Published: August 26, 2008 12:00 am            

Runoff sends Lester to November, Russell to Senate

It took a late summer runoff to do it, but Tuesday evening retired University of Oklahoma Chief of Police Joe Lester emerged the victor in what began as a six-man contest for the Republican nomination for Cleveland County sheriff.

With all of the county's 89 precincts counted, Lester captured 4,405 votes to former sheriff deputy Mark Hamm's 3,473.

Lester faces Rick Adkins, a Democrat from Noble, in the Nov. 4 general election.

Tuesday evening Lester said he was shocked by the results. "Wow. That's amazing. I'm overwhelmed. I'm very humbled by the support I've received from everyone. Our team came together. We saw what needed to be done and it was successful."

Lester, from Norman, said he was "going to take a week off" before planning his fall campaign.

"I'm going to meet with my campaign staff and we'll look at how we got where we are and assess where we're going," he said. "I'm cautiously optimistic after tonight."

Should he win in November, Lester said he would "bring the sheriff's department into the current century" with new technology, equipment and training. "Then everything else will fall into place," he said.

Though he was disappointed in the outcome, Hamm said he was pleased by his campaign.

"I'm very proud of the campaign we ran," he said. "We focused on why I wanted to be sheriff and the things I wanted to do. I'm pleased by the support I had from my friends."

Hamm also scolded Lester for "the negativity" the race took.

"I am disappointed by the negative campaign from the other side," he said. "Especially some of the polling they did."

Hamm said he hadn't ruled out another run for office.

"My options are always open. If the opportunities present themselves, and if it looks like it might be something, then I might go for it. But right now, I'm just going to go back to my full-time job and I'll be out tomorrow pulling up signs."

In the county's winner-take-all Republican runoff for state Senate, retired Army colonel Steve Russell defeated former congressional aid Kyle Loveless by 1,387 votes with all 30 of the county's precincts counted.

Russell earned 2,747 votes to Loveless' 1,360. Since no Democrat filed in the contest, Russell becomes the senator for the district. He replaces Senator Kathleen Wilcoxson, who was forced to retire due to term limits.

Tuesday evening, Loveless said he was disappointed by the loss.

"I am disappointed," he said. "But being outspent and having two congressmen, a governor and just about every elected official on Steve's team, well, those challenges are hard to overcome."

Loveless said he wasn't sure about his future plans.

"I didn't have a grand plan to run for this seat," he said. "So if something comes up in the future I might look at it. But right now, my business is thriving, I have a baby on the way, and lots of "honey do" projects -- plus football season is here, so I'm going to focus on that for a while."

Loveless also praised his opponent.

"I think Steve will be a very good senator for District 45," he said. "He and I disagreed on a few things, but I think he'll do a good job."

Tuesday evening, Senate Co-President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee said Russell's election assures Republicans of having 19 senators elected as they seek to take over the Senate.

"I think it shapes up very nicely for us," Coffee said.

Russell could not be reached for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

        

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