Stephen P. Wallace isn't worried about the negative tone taken by his opponents in the race for a seat in the U.S. Senate. In fact, Wallace is kind of enjoying it.

"I'm loving it," said Wallace, whose name will appear on the ballot Tuesday along with those of the Republican incumbent, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, and the Democratic challenger, state Sen. Andrew Rice. "They're tearing each other apart," said Wallace, who is running as an Independent.

Inhofe and Rice have been churning out advertisements criticizing one another - and criticizing one another's ads - with increasing vitriol over the past weeks.

The tone has grown so aggressive that Gov. Brad Henry said Oct. 10 that, despite considering Rice as a friend, the governor did not wish to get further involved in the campaign, which he said had "turned thoroughly nasty." Yet, as of last week Henry's voice was featured in a recorded phone call asking voters to support Rice on Tuesday.

Neither candidate has issued any attack against Wallace, who according to the latest SurveyUSA poll has the support of 7 percent of Oklahoma voters. Though each new poll shows Rice has been cutting into Inhofe's sizable lead, recent polls indicate Rice's efforts may not be quite enough for the two-year state senator to take the seat from the incumbent Inhofe. Poll numbers from Oct. 20 put Inhofe in the lead with 51 percent, compared to Rice's 39 percent.

Yet, campaign reports show Rice collected more in campaign donations than Inhofe during the last few weeks of the campaign. SurveyUSA found that Inhofe has the support of 83 percent of Republicans, while Rice is supported by just 63 percent of Democrats but enjoys a 12-point lead over Inhofe among independents.

Democrats have not been able to topple Inhofe in the 14 years he has spent in the U.S. Senate. Inhofe, who had represented Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1986, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994, filling a position former U.S. Sen. David Boren vacated to become president of the University of Oklahoma. Former Oklahoma Gov. David Walters challenged Inhofe for the Senate seat in 2002 and lost.

Inhofe has repeatedly been highlighted by the national media for his public statements, including the assertion that global warming is the second-greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people, right after the separation of church and state, and his boast on the Senate floor that there has never been a divorce or a homosexual in the recorded history of his family.

Rice has criticized Inhofe's support for President George W. Bush's proposals, and has characterized Inhofe as "out of touch" and "stubborn." Inhofe's ads claim Rice is "everything Oklahoma is not," painting Rice as a liberal supporter of gay marriage and of presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Wallace was out campaigning Friday afternoon, saying he still plans to win. Wallace said he has a personal grievance against Inhofe. Wallace has legal documents posted on his campaign Web site that provide some information regarding Wallace's fight for his sister's assets after she was declared disabled as a person who has Down syndrome, though Wallace declined to discuss the details of the allegations on Friday. Wallace was more friendly to Rice.

"I think Rice is a good guy," said Wallace, "but he's young. He needs to concentrate on being a state senator for a while." Wallace highlighted his business experience, and said the fact that he has not held public office before means he is not a politician and understands voters better.

Originally published by Janice Francis-Smith.

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