Why Education Has Become a Top Issue in the Midterms

Oklahoma isn't anybody's idea of a swing state--by any measure, it's one of the most Republican places in the country. But a poll in July put the Democratic nominee for governor, Drew Edmondson, up by a point over his Republican opponent, 40-39. Edmondson thinks he knows why: "The policies of the last eight years have driven us into a billion-dollar deficit and created a terrible situation in our schools," he tells TIME. "That's what drove me into this race in the first place.