Donald Trump at the Oklahoma State Fair

OKLAHOMA CITY — Ramesh Moorjani stood out at the Donald Trump rally Friday evening at the Oklahoma State Fairground for what he’s not — a Trump supporter.

“I don’t like him,” admitted Moorjani, an Indian immigrant who lives in Joplin, Missouri. “The reason is he’s too brash. He’s going to fight with everybody. Anybody says anything (bad) about him, he lashes out and goes berserk. When you are a president, you have to bring all of the nations together.”

Moorjani’s opinion, however, was in the slim minority among several thousand people who surrounded him.

Trump’s popularity is soaring in deeply conservative Oklahoma, as reflected in this week’s Sooner Poll survey, which asked 320 likely Republican voters who they support. Almost one-third said they would cast a ballot for Trump.

Ben Carson received 22.5 percent. Others in the crowded Republican field garnered less than 10 percent of the support apiece.

Sooner Poll’s findings mirror results of an August straw poll in Payne County. Of 91 voters asked, 51 had thrown their support behind Trump.

Such lopsided opinions also have been on display when Republican candidates stop here. Most draw a few hundred supporters, said Estela Hernandez, interim chair for the state’s Republican Party.

Trump’s public rally at the state fair attracted several thousand.

“I think individuals, whether they support or disagree, kind of want to come to see what he had to say,” Hernandez said prior to the event, adding that she’s trying to remain neutral until Oklahoman Republicans settle on a finalist to support amid the crowded field. She planned to attend herself.

Hernandez did acknowledge that Trump’s often brazen and unapologetic style strikes some voters as divisive.

“I think the upside to it is he’s brought a conversation that many individuals feel uncomfortable having,” she said. “While his comments may be divisive to some, to many he’s speaking what many others are thinking.”

Three hours before Trump was set to arrive at his “Make America Great Again” rally, several hundred people were already gathered and buzzing about his impending arrival.

Helicopters hovered overhead, and organizers handed out signs that bore slogans such as “The silent majority stands with Trump” and “Trump: Make America great again!”

Lana Stephens, of Oklahoma City, said she hopes Trump can indeed make America great again. She arrived more than four hours early to stake out a spot near the stage and stretched out in the grass.

“I wasn’t a Trump supporter until the last debate,” she said. “He came off as personal – calm. Before, I wasn’t sure. I thought he was a little bit of, I hate to say the word, a blowhard.”

Stephens said she likes Trump because he can make money, and she believes he would balance the budget.

However, she doesn’t particularly like his idea of building a wall along the southern border of country and then sending the bill to Mexico.

“Germany saw that that wall wasn’t such a great idea, and they tore it down,” she said. “It just seems we should have another way to do it. I just think it’s pretty cold putting up a wall. Plus, Mexico wouldn’t pay.”

Chris Ochoa, of Oklahoma City, however, said he’s convinced a wall is good solution to the nation’s struggles with immigration and that Trump’s plan to level tariffs and taxes against Mexico to pay for it is a sound idea.

Ochoa said politicians have done little to address the immigration problem.

“All they do is talk,” he said. “So, I just want to that giant wall go up. If he messes a few other things up, that’s fine, but I want to that wall go up.”

Nearby, LaDonna Mangile, of Joplin, said she remains undecided about which Republican candidate to support. She’s ultimately looking for a candidate who will actually do what they pledge to do while stumping for votes.

She finds Trump appealing because he backs the military, is pledging to bring back jobs, and wants to tackle immigration, she said.

“The border really needs to be closed down,” she said. “I like people from other countries, but I think they should come legally.”

Mangile said she already was planning to attend the fair to show a Mediterranean donkey. She was excited when she heard Trump planned to speak.

Adam Soltani, executive director of Oklahoma’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, was less thrilled by Trump’s appearance.

He said Trump may be leading the polls, but he has “a history of hateful and divisive comments that are bigoted in nature,” and he fears a segment of the state’s population will be receptive to those messages.

“It’s really sad that someone who has such negative views is getting so much support as presidential candidate,” Soltani said, adding that Trump is encouraging people to live in fear and ignorance, and he is perpetuating misunderstandings of many minority groups.

Soltani did not plan to attend the event, and his group encouraged Muslims to avoid it in case Trump’s rhetoric turned ugly.

“Someone who is running for that office could be a catalyst for dialogue, could encourage people to know one another and look past their fears,” he said. “But Donald Trump has done the exact opposite of that.”

Janelle Stecklein covers the Oklahoma Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach her at jstecklein@cnhi.com