not a secret as apparently you had been told. In fact, we have openly promoted it at every county GOP meeting since the end of 2023. If a particular candidate did not participate in our meetings or was not interested enough to go to the OKGOP website to request a copy of it, then that was their decision. If a candidate can't manage something this simple or obvious, then maybe they are not a good fit for politics."
Regarding Sharp's comments on the "loyalty oath," Rooth asserted the following: "We never called it a 'loyalty pledge.' That would be a term he would maybe use to paraphrase it, I don't know. The idea of it is to find out what the candidate believes and let the party know where he stands in regard to the party platform. This is a State GOP requirement as I stated earlier. We follow state party rules."
Rooth also stood by the PCGOP's endorsements. The chairman noted, "As far as Ron Sharp deciding when and who our county can endorse is laughable. He hasn't been involved with us in years! Now, he wants to play the victim? We endorse those who comply with the party rules and earn our endorsement. Ron didn't want anything to do with us or our party until just now when he wants to be elected. Rather presumptuous on his part wouldn't you agree? Senator Jett and Johnboy Stanley have been working with us and attending meetings for a long while now. Yet Ron Sharp is angry with us for not endorsing him?"
"Ron and other Republican Candidates were free to talk and hand out his political information for an hour and a half until folks left afterwards. That was more a slap in the face of those who we endorsed, if you ask me. We bent over backward to help someone who never wanted our help until now. He seems bitter that we did not endorse him just because he is the same narcissistic Ron Sharp he has always been," explained Rooth.
Primary elections in Senate District 17 and across Oklahoma will take place on Jun. 18.