Yesterday, Jim Inhofe called on his supporters to send their gas receipts into his campaign office so that he can send them to Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader.  Apparently, Inhofe is trying to show his frustrations that Congress adjourned without bringing any relief on energy prices.

Oklahomans, though, should be more frustrated with Jim Inhofe's decades of doing nothing to avert an energy crisis.

State Sen. Andrew Rice is fed up with opponent's lack of leadership on this issue.  He's not going to send Jim Inhofe his gas receipts.  Instead, he's going to send Jim Inhofe an invoice for $1,076,573 - the amount of money he's received in campaign contributions from big oil.

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July in Oklahoma heats up, especially in election years.

With the primary election four days away, Andrew Rice's campaign is getting more intense.  We took it to the next level on Monday by launching our first TV ad, called "Leader."  This 30-second ad has received great feedback from all corners of Oklahoma.

Here's the ad; more on the heat below the fold.

Andrew Rice, state senator from Oklahoma and Jim Inhofe's sole opponent for U.S. Senate this year, will be on Daily Kos today at 4:30 pm Central (5:30 Eastern/2:30 Pacific) to liveblog about his US Senate race.  He'll focus on the problems created by a combination of record gas prices and record oil company profits, but all questions will be welcome!

Check here at 4:30 Central today to speak with Sen. Rice:
http://senator-andrew-rice.dailykos.com/

Thanks -
Karina Henderson
Rice for US Senate

PS - If you want to find out more about Andrew, go to http://www.andrewforoklahoma.com.  And if you'd like to make a contribution now (so you're not having to nav away from the liveblog later), how about donating to our "Turn Oklahoma Green" page on ActBlue?  Click here - http://www.actblue.com/page/turnokgreen

In his 35 years, Andrew Rice has accomplished a lot.

He represents a diverse Oklahoma City district in the state senate, where he has established himself as a consensus-builder and a strong advocate for children and families.  As a freshman senator, he has already built an impressive legislative record that includes cosponsoring and helping pass the "All Kids Act" - legislation similar to SCHIP - and forming a bipartisan coalition to create the Hunger Task Force, in order to find solutions to Oklahoma's hunger crisis.

Before his election to the state senate, he received a master's degree in theology, worked with the Texas Freedom Network, founded the Progressive Alliance Foundation, and performed other humanitarian work abroad.  After his brother, David, was killed on 9/11 in the World Trade Center, Andrew became heavily involved in the push for the creation of the 9/11 Commission and worked with victims' family groups in opposing the Iraq War, citing it as a distraction from the fight to destroy the terrorist networks that killed his brother.

Not bad for someone turning 35 today.

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Topping off his best fundraising quarter to date, Andrew Rice today announced that he has raised $1 million during this campaign cycle.  Over $430,000 came in during the first quarter of this year alone,

With nearly 2/3 of the total funds raised coming from Oklahoma and over 95% of his contributions raised from individual donors, it's clear that Andrew Rice has burgeoning support from everyday people.

This campaign is on pace to becoming this cycle's classic "David vs Goliath" victory, similar to that of Jon Tester in 2006.  Tester's campaign made it to the million mark days before his June 6 primary.  Andrew Rice is nearly two months ahead of that pace, and doesn't have a primary opponent to contend with.

(Originally posted at Swing State Project)
Democracy for America today announced their endorsement of Oklahoma State Sen. Andrew Rice in his campaign for U.S. Senate.

From DFA's website:

We can make this Sen. Inhofe's last year in office.

Andrew Rice has a proven record in the Oklahoma Legislature having worked on issues like health care, veteran's rights, and the environment.  Andrew will bring his experience to Washington to fight to end the War in Iraq, provide access to health care for all Americans, and solve the crisis of global warming.

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Ever since the New York Times suggested earlier this month that Oklahoma could be the critical 60th Democratic seat in the U.S. Senate, evidence backing up that statement has been pouring in.

First, Andrew Rice - an Oklahoma state Senator and the only challenger to incumbent/entrenched Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe - became the first U.S. Senate candidate to pick up the endorsement of the Sierra Club.

Earlier this week, we added Oklahoma's AFL-CIO to Andew's endorsement list. And Andrew was picked as one of seven top U.S. Senate challengers in Sen. Russ Feingold's "Pick a Progressive Patriot" vote.

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Andrew Rice, Democratic State Senator from Oklahoma and candidate for U.S. Senate, already has incumbent Sen. Jim Inhofe, the Oklahoma Republican Party, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) worried.  He also has Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), and thousands of local and national supporters convinced that Andrew Rice is "going to surprise people" with his Senate campaign.

Rice followed a unique path to politics, winning a state senate seat after graduating from Harvard Divinity School, doing humanitarian work in Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand, and working with nonprofits such as the Texas Faith Network and the Red River Democracy Project.  After losing his brother David, who worked in the South Tower of the World Trade Center, on 9/11, Andrew became an advocate for open government and policy reform.  Along with other 9/11 victims' families, he helped push for the formation of the 9/11 Commission and opposed the Iraq War from the beginning.

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