Political Newcomer Credits Social Media, Grassroots for GOP Win

By Jon Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Just a few months ago, many had never heard of James Lankford, but evident by his Facebook page that now boasts over 18,000, they do now.

"We knew going into it we were going to have to encounter people in a way that wasn't going to cost a lot of money," Lankford said.

In a matter of months, Lankford went from a political nobody to winning the GOP nomination for the U.S. House 5th District. Lankford attributed his success to his 21st century grassroots efforts. Lankford who directed a Baptist youth group for 13 years turned to his church as well as social media outlets like Facebook and YouTube.

"At the end of the day, the key feature wasn't the number of dollars we had. It was the number of people we encountered that believed in the same ideas we did," Lankford said.

However, those who followed the race closely said Lankford's success also has a lot to do with luck. NEWS 9's Political Analyst Scott Mitchell said the current frustration with Washington favored Lankford.

"For folks to think this was not a surprise, they didn't read it the way I read it six months ago." Mitchell added "this guy stood as the lone outsider with no political experience, it's the typical case of right place right time."

And even though the race between Lankford and Kevin Calvey went negative at times, Mitchell said in the end Lankford was able to resonate with voters.

"This was about likeability and James Lankford out liked Kevin Calvey in this particular instance," Mitchell said.

Republicans have held the 5th District seat for the past 36 years.