TAMPA, Fla. — In an impromptu interview near the Republican National Convention forum, Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe told The Daily Caller that while some have doubts the GOP can pick up a Senate seat in Missouri, he is confident that the GOP will win both that race and the Senate majority.
“I believe it is going to happen,” Inhofe said of the possibility the GOP will take the Senate this cycle. “I know a lot of people have said Missouri was a setback, but I think we are still going to pull off Missouri. I do.”
Efforts to persuade Missouri Republican Senate candidate, Rep. Todd Akin, to drop out of the race against Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill failed earlier this month, after he came under fire for comments he made regarding so-called “legitimate rape.”
Some, including RNC chairman Reince Priebus, have speculated that Akin’s candidacy could cost the GOP not just a Senate seat, but control of the Senate. Despite the controversy, Inhofe remains optimistic on the GOP’s Senate prospects.
“I think we will end up taking over the Senate and having two seats to spare,” Inhofe asserted.
The Oklahoma Senator, who is also the ranking member on the Committee on Environment and Public Works, was complimentary of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s energy plan, noting that he and another Oklahoman had a hand in crafting the the former Massachusetts governor’s blueprint for energy independence.
“Obama has had a war on fossil fuel, that is what we have to have to run this machine, called America. On the other hand, Romney, while hasn’t had an extensive background in oil and gas, fossil fuels, a guy named Harold Hamm does,” Inhofe said. “Harold Hamm is from Oklahoma, he is arguably the largest independent producer, and he is the one who designed, with some help from me, I might add, the six point energy policy that is going to put America back to total independence from other countries — not just from the Middle East, I’m talking about Hugo Chavez.”
With Romney in the White House, Inhofe said he has high hopes for recovering America’s own natural energy resources.
“We have the largest recoverable reserves in coal, oil, and gas of any country. And we are going to exploit those,” he said.
