Four of the five House members of the Oklahoma Congressional delegation drew opponents for the November General Election. The fifth- Congressman Frank Lucas did not. Lucas secured reelection in June when he received more than 73% of the vote in a three-way Republican primary, since no Democrat or independent ran for the seat.
First elected in a special election in 1994, the rancher from Cheyenne, Oklahoma, currently chairs the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and is the longest-serving member of the House Agriculture Committee. He is the dean of the state’s Congressional delegation.
Congressman Tom Cole easily won reelection- defeating Democrat Mary Brannon and Independent James Stacy with 65% of the Fourth District’s vote. This will be Cole’s 12th term in the U.S. House representing the 4th Congressional District, which includes 13 counties in south-central and southwest Oklahoma and the state’s two largest military installations: Fort Sill and Tinker Air Force Base. A citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, Cole serves as chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
Republican Rep. Stephanie Bice won reelection to her Fifth District U.S. House seat representing Oklahoma on Tuesday. She defeated Democrat Madison Horn, a cybersecurity expert from Oklahoma City. Bice, a former state senator from Edmond, first won the Oklahoma City-area seat from a Democrat in 2020.
Republican Rep. Kevin Hern won reelection to his First District U.S. House seat representing Oklahoma on Tuesday. He defeated Democrat Dennis Baker, a former Tulsa police officer and FBI agent. Hern was first elected in 2018 to the seat that includes most of Tulsa and several of its surrounding suburbs. Hern has moved quickly up the GOP leadership ranks in the House and currently leads the Republican Study Committee.
Oklahoma’s Second District Congressman, Josh Brecheen defeated Democrat Brandon Wade and Independent Ronnie Hopkins as he secured 74% of the vote to win his second term as a US Congressman.
Neither one of Oklahoma’s US Senators were facing reelection this cycle- but both Senator James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin were winners Tuesday night- as the GOP will become the Majority in January for at least the next two years. Several races remain undecided early Wednesday- but the Republicans could hold as many of 54 seats once all the votes are counted in the days to come.
Senator Lankford told the Oklahoma Farm Report in a statement provided Tuesday evening that ““Lankford will head back to DC next week when they will vote on leadership and where he could end up the Vice Chair of the Senate Republican Conference (4th in Leadership). Depending on Senator Rand Paul’s decision to lead the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee or the Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee, Lankford could also be the committee Chair for Homeland Security.”
In the only statewide race in Oklahoma (except for the President)- In the Corporation Commission race, voters chose Bingman to replace Bob Anthony, the longest-serving utility commissioner in the United States and the longest-serving statewide-elected official in Oklahoma. Anthony was first elected in 1988 and could not seek reelection owing to the imposition of term limits.
Bingman prevailed among the three candidates on Tuesday’s ballot for the open Corporation Commission seat, winning the election with 63.71 percent of the more than 1.5 million votes cast. Harold Spradling, a Democrat, received 28.88 percent support. Chad Williams, a Libertarian, received 7.41 percent of the vote.
Bingman will be sworn into his new position in January and will serve alongside Commissioner Kim David, the OCC’s chairwoman, and Commissioner Todd Hiett, whom some legislators have asked to resign following allegations of habitual drunkenness and sexual assault.
Tuesday’s online results are unofficial until they are certified by the Oklahoma State Election Board.
