Largent Runs For TD In Okla. Primary

Steve Largent, the former football star and congressional firebrand, thrashed two opponents in Oklahoma's Republican gubernatorial primary, setting up what he predicted would be a "dogfight" to replace Gov. Frank Keating.

Largent, who resigned his House seat after 3½ terms to run for governor, got 87 percent of the vote. He spent over $1.5 million while his two opponents raised less than $10,000.

Vince Orza, who owns a chain of restaurants, won the most votes among the Democrats, but not enough to avoid a runoff with the second-place candidate, state Sen. Brad Henry.

With 100 percent of the precincts reported on the Democratic race, Orza had 153,491 votes, or 44 percent, and Henry had 98,349, or 28 percent. State Sen. Kelly Haney had 17 percent and state Rep. James Dunegan followed with 8 percent.

Largent, a Hall of Fame player for the Seattle Seahawks who was one of the top receivers in NFL history, promised a positive campaign ahead of the Nov. 5 general election and said he didn't care which Democrat he faced in the race to succeed Keating, who is being forced from office by term limits.

"I am ecstatic and very encouraged," he said. "It is going to be a dogfight."

Orza, who lost a GOP runoff for the same office in 1990, said he would continue to campaign on the issues of jobs and improving education. "When I ran 12 years ago as a Republican, the teachers were poorly paid and the economy was in bad condition. Twelve year later, nothing has changed," he said.

In Alaska, meanwhile, voters selected two political heavyweights in the race to succeed Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles. Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer won the Democratic primary in a runaway, while Republican Sen. Frank Murkowski easily won on the GOP side.

Voters there also rejected a proposal for statewide instant runoff elections.

In other voting in Oklahoma, former Gov. David Walters and Tulsa attorney Tom Boettcher finished first and second, respectively, in the race for the Democratic Senate nomination and will move on to a runoff. The winner will challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe in November.

Veteran political strategist Tom Cole won the GOP nod in the race to replace Rep. J.C. Watts, the House's only black Republican and its fourth-ranking member, who is leaving Congress after four terms. On the Democratic side, former state Sen. Darryl Roberts and attorney Ben Odom were the top vote-getters and will face each other in a runoff.

In a local race with wider overtones, Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane defeated lawyer Mickey Homsey in a nasty Republican primary.

Lane wants to try Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, who is already jailed for life, on state charges that would carry the death penalty. Homsey wanted to drop the case.

In Alaska, Ulmer and Murkowski are fighting to succeed Knowles, who is barred by term limits from a third term. Ulmer is trying to become Alaska's first female governor.

In other races there, Sen. Ted Stevens won the Republican nomination to keep his seat, while Rep. Don Young ran unopposed on the GOP ticket. Neither faces a strong challenger in November.

The instant runoff system was soundly rejected. With more than 70 percent of Alaska's 446 precincts reporting, 64 percent of voters were rejecting the measure.

Under the measure, voters would pick their choices for an office in descending order from most favored to least favored. If no candidate received more than 50 percent of the first-choice vote, then the lowest vote getter would be defeated. Officials then would count the second-choice votes of voters who picked the losing candidate and add those numbers to the totals for the remaining candidates.