Cornett Says He And Stitt Have Mutual Respect But Are Highly Competitive

Republican candidates for governor met face to face Wednesday for a forum at the State Chamber for the first time since campaign ads took a nasty turn.

Former Mayor Mick Cornett’s camp ran an ad called “Bull Stitt.”

Wednesday, Cornett said there’s no hard feelings.

“I think there's a mutual respect for each other. We don't dislike each other, but we are both highly competitive,” said Cornett.

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Cornett said he wanted to focus on drawing more business to Oklahoma.

Oklahoma has come under fire for giving away excessive tax incentives. Cornett said he’s okay with incentives, but only if they’re proven.

"I think the kind of incentive programs that I appreciate the most are performance based.  In other words, they're tied to higher paying jobs and the company doesn't qualify for anything until they have hired people, paid taxes on those employee salaries and then they can apply for some kind of rebate,” said Cornett.

News 9 and News On 6 will feature stories on the Stitt and Cornett campaigns leading up to the runoff election on August 28, 2018.