I've been a part of this community since before I ran for any public office, and throughout all my campaigns, you have all been so supportive. I realized it's been a while since I've checked in with you, so before we all make our final push and leave everything on the road for tomorrow, I wanted to share what I've been doing these last few weeks.
Our "Working for Main Street Tour" photos are below the fold....
My wife Apple and I started our 50-stop "Working for Main Street Tour" in mid-October. It's been invigorating. The Oklahomans I've met have been welcoming - not only toward Apple and me, but to the ideas of change and of fighting for Oklahomans again that have driven my campaign since day one.
Here are just some of the photos from our time on the road:
Apple and I started out by campaigning together. We felt so fortunate to launch a "Women for Rice" group that included over 1,100 Oklahoma women who strongly support my campaign.
That week, while Apple did some campaigning on her own, I went to Miami (not Florida - it's Oklahoma, and it's pronounced "my-am-a") and stopped in several businesses along Main Street
Apple went everywhere, including this stop at a diner in Midwest City.
She even stopped in at a bowling alley in Yukon.
I think she's learned the art of a good handshake, too.
My colleague, Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, joined me in Durant at a well-known local stop, Sherrer's, and introduced me to some people in his district.
This is Rep. Ed Cannaday, who introduced me in Stigler at the City Cafe.
We had a warm welcome in Henryetta.
Early voting started on Friday, and we watched the lines grow and grow at the Oklahoma County Election Board. We were waving to cars coming in at the very edge of the building's large parking lot.
Pretty soon, though, the lines of cars and the lines of people stretched out past where we were standing.
Some of the students at UCO in Edmond walked with me around campus. It's incredibly important that students vote in this election.
On Saturday morning, Apple and I joined about 600 people who marched to the polls and stood in line for hours to have their voice heard.
We have a few great football teams in Oklahoma, and some people are more excited about football than they are about the election. To make sure they were fired up about voting, we stopped by the OSU game...
...and the OU game on Saturday.
And we're still not stopping. Yesterday, I visited a few churches in Muskogee with our Attorney General, Drew Edmondson, and we had a great rally in Tulsa. Today I've been in Tulsa and Lawton, and we're having another rally in Oklahoma City later tonight.
We're going on the road, and leaving it all there. After talking to thousands of Oklahomans over the last 14 months about the new direction we need in our state's leadership, I know that we've helped build a movement in this state around the very simple notion of putting people before politics. I'm so proud of what we've accomplished together, and I will always be grateful for the support you've shown me in this endeavor.
Tomorrow's the big day - let's finish this campaign with a big victory for all Oklahomans.
My best,
Andrew