Oklahoma
Packed CD 2 race tops Oklahoma congressional contests
The race for Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District guarantees to be a mad sprint, with a grand complete of 16 candidates throwing their hats within the ring earlier than the submitting deadline at 5 p.m. Friday.
The CD 2 seat is being vacated by U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, who has set his sights on the U.S. Senate, and it’s the one one of many state’s 5 congressional districts that gained’t have an incumbent within the race.
CD 2 can be notable as a result of it covers a lot of japanese Oklahoma and, consequently, most of the areas which were affirmed as Indian Nation reservations by McGirt v. Oklahoma and subsequent courtroom choices.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who can be up for reelection this 12 months, has been pushing to restrict the ramifications of the SCOTUS choice — lots of which, resembling numerous tax and jurisdiction questions, are nonetheless up within the authorized air — or to have the choice repealed totally.
The way forward for state-tribal relations guarantees to characteristic closely within the CD 2 race, the place candidates embody state legislators, the controversial head of the Oklahoma GOP, officers from tribal nations, members of legislation enforcement, a number of tribal residents, political newcomers and a former skilled boxer.
Although this 12 months’s different congressional races may not promise fairly as a lot drama as CD 2, the incumbents have all drawn a number of challengers. And with submitting charges for congressional races at $1,000 a pop, this election season may be maddening, nevertheless it has on the very least been profitable one for the state.
The next overview of Oklahoma’s 2022 candidates for the U.S. Home of Representatives was gathered from publicly obtainable data. Candidates are introduced in alphabetical order.
CD 1
U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern, 60, Tulsa, Republican (incumbent) — Hern is working for his third time period in CD 1. An aerospace engineer by coaching, Hern owns 24 McDonald’s franchises and has labored in numerous capacities within the McDonald’s system. First elected in 2018, Hern didn’t maintain political workplace earlier than representing CD 1 in Congress.
Adam Martin, 26, Tulsa, Democrat — Martin, an OSU graduate with a level in historical past, is working for workplace for the primary time. He’s initially from Wagoner and has expressed aspirations to check legislation.
Evelyn L. Rogers, 69, Tulsa, unbiased — Rogers is a librarian at Tulsa Group Faculty and has been lively within the Republican Get together. She has run for the Oklahoma Legislature, the U.S. Home and the U.S. Senate a number of instances previously however has by no means held workplace.
CD 2
Naomi Andrews, 39, Tulsa, Democrat — Andrews is the one Democrat within the race. She is the CD1 vice-chairwoman for the state Democratic Get together. She has spent her profession in communications and at present works because the director of promoting and improvement for the Kingsley-Kleimann Group and government director for the Middle for Plain Language.
Man Barker, 32, Monkey Island, Republican — Barker is the secretary-treasurer of the Quapaw Nation, whose reservation was affirmed by the Oklahoma Court docket of Legal Appeals in 2021. He’s a petroleum engineer by coaching and a graduate of Oklahoma Metropolis College College of Regulation. In a latest conversation with Reese Gorman, of The Frontier, Barker emphasised his assist of tribal sovereignty, describing CD 2 as primarily “15 totally different sovereign nations.”
John Bennett, 47, Vian, Republican — Bennett is the present chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Get together. A Marine Corps veteran, he represented HD 2 within the Oklahoma Legislature from 2011-2019. He’s maybe finest recognized for statements he has made about Muslims being terrorists and calling Islam “a most cancers in our nation that must be reduce out.” In a extremely uncommon transfer for a state get together official, he has publicly supported U.S. Sen. James Lankford’s challenger, Jackson Lahmeyer, citing Lankford’s vote to certify the 2020 presidential election outcomes.
Josh Brecheen, 42, Coalgate, Republican — Brecheen represented SD 6 within the Oklahoma Senate from 2010 to 2018. He beforehand labored for former U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, owned a quarter-horse breeding operation and ran a motivational-speaking firm.
David Derby, 45, Owasso, Republican — Derby represented HD 74 within the Oklahoma Home from 2006-2016. He’s a pharmacist however began his profession working as a forensic chemist, together with for the Tulsa Police Division.
Rep. Avery Frix, 28, Muskogee, Republican — The youngest candidate within the race, Frix has represented HD 13 within the Oklahoma Home since 2016. He works for Frix Building, a enterprise began by his great-grandfather. He’s a citizen of the Choctaw Nation.
Pamela Gordon, 62, McAlester, Republican — Gordon is the previous director of McAlester Protection Assist Companies and has labored as a faculty supervisor and crime scene investigator, based on her marketing campaign web site.
Rhonda Hopkins, 46, Rose, Republican — Not a lot background data is obtainable on-line about Hopkins. She beforehand ran for CD 2 in 2020, receiving roughly 7 p.c within the Republican major. She additionally ran for the Oklahoma Home in 2016 and 2018.
Clint Johnson, 49, Tahlequah, Republican — Johnson (to not be confused with the U.S. Lawyer who shares his title) is a Marine Corps veteran who has labored as a Cherokee County Sheriff’s deputy. In earlier elections, he has run unsuccessfully for Cherokee County Sheriff.
