Oklahoma Republican Claims His Opponent Is Dead, Was Replaced By Body Double

Facepalm

Timothy Ray Murray lost the Republican primary for Oklahoma’s 3rd Congressional District by a huge margin on Tuesday, but he’s not giving up because, well, he believes his opponent has been dead for the past three years:

WASHINGTON — Political opponents accuse each other of lying all the time, but one Oklahoma congressional candidate took his accusation to a new level this week when he claimed his opponent was actually dead and being represented by a body double.

KFOR in Oklahoma reports that Timothy Ray Murray believes Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), his opponent in the congressional Republican primary, was executed three years ago and is being represented by a look-alike. Because he believes Lucas is really dead, Murray said he will challenge the results of Tuesday’s Republican primary, in which Murrayreceived 5.2 percent of the vote. Lucas won the primary with 82.8 percent of the vote.

“It is widely known Rep. Frank D. Lucas is no longer alive and has been displayed by a look alike. Rep. Lucas’ look alike was depicted as sentenced on a white stage in southern Ukraine on or about Jan. 11, 2011,” Murray said in a statement posted on his campaign website.

“I am contesting that this matter has happen [sic] since his election was blocked, because of the U.S. Defense Department’s use of Mr. Murray’s DNA. To my knowledge, the U.S. Defense Department has not released to the public that information, as it is their confidential information about many people,” the statement said.

Brian Dean, a spokesman for the Oklahoma State Election Board, told The Huffington Post that Murray had sent the board a copy of the statement posted on his website but had not formally filed a petition asking for a recount or alleging election irregularities. He has until 5 p.m. Friday to do so.

In the statement, Murray, who did not respond to an interview request, also reassured voters that he is not a body-double.

“I, Timothy Ray Murray, am a human, born in Oklahoma, and obtained and continue to fully meet the requirements to serve as U.S. Representative when honored to so. I will never use a look alike to replace my (The Office’s) message to you or to anyone else, as both the other Republican Challengers have,” he said.

Lucas, who has served in Congress for the last 20 years, told KFOR that he’s never been to Ukraine.

“Many things have been said about me, said to me in the course of all my campaigns. This is the first time I’ve ever been accused of being a body double or a robot,” Lucas said. Lucas also added that Murray ran against him as a Democrat in 2012.

There are many things I could say here, but they would simply be inadequate to communicate just how completely insane this is, and yet when you read the post on Murray’s campaign site, it becomes even more bizarre. Although I do wonder whether the person who designed the website is still using Geocities templates for their work.

 

FILED UNDER: 2014 Election, Congress, US Politics, , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Jeremy says:



    ..








    What the goddamn flying fuck?

  2. Jeremy says:

    Okay, serious question time: Have we always had these types of candidates, and they are just getting more prominence thanks to the Internet and social media? Or is this really a new phenomenon?

  3. I think there have always been candidates like this but they do seem to get more prevalence now

  4. Jeremy says:

    It has to be. I can’t imagine all the crazy just appeared after 9/11.

    It’s a media thing. Not so much a crazy thing. Although it is crazy. And a thing. Apparently.

  5. beth says:

    When I read about this, I just knew Doug would break out the facepalm graphic for the story. Do you have a tally by party on how many times you’ve used it?

  6. gVOR08 says:

    @beth: The usual face palm graphic doesn’t seem adequate for this one.

  7. Jeremy says:
  8. Matt Bernius says:

    There have always been these candidates. It really doesn’t take *that* much effort to get the necessary signatures to run.

    That they seem more prominent has everything to do with (a) new media (in a McLuhan sense) and (b) how quickly we forget the last crazy candidate.

  9. CSK says:

    By all means read the statement on Murray’s website so you can fully appreciate the dimensions of this man’s lunacy. And…it’s a laff riot.

    But let’s cut the guy some slack. Maybe he had to affirm that he was human so someone wouldn’t mistake him for an illegal space alien.

  10. Moosebreath says:

    “There are many things I could say here, but they would simply be inadequate to communicate just how completely insane this is, and yet when you read the post on Murray’s campaign site, it becomes even more bizarre.”

    I dunno. Other than the assertion (with no evidence that I saw) that his opponent was killed and a space alien replaced him, and the assertion that Gerald Ford appointed him an Ambassador at an age when he was still in diapers (based on his claim to have graduated college in 1994), I didn’t see too much weirdness there. Certainly his platform was straight out of the Republican playbook.

  11. MikeSJ says:

    Now if it turns out he was right about all this you guys are going to look mighty foolish.

  12. grumpy realist says:

    What’s even scarier is that this person got 5% of the vote.

