Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) squirmed when Fox Information Sunday anchor Shannon Bream grilled him about a couple of corruption allegations against him as he faces a tough reelection combat.

(Be aware: At first of the segment, Bream stated that there was once a mild prolong, which is presumably why Stitt can also be seen pausing for a few moments before answering her questions.)

Bream requested Stitt about his Democratic opponent, Joy Hofmeister, a former Republican who has made accusations that Stitt is simply too extreme, taking part in a video of Hofmeister pronouncing that Stitt had “hijacked the Republican Birthday Party” and was “riding our state into the bottom,” while calling herself “aggressively average.”

“She stated that you’ve pulled the birthday party too some distance to the proper,” said Bream after the Hofmeister clip, “and others have made Republican birthday party a place she can’t stay anymore, your response?”

Stitt answered “if believing in conventional household values” and “smaller executive, lower taxes, and deregulation” is “pulling too a long way the correct, then I do not see it,” arguing that Oklahomans agreed with him and the GOP. He took a number of swipes at the Democrats over inflation and gas costs, and stated Hofmeister “couldn’t see a direction ahead for herself” and that’s why she switched events.

Bream then requested Stitt about “one of essentially the most well-cherished, well-known Oklahomans in the market,” former Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK), endorsing Hofmeister, and introduced up a clip from an ad that includes him.

“I was a Republican then and I’m a Republican now,” stated Watts, a former quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners, within the ad. “And friends, I’m voting for Pleasure Hofmeister. “All this scandal and corruption is just an excessive amount of.”

Bream mentioned she wished to give Stitt “an opportunity to answer some of these accusations of corruption and scandal,” list off a federal audit that found that the state had “mishandled $31 million in Covid cash,” a felony investigation into state contracts with a barbecue restaurant, and an accusation from Hofmeister that he had funneled taxpayer subsidy advantages into his personal companies.

Stitt answered with a non-response, telling Bream that “Oklahomans are too smart” and complaining about different interest money “looking to purchase this election for my opponent.”

“But, Governor,” interjected Bream, “and I’m sorry, it’s going to take a second — I wish to interrupt you here as a result of I want to be sure to resolution these, that was once a federal audit, there’s a state investigation, after which the accusations about your online business — if it’s worthwhile to speedy give us particular responses to these accusations.”

right Here is the whole transcript of Stitt’s response:

Yes, right here’s the deal. I imply, I’m so proud, I started my company with $1,000 and a pc quickly after faculty and we’ve grown that, we’ve got over 1,000 staff as of late.

See you later prior to I became governor, you know, we have some quality jobs packages with 600, 700 other companies. And in order that was once put in position lengthy prior to I even ran for governor, and so twisting the reality with something that our firm and the personal sector got in location lengthy prior to I used to be governor, along with every other company that qualifies in the state of Oklahoma, is simply nonsense and Oklahomans can see all over it.

Whether or no longer that in fact was a adequate clarification concerning the accusations regarding Stitt’s firm, we’ll leave to our readers to decide for themselves, however Stitt didn’t present a reply to Bream’s questions concerning the federal audit or state criminal investigation.

Lamentably, the segment ended. Bream thanked Stitt for his time and he thanked her for having him on the exhibit.

Real Clear Politics ranks the Oklahoma governors’ contest as “Toss Up.” Having a look over the polls for this race in September and October, there’s an Emerson poll that appears to be an outlier that had Stitt up 9, but six different polls show the race within the margin of error, with half of displaying Stitt with a single-digit lead and the other half of exhibiting Hofmeister with a single-digit lead.

Watch above via Fox News.

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