Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, today issued a statement praising the conservative rating for the Oklahoma Legislature after the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Foundation’s Center for Legislative Accountability (CLA) released its 2023 ratings of the voting records of state legislators in all fifty states. Oklahoma was ranked as the second most conservative legislature in the country, trailing only West Virginia.
“The most recent CPAC rating comes after almost a decade of hard work to champion conservative principles here in Oklahoma,” McCall said. “During my tenure as Speaker, Oklahoma has moved from 16th to second on the list, as we have focused on championing conservative principles in the House, to the benefit of our state and constituents. Legislators currently serving, and those who came before, have contributed to this conservative movement and should be proud of all we have accomplished. I am thankful that my colleagues have helped turn Oklahoma from a state ranked near the bottom in every category, into a growing, thriving state that is moving up the rankings rapidly. That upward movement is a testament to the value of conservative policies, and I am thankful we have laid a strong foundation for future generations to build upon. I appreciate the work that CPAC has done to introduce and support strong conservative legislation both in Oklahoma and across the nation, and look forward to more conservative success for our state in the future.”
A separate ranking showed Oklahoma to be 18th in the nation for how often Republicans voted together on conservative issues. McCall said that is the result of a large Republican Caucus with diverse membership from across the state.
“When you have a Caucus the size of ours here in Oklahoma, you have a lot of voices advocating for their individual districts on the issues,” McCall said. “That can lead to nuanced votes and conversations where representatives may not vote for a particular bill based on the will of their constituents, but if the bill were in danger of failing, they would vote to make sure the Caucus priority got across the finish line. With a majority of this size, members have the ability to display their individuality more often than in battleground states, but even so, the legislation coming out of the House has resulted in our body being ranked the second most conservative Legislature in the country. From passing Save Women’s Sports, to tax cuts, to the nation’s strongest pro-life bills, the Oklahoma House of Representatives is helping to keep Oklahoma the reddest state in the nation. The House has led on issues regarding prohibitions on CRT being taught in the classroom, maximizing pension returns by stopping investments in ESG funds and prohibiting men from using girl’s bathrooms. We are proud of accomplishing conservative goals on behalf of our constituents, and will continue to do so both now and in the future.”
The Center for Legislative Accountability (CLA), an initiative of the CPAC Foundation, is the premier organization for holding lawmakers accountable. The CLA, widely recognized as the “gold standard” for evaluating an elected officials voting record, produces the longest-running conservative congressional scorecard, and their state program is the only one in the nation that scores all 8,000 lawmakers in the 50 states across every policy area.
