Longtime Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) is projected by the Associated Press to have won his primary, beating out wealthy candidates who had spent millions of dollars on the campaign.
Cole defeated businessman Paul Bondar and three other challengers in Oklahoma’s heavily Republican 4th Congressional District, and is expected to win a majority of the vote and avoid a primary runoff.
Cole, who chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee, received a boost from Trump during his campaign, telling NBC News recently that Trump’s endorsement was “profoundly helpful” as he faces his most competitive and expensive primary since he was first elected in 2002.
Bondar has poured $5.1 million of his own money into the campaign, running ads accusing Kohl of losing touch with his district and spending too much time in the nation’s capital. He also said Kohl was not conservative enough, pointing out Kohl’s support for government spending and aid to Ukraine.
Mr. Cole and his allies ran television ads accusing Mr. Bondar of being in fact a Texan, having owned property in Oklahoma outside the 4th Congressional District but who voted in Texas’ primary in March.
A super PAC supporting Cole even ran a football-themed ad attacking Bondar, capitalizing on the bitter rivalry between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns.
“At the end of the day, I think this is like a bar fight,” Cole said recently about the primary. “In a bar fight, it’s not the guy with the most money that wins, it’s the guy with the most friends that wins. And I have a lot more friends than my opponent, and I think that’s going to show on Tuesday.”
