Republican Senate Candidates Speak In Tulsa

The Republican candidates for U.S. Senate were in Tulsa Friday. They were part of a debate for the Republican club.

It's a tight race according to the polling, and it's a close race when it comes to the issues, with three candidates sounding very much alike.

In five weeks, the Republican Party will narrow down the three leading senate candidates to just one, either T.W. Shannon, James Lankford, or Randy Brogden.

They all have conservative credentials, all have been elected before, and all say the right things before a Republican crowd.

"It's about the size and scope of the government," Shannon said. "It's too large, too big, too intrusive and too expensive.

Lankford said, "Our debt and our economy is a huge threat to us."

"It's the debt. We've got to stop spending our kids future," Brogden said.

Lankford and Shannon are leading for now, according to an exclusive News on 6 poll, 33.8 percent of likely Republican voters statewide support Lankford. Shannon has 31.9 percent of the voters right now, and Brogdon is far behind with only 4.5 percent of the vote.

5/14/2014 Related Story: EXCLUSIVE POLL: James Lankford and T.W. Shannon Nearly Tied In U.S. Senate Primary

They agreed they would like to follow Tom Coburn's example, all oppose the healthcare law and all want to cut spending.

They oppose earmarks and support tribal sovereignty, in fact, no significant disagreements emerged from a one hour debate.

"This is a Republican primary; we're going to agree on a lot of issues, but the question is, who will do the best job of going to Washington and pushing back against the liberal agenda," said Shannon.

Shannon said his time as Speaker of the House will help him lead; Lankford said his Washington experience sets him apart.

"Here's the experience and background I have serving in the House of Representatives already. I'm knowledgeable on the budget; I'm knowledgeable of the oversight issues; that's what I've done for the past three and half years, that experience will help me in the Senate," he said.

Brogden said he is the only candidate truly for smaller government.

"My record shows I am a fearless tireless leaders and I will lead this state back to prosperity with free market principals and get government out of the way," Brogden said.

The Republicans will narrow down their candidates on June 24th, the Democrats as well. The general election is in November.