OK To Elect First Female Governor

OKLAHOMA - Oklahoma will elect its first female governor in November after Republican Rep. Mary Fallin and Democratic Lt. Gov. Jari Askins won their gubernatorial primaries Tuesday, Politico reported.

Askins defeated state Attorney General Drew Edmondson by less than one percentage point and Fallin narrowly avoided a runoff by recording 55 percent of the vote in the four-way GOP contest.

Fallin is the current congresswoman for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district, which includes most of Oklahoma City.

She was the first Republican and first woman to serve as lieutenant governor of Oklahoma -- a post she held for 12 years before being elected to Congress in 2006.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty all endorsed Fallin in the run-up to the primary election.

Askins, meanwhile, received a late boost from former University of Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys football coach Barry Switzer.

He taped a radio ad for Askins, calling her "a great friend, a great sports fan and she'll be a great governor."

The Oklahoma contest will be one of two all-female gubernatorial battles in November with Democratic Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and Republican Susana Martinez, the Dona Ana County district attorney, fighting it out in neighboring New Mexico.

In other results Tuesday, State Sen. Todd Lamb won the five-person Republican primary race for lieutenant governor.

He will face Democratic State Sen. Kenneth Corn and independent Richard Prawdzienski in the November 2 general election.