Gentner Drummond Ditches Ultra-Right-Wing Freedom Caucus Debate…

Last night, while you were hopefully doing something actually fun and enjoyable, the GOP candidates for governor gathered at the Oklahoma History Center for a “Yell at cloud” debate hosted by the right-wing zealots with The Oklahoma Freedom Caucus.

Well, that is all the candidates except one.

According to The Oklahoman, current frontrunner Gentner Drummond skipped out on the debate to probably rearrange his sock drawer.

Four of the top Republican candidates for governor embraced far-right platforms on immigration, abortion and states' rights in their first high-profile debate. Yet gubernatorial frontrunner Gentner Drummond's absence became the highlight of the night.

At the debate hosted by leaders of the Oklahoma Freedom Caucus, organizers took repeated shots at Drummond. They reserved a spot for him on stage and displayed an empty suit jacket in his stead. Candidate Mike Mazzei got in on the joke at one point, shaking the suit's sleeve and drawing laughter from the crowd.

Drummond has clashed with the Freedom Caucus, a group of hyper-conservative lawmakers who consider Drummond a "trans-Republican." That term was coined by Sen. Shane Jett of Shawnee, who leads the group and emceed the debate. At one point, Jett said if Drummond had attended, the event would have been bipartisan.

Yep. That’s right. The current GOP frontrunner to be the next governor of Oklahoma declined a chance to pander to the crazed right-wing Christian nationalists at a political debate.

I know Gentner is the polling favorite and would have been a human punching bag at this thing, but that honestly feels kind of weak.

I mean, at least show up and defend your record on turning over voting data to Trump or, better yet, exonerating cops who murdered frail immigrants. Whether they think you’re a trans-Republican or not, the people in attendance would have loved that!

Here’s more:

In a letter Drummond shared March 24 on X, his campaign said he had a scheduling conflict and could not attend the debate. The letter also called into question the credibility of the event and the choice to have former state Sen. Nathan Dahm, the Freedom Caucus director, moderate it.

In the letter, Drummond's campaign chairman Matthew Parker described Freedom Caucus leadership as having "built a career fighting fellow Republicans instead of working with them."

A campaign spokesperson declined further comment after the debate.

Listen. Gentner’s not wrong. Nathan Dahm and the Freedom Caucus are a bunch of Derplahoman loonies. They’re reviled by just about everyone at the Capitol, including most Republicans, but…

Doesn’t this move feel a bit short-sighted and overconfident?

I get it. Gentner’s currently in the lead in polls, but as my old pal Mick Cornett would attest, that doesn’t mean much at this point. Oklahoma primary voters are mercilessly psycho conservatives, love the underdog, and, when presented with a pair of options, will almost always vote for the more extreme and radical candidate. Regardless of who Gentner's up against, the candidate won't be him.

It’s why and how we end up with the Stitts, Markwaynes and Ryan Walters of the world in leadership positions, and why more moderate Republicans like Gentner Drummond usually end up donating to campaigns as opposed to winning them.

Anyway, you can read more about the Freedom Caucus debate, which was more like a forum, over at The Oklahoman.

If you have time, you should also check out this article by Keaton Ross with Oklahoma Watch. He took a deep look at Gentner’s calculated gamble to position himself as a more independent-leaning conservative moderate, and how that contrasts with the more stereotypical right-wing extremist rhetoric being pushed by his opponents:

Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.