Republicans in Oklahoma had a massive fundraising advantage over their Democratic opponents.
Republicans in Oklahoma are heavily favoured to keep all five of the state’s U.S. House seats on Election Day, but the party will welcome a new face to the delegation following U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe’s retirement announcement.
Only one of the five the sprawling 2nd Congressional District in eastern Oklahoma — has an open seat, with five-term Republican incumbent Rep. Markwayne Mullin resigning to run for Inhofe’s Senate seat.
Former state Sen. Josh Brecheen, a Choctaw Nation citizen and the owner of a Coal County excavation company, defeated Democrat Naomi Andrews, a political newcomer who lives outside the district in Tulsa, on Tuesday.
Brecheen, a protege and former field worker for the late U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, a powerful figure in state Republican politics, promised to serve no more than eight years in the U.S. House. Mullin made a similar promise when he first ran in 2012, saying he would only serve for six years, but then broke it when he ran for re-election in 2018.
Republican candidates in each of Oklahoma’s five congressional districts have vast fundraising advantages over their Democratic opponents.
Brecheen, who received a last-minute endorsement from former President Donald Trump, raised nearly $540,000, compared to less than $8,000 for Andrews, according to the most recent campaign finance reports.
Ben Robinson, a former Democratic state senator from Muskogee, ran as an independent but reported no funds raised.
First-term Republican U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice is favoured over Democrat Joshua Harris-Till and independent David Frosch in Oklahoma City’s 5th Congressional District. The district was held by the last Democrat in Oklahoma, former U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, but it was redrawn by Republicans after Bice narrowly defeated Horn in 2020 to make it safer for Republicans.
According to the most recent campaign finance reports, Bice raised more than $2.3 million, the most of any U.S. House candidate in Oklahoma, compared to about $53,000 for Harris-Till.
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, the longest-serving member of Oklahoma’s congressional delegation, easily defeated his Democratic opponent.
Incumbent Republican Reps. Tom Cole, Kevin Hern, and Frank Lucas are also heavy favourites to win reelection in the state’s other two congressional districts.
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