County parties seek to drum up engagement in runup to November general election
Sep. 28—The Rogers County Republican and Democratic parties are registering new voters and encouraging them to turn out for the November general election.
The leaders of both parties said they're seeing lots of excitement for the upcoming election.
Bill Pearson, chair of the Rogers County GOP, said more people came up to his table at the county fair this year than any year before. Gerry Mooney, chair of the Rogers County Democrats, said turnout at party meetings is finally back to pre-pandemic levels.
Each party is making endeavors to register voters or help people update their registration in the coming weeks.
The Republican Party is encouraging members to go to Oologah Saturday for a parade for former President Donald Trump. The parade kicks off at 2 p.m. at the Iron Horse Saloon, 13573 S. State Highway 169. People will be able to register to vote at the event.
"They're going to line their cars up and take off with their their Trump signs and Trump banners, and drive around the county, trying to remind people that, hey, we got an election coming up," Pearson said. "It's a very important election."
The Democratic offices at 106 S. Cherokee Ave. in Claremore will be open from noon to 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays leading up to the election.
"We're basically just trying to outreach and get people meeting each other and getting out into the community to take care of this business and to start thinking about planning their vote," Mooney said.
People can register to vote, update their registration, pick up a Kamala Harris/Tim Walz yard sign and get polling place information at the office.
Early voting runs from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2. Mooney said anyone who wants to vote early but needs a ride can request one from the county Democrats by calling their office at 918-923-2271.
Mooney said the party is also hoping to send about 3,000 postcards to homes in the Claremore area to let people know about the services the party is offering.
About 9,000 people have registered to vote in Rogers County since the November 2022 elections; about 1,250 people registered between Aug. 1 and Sept. 17 this year.
About 1,100 people registered to vote in Rogers County during the same period in 2020.
Julie Dermody, secretary of the Rogers County Election Board, said 84.6% of people in Rogers County age 18 and older are registered to vote.
Pearson said because of this, the Republican Party is focusing its efforts toward getting people who are already registered to go to the polls.
He said only 35% of Republican voters in Rogers County cat ballots in the 2022 primary elections, which are often decisive because so few Democrats and independents run for races in Rogers County.
Pearson said that at the county fair, he met a man in his 30s who told him he'd never voted because school, work and his family had taken precedence.
"When that young man was talking about [being] 31 years old and [having] never voted, I understood his rationale," Pearson said. "But I'm thinking, 'A lot of good people died for you to have that right and that freedom to do that.' We need to always encourage people to register to vote and exercise that right."
Republicans have won every single Oklahoma county during each presidential election since 2004, and Pearson said he'd bet money the same would happen this November.
Mooney said he knows Oklahoma will not give its electoral votes to Harris. But he said if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the election, it could give Democrats the courage to step up for local races in 2026.
Mooney said several Republicans told him at the county fair they'd be voting for Harris.
"I know we're not going to flip anything blue around here, but Democrats are energized all the same," Mooney said.