Wes Nofire, 35, Park Hill, Republican — Nofire is a member of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council. He has traditionally butted heads with Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. over points resembling government spending energy and negotiations with the state within the wake of McGirt. Nofire is a former skilled boxer who competed below the title The Cherokee Warrior.
Sen. Marty Quinn, 62, Claremore, Republican — Quinn has held SD 2 within the State Senate since 2014, and earlier than that served 4 years within the Home. He has spent his skilled profession within the insurance coverage trade. A big share of Republican voters in CD2 dwell in Quinn’s present district.
Rep. Dustin Roberts, 38, Durant, Republican — Roberts is ending out his last time period representing HD 21 the Oklahoma Legislature and is at present the deputy flooring chief for the Home. He’s a Navy veteran and a citizen of the Choctaw Nation.
“Bulldog” Ben Robinson, 88, Muskogee, unbiased — Robinson is a former legislator who served within the Oklahoma Senate from 1989-2004, earlier than being compelled to retire by new term-limit restrictions. On the event of his departure, the Senate handed a decision noting, “There’ll by no means be one other ‘Bulldog,’ ever the thespian, along with his distinctive mixture of quixotic laws, his prepared quips and his Technicolor wardrobe.” He was a Democrat throughout his time within the Legislature.
Chris Schiller, 45, Muskogee, Republican — Schiller is a pharmacist and the proprietor of Economic system Pharmacy. He’s a former president of the Oklahoma Pharmacists Affiliation.
Johnny Teehee, 57, Vian, Republican — Teehee is the present chief of police in Muskogee and has labored in legislation enforcement for 35 years. He’s a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
Erick P. Wyatt, 43, Kingston, Republican — Wyatt is a army veteran who served within the U.S. Coast Guard and the Military. Wyatt initially deliberate to run for the Oklahoma Home in HD 21, however he shifted to a congressional marketing campaign after Mullin introduced he wouldn’t be working for reelection.
CD 3
Wade Burleson, 60, Enid, Republican — Burleson is a Baptist minister and was the lead pastor of Emmanuel Enid for 30 years earlier than retiring in February. He advocated towards a masks ordinance in Enid in 2020 and referred to as for the recall of a metropolis commissioner who supported the ordinance.
Stephen Butler, 59, Yukon, Republican — Butler doesn’t seem to have biographical data obtainable on-line.
U.S. Rep. Frank D. Lucas, 62, Cheyenne, Republican (incumbent) — Lucas has represented CD 3 since 1994. Earlier than coming into Congress, he served 5 years within the Oklahoma Home. He comes from a farming household, has a cattle ranch and is an influential member on the Home Committee on Agriculture.
Jeremiah A. Ross, 38, Bristow, Democrat — Ross beforehand ran for Oklahoma Home District 29 however misplaced within the Democratic major.
CD 4
Frank W. Blacke, 45, Oklahoma Metropolis, Republican — Blacke doesn’t seem to have biographical data obtainable on-line.
U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, 72, Moore, Republican (incumbent) — Cole has served within the U.S. Home of Representatives since 2002. Earlier than his tenure in Congress, he was the state chairman of the Oklahoma GOP, a member of the Oklahoma State Senate and Oklahoma’s Secretary of State. He’s a founding associate of CHS & Associates, a political consulting agency. He’s a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.
James Taylor, 63, Oklahoma Metropolis, Republican — Taylor was a instructor in Oklahoma Metropolis Public Faculties earlier than being fired together with 5 different district workers for refusing to adjust to the district’s masks mandate. He’s the senior pastor of Christ’s Church, in Norman. He ran for CD 4 in 2016, 2018 and 2020 however misplaced to Cole within the major every time.
Mary Brannon, 70, Washington, Democrat — Brannon is a former faculty counselor and instructor. She has challenged Cole for CD 4 a number of instances earlier than, most lately in 2020, when obtained 28.8 p.c of the vote.
CD 5
Subrina Banks, 44, Edmond, Republican — Banks is an actual property agent in Edmond. She hosts a YouTube present referred to as Me, Myself and Liberty.
U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice, 48, Edmond, Republican (incumbent) — Bice is working for her second time period in Congress. She served within the Oklahoma Senate for six years earlier than profitable her seat in Congress in 2020. Earlier than that, she labored in her household’s know-how enterprise and ran a advertising and marketing firm.
David Okay. Frosch, 36, Oklahoma Metropolis, Unbiased — Frosch doesn’t seem to have a lot data obtainable on-line past a Twitter account.
Joshua Harris-Until, 32, Oklahoma Metropolis, Democrat — Joshua Harris-Until has spent his profession in Democratic politics, working first for U.S. Rep. Dan Boren. He’s a former president of the Younger Democrats of America. Harris-Until ran unsuccessfully for Congress in CD 2 in 2014 and 2016. A cousin of the slain Emmett Until, he was elected president of the Younger Democrats of America in 2019.
(Correction: This text was up to date at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16, to reference Dustin Roberts being in his last legislative time period.)