    I’d dearly love to know how many of those votes were “oh hell, vote for the nitwit”, however.

  13. al-Ameda says:

    No wonder Republicans are excited about voting in November – it’s hard to top them for entertainment value. Democrats just can’t compete with this.

  14. C. Clavin says:

    The Party of Stupid….

  15. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @grumpy realist: I think 82.8% of them did vote for the nitwit.

  16. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Jeremy:

    What the goddamn flying fuck?

    It’s Oklahoma, Jeremy.

  17. anjin-san says:

    Have we Republicans always had these types of candidates

    FTFY

  18. anjin-san says:

    Looks like the tea party types are big Murray fans.

    Question, why is the writing on so many right wing sites semi-literate at best?

  19. KM says:

    Oh my God….. you know I saw this floating around this morning and dismissed it as an Onion article that got loose again. I should have known even they couldn’t top reality….

  20. CSK says:

    @anjin-san:

    Because literacy, like a taste for high culture in general, is a sign of elitist liberalism. For Gawd’s sake, man, don’t you know that?

  21. RGardner says:

    @anjin-san:

    Um,

    Lucas also added that Murray ran against him as a Democrat in 2012.

    Because it is NEWS if a Republican is an outright crazy loon. but when he did the same thing as a Democrat, never mind.

    Also at several other commenters @C. Clavin @anjin-san @al-Ameda

    Sorry, pot calling the kettle black.

    I’ve seen in my local voter’s pamphlets folks that are only running to get attention to their pet rock, or whatever. They want attention, and you are giving it to them. Last year I had a guy running for Sheriff that was in Jail for threatening a Judge. What has changed is in the past these crazies were ignored/dismissed. Today it is political fodder. And some of you jumped into this cesspool, tarnishing all the evil ones (Republicans) in your partisan hatred. The guy was a Democrat last election cycle, and probably as crazy then.

  22. ringhals says:

    I wonder if this is the same fellow:

    http://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/12/12-6147.pdf

    Either way, he’s obviously paranoid and probably schizophrenic. Just sad. I know the story is newsworthy, but this guy deserves pity not snark.

  23. Scott O says:

    Mr. Lucas needs to produce his original long form birth certificate, the one with footprints on it. Then we can compare the DNA from the footprints with the DNA from the current Mr. Lucas.

  24. @anjin-san:


    Alvin Greene.

    Hank Johnson.

    Anthony Weiner

    The LaRouchies.

    I’ll just let it there.

  25. ringhals says:

    @Doug Mataconis: I couldn’t remember Alvin Greene’s name last night, but yeah there’s the obvious Democratic analogue. I don’t think Johnson or Weiner come close, though.

  26. Tillman says:

    @Doug Mataconis: I see your Alvin Greene and raise you a Mike Gravel.

  27. anjin-san says:

    @ Doug Mataconis

    No one is saying that the Democratic Party does not have it’s crazies. But Democrats work to marginalize them, or simply ignore them. Republicans? Let’s see. Michelle Bachmann, a fairly prominent Republican with at least one important committee assignment, thinks congress should defund the executive branch, an idea that is simply crazy. And Fox News, the unofficial voice of the GOP, cheers her on.

    Keep saying “both sides do it” Doug. It’s much easier than actually giving serious though to what is happening in American politics in the early 21st century.

  28. anjin-san says:

    @ RGardner

    your partisan hatred

    I voted for Reagan twice, an was a Republican for longer than I have been a Democrat. People who spend time here know that I have frequent praised Republicans such as Bob Dole, Chuck Hagel, Robert Gates, GHW Bush, Barry Goldwater, Howard Baker, and President Eisenhower.

    That being said, my contempt for modern “conservatives” is strong. They have earned it.

  29. grumpy realist says:

    Maybe we should start requesting sanity tests before candidates are allowed to run.

  30. Rep. Lucas’ look alike was depicted as sentenced on a white stage in southern Ukraine on or about Jan. 11, 2011

    Is there anyone here who speaks crazy and who would be willing to translate this into English?

  31. ringhals says:

    @RGardner:

    Because it is NEWS if a Republican is an outright crazy loon. but when he did the same thing as a Democrat, never mind.

    Well, if he publicly accused an opponent of being a replicant in the last election, I can’t find any reference to it. It would’ve been equally newsworthy and I have no doubt it would’ve been covered…please prove me wrong. Or show me an actual example of a clearly mad Democratic candidate being swept under the rug by the mainstream media.

  32. dmhlt says:
  33. PAUL HOOSON says:

    Lyndon LaRouche has found a soulmate….