Over the past couple of months, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a yard sign – or received a campaign mailer – for Kayla Baker, a mysterious new photogenic Democratic candidate for Oklahoma County Commissioner.
Here’s a pic from her website:
According to my crack research, Kayla’s a realtor, developer and, as I recently learned, a former offensive lineman for the Dallas Desire of the now-defunct Lingerie Football League, where she played under the name Kayla Nicole.
First Jack Mildren, then JC Watts now… Kayla Baker? Football and Oklahoma politics always find a way to mix!
Back in the TLO Bro Stool Days, we probably would have already dedicated several posts to Baker’s playing career, but instead we’re going to focus on something probably more important and intriguing – how she’s seemingly come out of nowhere to run a very pretty, very organized and very suspiciously well-funded campaign for a seat currently held by Democrat Jason Lowe.
For example, here’s a mailer that a dark money group called "OKLAHOMA INFORMATION NETWORK" recently issued on her behalf. It gives the impression that Kayla is aligned with Cyndi Munson and supports SQ 832:
See what I mean? If you didn’t know better, you’d think Cyndi and Kayla were a pair of political BFFs about to get buzzed over brunch at Jones Assembly and toast, “It’s time to move Oklahoma forward, girl!” The only catch is, well, they’re not.
In fact, Cyndi had to issue a Facebook post distancing herself from the mailer.
Yep! Welcome to silly season – a fun time of year when, apparently, mysterious candidates with mysterious backgrounds suddenly arrive on the scene pretending to be aligned with popular candidates, only to be called out on social media for it.
Although it’s kind of tacky that the postcard made Kayla look like Cyndi’s new brunch bestie, maybe the SQ 832 part checks out. After all, she’s running as a Democrat, and SQ 832 is the minimum-wage proposal, so surely she’s all in favor of it… right?
Yep, her position on SQ 832 is to have no position… or at least ask the free version of ChatGPT how to give a non-committal one!
Anyway, back to that postcard...
Kayla Baker doesn’t publicly support SQ 832. She also isn’t endorsed by or connected to Cyndi Munson, but according to the mailer, you should vote for all three.
Why exactly is that? Well, that’s where things get interesting.
The mailer was produced by “OKLAHOMA INFORMATION NETWORK,” a dark money PAC that is apparently connected to GOP political operative Pat McFerron with CMA strategies.
If you follow Oklahoma politics, you probably know McFerron. He’s a longtime GOP strategist, kingmaker type and OKC Chamber of Commerce whisperer who has done plenty of work for the local ruling class over the years.
According to our Moles, that’s the crowd that wants incumbent Democrat Jason Lowe removed from office.
The theory I’ve heard from Moles is that the OKC Chamber – along with fellow Commissioner Brian Maughan – soured on Lowe back when he proposed a one-cent sales tax for the OKC jail. You see, the Chamber wants to keep their monopoly on 1-penny sales taxes for their members, and a county wide sales tax to build a new jail doesn't really do that.
But since Lowe’s seat covers heavily Democratic northeast OKC, and since no Republican is even running, they can’t exactly beat him the traditional “Run a well-financed Republican” type of way.
Instead, they have to go with the next best option – a more Chamber-friendly Democrat. One they can dress up in progressive-looking mailers, and try to plant in the seat before voters realize what’s going on.
Well, at least that's what it feels like! Then again, maybe they just wanted a former lingerie football player to bring her patriotic powder puff energy to commission meetings.
Sorry. I got so caught up in insider political stuff I totally forgot about that. As the guy who nearly got the league to expand here in 2009, I can’t let Kayla’s LFL badassery go!
Anyway, if you need more proof that Baker is a conservative wolf in liberal sheep’s clothing, she’s also benefited from over $120,000 in spending by United for a Better Oklahoma – a group that’s also supporting District 3 Republican candidate Jessica Clayton...
Yep, the same group pushing a Republican is also pushing a Democrat. On one hand, I guess it’s kind of refreshing – go, bipartisanship! – but something about this one feels a bit, as the kids say, sus.
Basically, it feels like the local conservative ruling class knew they couldn’t beat Lowe with a Republican, so they’re trying to beat him with a pretty, out-of-nowhere, non-committal Democrat instead.
Which – honestly – is a pretty smart political chess move. If you can’t beat them, pretend to be them.
Anyway, to recap this long and meandering post:
• Kayla Baker has come out of nowhere to become a contender for County Commissioner.
• Although a Democrat, Kayla is connected to Brian Maughan, Pat McFerron and other Republican power brokers, and could be a conservative plant that the Chamber and ruling class use to consolidate county power and implement their conservative vision for the jail and other local concerns.
• Kayla Baker played lingerie football.
I don’t know if any of that matters in the whole scheme of things, but you may want to keep it all in mind if you vote on Tuesday.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
