By Rachel Kapochunas, CQ Politics 

The addition of Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett to an already crowded field has made the contest to succeed outgoing seven-term Oklahoma Republican Rep. Ernest Istook something of a battle of 5th District Republican all-stars.

Cornett joins two statewide elected officials, Corporation Commissioner Denise Bode and Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin; two state representatives, Fred Morgan and Kevin Calvey; and one lesser-known candidate, surgeon Johnny Roy on the roster for the July 25 Republican primary.

There is a good explanation for this surge of interest in the Republican primary: This central Oklahoma district is a GOP stronghold — President Bush drew 64 percent of the vote there in 2004 — and the primary winner is almost certain to succeed Istook, who is running for governor.

But with so many candidates, it appears probable that the nominee won’t be identified before an Aug. 22 runoff between the top two primary vote getters. The first-place finisher would need a majority vote on July 25 to win the nomination outright.

When asked Friday if he was concerned about having to play catchup in fundraising, since some of his opponents began collecting contributions last year, Cornett told CQPolitics.com that it’s par for the course in his political career. “I was outspent in my city council race and mayor’s race … so I’m used to that,” said Cornett, who stressed that he will “raise enough money to be competitive.”

Despite his late entry, Cornett’s candidacy announcement last Thursday came well ahead of the state’s June 7 filing deadline. He had let it be known that he was contemplating a run, and one supporter, small business owner Ed Lynn, even set up a “Draft Mick” committee.

Cornett admitted that he had long considered a House bid, but was busy waging his re-election campaign for mayor, which ended successfully in March. “Then we tried to determine whether it was too late to run,” said Cornett. “And it was clear that it was in the best interest of the city to run.”

Some critics, though, have blasted Cornett for seeking re-election while holding congressional aspirations and potentially leaving the mayor’s seat open.

Bode — the top fundraiser in the race as of March 31, according to the candidates’ most recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports, told CQPolitics.com Friday that Cornett has some “catching up to do.” Bode, who spoke by phone to Cornett Thursday evening, said she told him she welcomes Cornett to the race. But she said that in addition to fundraising, Cornett will have to master a “learning curve” that the more established House contenders may already have overcome.

According to the FEC reports, Bode raised $644,000 with $473,000 on hand; Fallin was a close second in overall receipts with $589,000, and had $263,000 on hand. Morgan raised $285,000 with $181,000 on hand.

Calvey — who just launched his campaign in March— raised $179,000 with $176,000 left on hand. He should get a boost with the endorsement he received from the anti-tax, free-market advocacy organization Club For Growth.

Roy, like Cornett, also announced his candidacy last week and has yet to file a fundraising report with the FEC.

Candidates benefit from the district’s location in a relatively small media market, which requires fewer fundraising dollars. Despite this accessibility, candidates such as Bode are putting much of their efforts into grass-roots campaigning to get their messages out to voters. “I tell people the first time you’re going to see me, it’s not going to be on TV,” said Bode. “It’s going to be at your door.”

Republicans dominate the district, where conservative-leaning voters re-elected Istook by wide margins in all six of his re-election bids.

The successor candidates have been emphasizing their socially and fiscally conservative stances — something the long-shot Democratic hopefuls will also need to promote if they want to be viewed as credible candidates in the district. Oklahoma County Clerk Patricia Presley, educator Bert Smith and surgeon David Hunter have announced their candidacies for the Democratic primary, also on July 25.

Cornett agreed that there is little ideological variation in the Republican field, but says voters will choose among the hopefuls based on their records of service. “I don’t think it’s going to be an election that’s going to show philosophical divides,” said Cornett. “I think it’s going to come down to a question of leadership.”

CQ rates the general election race as Safe Republican. Please visit CQPolitics.com’s Election Forecaster to view ratings for all races.