Conservative Oklahoma Senate candidate T.W. Shannon has opened up a 10-point lead after trailing Rep. James Lankford (R-OK) by 35 points just two months ago in the race to replace retiring Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK). That represents a net swing of 45 points in Shannon’s favor.
After former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed Shannon, he closed that 35-point deficit to single digits in a poll taken four days later. Since then, prominent conservatives like Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), along with the Senate Conservatives Fund and conservative talk radio host Mark Levin, have endorsed him. Palin will headline a rally along with Cruz and Lee for Shannon on April 24 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The poll found that Shannon leads Lankford 42% to 32%, and 63% of Oklahomans view Shannon, arguably the most conservative Speaker in the history of the nation’s reddest state, favorably, as opposed to 6% that view him unfavorably. In February, 30% of Oklahomans viewed Shannon favorably while 4% did not.
Shannon also leads among those who describe themselves as “very conservative” 47%-28% and leads 45%-29% among Tea Party supporters. In addition, the poll found that religious conservatives backed Shannon 44%-31% while those whose top issue is “stopping Obamacare” support Shannon 42%-30%.
The Public Opinion Strategies poll was conducted April 21-22, and the margin of error is +/- 4.48 percentage points.
The Shannon campaign has been increasing its presence on the airwaves with positive ads. One highlights his wife and features her testimony about how Shannon helped her find Jesus Christ and stood by her when she was fighting breast cancer.