NFIB/Oklahoma Endorses Mary Fallin for Governor

OKLAHOMA CITY – The state office of the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s leading small business association, has endorsed Mary Fallin in her campaign for governor of Oklahoma.

“Mary Fallin clearly understands the problems facing small business owners, and her commitment to solving them resonates with Oklahoma’s entrepreneurs and family-run companies,” said Benny Vanatta, state director of NFIB/Oklahoma.

“Mary Fallin has demonstrated her leadership as lieutenant governor and, since 2007, as a member of Congress,” Vanatta said. “She has shown our members that she understands the challenges and concerns facing Oklahoma and the state's small businesses.”

“It’s important that we elect a candidate who understands the critical roll small businesses play in Oklahoma’s economy—someone who will make it easier for entrepreneurs and small businesses to lead our state out of this recession and create jobs,” Vanatta said.

“As governor, I will focus like a laser beam on job creation and economic recovery,” Fallin said. “That means helping small businesses, which provide the vast majority of employment opportunities in Oklahoma. It also means standing up to Washington and its job-killing ‘tax and spend’ policies.

“I know Oklahoma has the potential to be one of the best places to do business in the country and in the world,” she said. “But first we need a leader who is going to fight for the kind of pro-business, common-sense reforms that create jobs and spur investment. I’m ready to be that leader, and I’m proud to have the support of the NFIB in my campaign for governor.”

NFIB’s political support is based on the candidate's position and record on small business issues. The endorsement comes from the NFIB/Oklahoma Save America's Free Enterprise Trust, the political action committee for NFIB/Oklahoma’s membership.

Today's endorsement puts the considerable grassroots support of the state's small businesses behind Fallin’s campaign. Small business owners and their employees vote in high numbers and are known for recruiting friends, family members and acquaintances to vote. According to NFIB polling data, small business owners and their employees make up 43% of registered voters in America.

NFIB will encourage its 3,111 members in Oklahoma to help turn out the influential small business voting bloc on Election Day.

Fallin on Jobs Report: “Obama’s Tax and Spend Policies Are Failing Our Citizens”

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Republican gubernatorial candidate Mary Fallin released the following statement in response to a Bureau of Labor Statistics Report showing 56,000 jobs lost in the month of August and an increase in the unemployment rate to 9.6%:

“Once again, the latest economic indicators are proving what Oklahomans already know in their gut: President Obama’s ‘tax and spend’ policies are failing our citizens. Washington’s out-of-control spending and its hard-left agenda are making this recession worse.

“I’m running for governor because I know Oklahoma deserves better than the failed, big-government ideology coming out of Washington. Voters are ready for the kind of leader who will stand up to the president and his job-killing policies, get our economy back on track, control spending and eliminate government waste. I’m ready to be that leader, and I’m the only candidate in this race who is prepared to say 'no' to Washington and to move this state forward.”