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Sullivan, according to aides, had returned to Washington, D.C.

Bridenstine was reporting for duty in the Navy Reserve, said campaign manager Erik Zoellner.

Zoellner said the Bridenstine camp went into election day thinking their candidate would probably win. If so, they were about the only ones who saw the eight-point victory coming.

"We all missed this," said University of Oklahoma political science professor Keith Gaddie.

"You could see something like this happening to Sullivan eventually, but nobody saw this time. If they say they did, they're lying."

Any loss by a congressional incumbent is rare. It last happened in Oklahoma in 1994, when retired school administrator Virgil Cooper defeated 2nd District U.S. Rep. Mike Synar in the Democratic primary and in so doing helped launch the political career of Tom Coburn.

Cooper, a protest candidate, did not really contest the general election and even encouraged people to vote for Coburn, who became the first Republican in 70 years to represent the 2nd District.

In that instance, voters had become discontented with what was perceived, at least, as Synar's increasingly liberal voting record at a time when conservatives were seizing control of Congress.

Long-time state political observer Bill Shapard said Sullivan had no similar ideological break with the electorate.

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Anatomy of an upset: How Jim Bridenstine beat Rep. John Sullivan