Members of the new (and old) media have been all a-twitter about the newcomer, James Lankford and with good reason. He's fresh, he's different, he's energetic and for some, he's not a political insider. The recent announcement that he has hired SAGAC to handle some inside-baseball for his campaign also shows that he is politically savvy. For the GOP 5th District, it's all about cash flow and Mike Thompson's campaign had plenty of that.
But let's not be too hasty. Kevin Calvey wants this job in D.C. more than anyone we have seen in recent years and will pull out all the stops.
Within hours of the realization that Calvey was not going to win the race without a run-off, Club For Growth fired out an email asking their members to support the "experienced" Kevin Calvey. While it is true that the Club For Growth is not even close to the same Club For Growth that helped Tom Coburn some years ago, they still have the database and they still have the ability to impact races.
And Calvey's campaign team are hardly slackers. He has the former Chair of the GOP, a former State House Representative and Fount Holland on his team - all three hate to lose horribly. To count them out of this race is tantamount to political suicide.
Kevin Calvey has his work cut out for him to be sure, but he has been preparing for this race for at least four years and nothing will motivate a man more than desire, passion and the attainment of his dream job.