TULSA — The race for a State Senate District that includes parts of south Tulsa, Bixby, and Jenks has gotten rather heated in recent days, with both candidates pointing out what they call misleading or false ads from their opponents.

This week, both Republican candidates for Oklahoma State Senate District 25 visited the KRMG studios to discuss the race: State Rep. Jeff Boatman, and Bixby Mayor Brian Guthrie.

Much of the contention has centered on so-called “dark money” ads which are paid for by political action committees, which often don’t divulge the names of their donors.

Most of those ads have targeted Guthrie, or favored Boatman, Guthrie pointed out Tuesday.

In fact, he said he’s not seen or heard of any such ads which support his campaign.

Boatman, on Monday, acknowledged the existence and intent of the ads in question, but pointed out that none of them were paid for or approved by his campaign.

He did admit his most recent campaign pieces were a bit more pointed, saying he was responding to a mischaracterization of his activities in the Oklahoma House.

The dark money ads were mentioned by Gov. Kevin Stitt in his recently announced endorsement of Guthrie.

Boatman told KRMG he was surprised by that endorsement, since he’d voted with governor “probably 99 percent of the time.”

The glaring exception, he added, was his recent vote to override the governor’s veto on a bill that would increase retirement benefits for peace officers.

Guthrie said the veto override had nothing to do with the endorsement, and that it was actually about his support for eliminating the personal income tax in Oklahoma.

You can hear from both men on these issues HERE, or by using the audio player above.