GOOD: Pro-Gun Group’s Increasing Power and Influence Upsets All the Right People in Oklahoma. “Spencer’s feat is an example of a phenomenon in red states where the Republican Party is moving farther and farther to the right: The most potent political forces aren’t always the long-established organizations that have groomed candidates and advanced legislation for decades. In the current climate, little-known outsiders, even without pedigree or money, can become powerbrokers quickly if connected to incendiary issues like guns or abortion. And almost any officeholder can become vulnerable.”

Oklahoma’s political establishment is much less conservative than Oklahoma, even among Republicans. This creates vulnerabilities.