I have good news for transphobic people who like fruit salad and bad metaphors.
Earlier this week, gubernatorial candidate Charles McCall did what every ambitious Oklahoma politician eventually does — he bought himself a poll that says he’s winning.
Via News 9:
Recent polling shows a possible new Republican Party front-runner in the race for Governor of Oklahoma.
A new poll conducted by Stratus Intelligence shows Oklahoma House of Representatives Speaker Charles McCall leads Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond by 8 points in a head-to-head matchup.
The polling, paid for by Charles McCall for Governor, shows McCall leading at 45%, with Drummond trailing behind at 37%.
I’m not smart enough to know what’s going to happen in the Governor’s race – I still think there’s a chance we have a surprise candidate – but I am smart enough to know never to trust a poll released by an official campaign.
Seriously, they’re about as reliable as an Oklahoma winter weather forecast.
Any pollster worth their salt can generate any polling result they want, and there are plenty of pollsters willing to do exactly that for the right price. You know, people like Chris Wilson from Stratus Intelligence, the group behind the poll:
For those unaware, Chris is one of the prominent conservative political consultants in Oklahoma. He’s done work for Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis and, of course, Kevin Stitt.
The last time we checked on him, he was fired from a firm he co-founded under allegations of “financial mismanagement," so it's good to see he's landed on his feet at a new firm he's co-founded. I'm sure that will work out great.
Who knows. Maybe Chris’s poll is strong and provides a broad gauge of who’s leading the result. Then again, if you’re such a sleaze that you’ll allegedly steal from your coworkers and partners, you’ll obviously produce a rigged poll for the right price. Anything for a dollar to keep your young bride happy, right?
Not surprisingly, the other guy who has polling that shows he’s leading the Governor’s race – Gentner Drummond – didn’t like McCall’s poll. His campaign manager attacked it and Chris’s integrity.
In a statement, Drummond's campaign manager Stephanie Alexander said:
"Chris Wilson is a disgraced, Never-Trump pollster who was fired from the firm he founded last year. He’s the same guy who tried to convince Americans that Ron DeSantis was leading Donald Trump by nine points among Republican primary voters — a prediction that aged about as well as his reputation. Chris clearly loves seeing his name in the press, and it’s no surprise that his client’s campaign mirrors his playbook: fake poll numbers, shock-value ads, and outright lies about conservative Attorney General Gentner Drummond."
That’s cool!
The lady who helped manage Trump’s presidential campaign is criticizing someone else for using fake poll numbers, shock-value ads, and repeating many, many, many outright lies. Once again, I know hypocrisy is a core GOP virtue, but it’s wild how oblivious to it they’ve become.
On the topic of hypocrisy…
In response to the statement by Drummond's campaign, Christopher Wilson, CEO of Stratus Intelligence, released the following statement:
“I’ve been in politics long enough to know that when campaigns start losing ground, they start lashing out, and this response from the Drummond team speaks for itself. I won’t dignify the personal attacks, and I have nothing but respect for anyone—especially Stephanie Alexander—who’s chosen a career in this tough business. But I will stand by our work.”
Did you catch that? The guy who’s led campaigns for Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis, and Kevin Stitt won’t dignify personal attacks and has nothing but respect for anyone.
Oddly enough, I feel the exact same way!
We should all be nice and sing songs, so I won’t attack this asshole for being an unscrupulous political slimeball who will say and do anything for money.
In other news, this hypocrisy stuff is fun! I may stick with it!
Anyway, if you want to read more about the unreliable and inconsequential (at this point) polling data, you can do so over here. If you want to read more about the “financial mismanagement” allegations about Wilson, you can do so here. In the meantime, stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
