By Constitution Staff

The seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up each election year since they serve two-year terms. All five of the seats in Oklahoma will see contests this year. The Primary Election will be held on June 28, and the Runoff Primary Election on August 23. The General Election will be on November 8. While the districts have boundaries which determine who can vote for each of the seats, a candidate is not required to live in the district. There are several instances of that anomaly this year.

Following the 2020 U.S. Census, the Oklahoma Legislature made some modifications to the boundaries of the congressional districts. The new boundaries go into effect starting with the 2022 elections and will remain in effect through the 2030 elections.

U.S. House – First District

The boundary changes following the 2020 U.S. Census modified the First District by shifting Washington County and eastern Wagoner County from the First Congressional District to the Second. And the portion in eastern Creek County was expanded to include Sapulpa. All of Tulsa County and a small part of western Rogers County remain in the district. The adjustments were necessary following the increase of population in the Tulsa metropolitan area, which is the bulk of the district.

Incumbent Republican Kevin Hern, 60, is running for reelection. He was first elected to the seat in 2018 and was reelected in 2020. He is the owner of KTAK Corporation which owns and operates 24 McDonald’s restaurants. Hern was reelected in 2020 with 63.70% of the vote.

Hern is not being challenged for the Republican nomination, but will face a Democrat and an independent in the November election.

The only Democrat to file was Adam Martin of Tulsa. Martin, 26, grew up in Wagoner and graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2020with a degree in history.

Independent candidate Evelyn Rogers, 69, of Tulsa is a college librarian at Tulsa Community College and has been a perennial candidate. She ran for the U.S. Senate in 2008 and 2014, and seven times for a seat in the U.S. House, including the First District in 2020 where she received 3.62% of the vote in the General Election. She has also run for a seat in the Oklahoma Legislature. She has never been elected to office.

U.S. House – Second District

The Second District covers most of eastern Oklahoma, stretching south from the Kansas state line to the Red River border with Texas. As a result of the 2020 U.S. Census, the boundaries around the First District were modified as previously described.

Markwayne Mullin is not running for a another term, choosing instead to run for the open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Inhofe. With the Second District seat open for the first time in a decade, a flurry of candidate have filed for the seat. Sixteen candidates including 14 Republicans, one Democrat and one independent, have filed for the open seat. The list includes six former or current members of the Oklahoma Legislature.

John Bennett, 47, of Vian resigned as chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party after filing for the open seat. He was elected to the party post last year. He previously served in the Oklahoma Legislature. He was elected to the Oklahoma House in 2010 and did not run for reelection in 2018. During his eight years in the Oklahoma House he had a cumulative average score of 69% on the Oklahoma Conservative Index. Bennett served in the U.S. Marine Corps and remained on active duty for 14 years. He did tours of duty in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He has worked for a Sheriff’s Department as a part of a drug task force and has been the owner of a storm shelter business. He also serves as the Pastor of Lee Creek Assembly of God.

Rhonda Hopkins, 46, of Rose is making her second run for the Republican nomination for the Second District seat. When she ran is 2020 she finished in third place with 7.39%. In 2016 and 2018 she was a candidate for State Representative. She has worked as a nursing assistant with the Cherokee Nation for the past ten years. Previously she worked as an Intermediate level EMT and a Reserve officer.

Josh Brecheen, 42, of Coalgate was a member of the Oklahoma Senate from 2010 to 2018. During his eight years in the Oklahoma Senate he had a cumulative average score of 82% on the Oklahoma Conservative Index. Before his election to the Legislature, he worked for former U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn. He has also owned a quarter-horse breeding operation.

David Derby, 45, of Owasso was a member of the Oklahoma House from 2006-2016. During the ten years he served in the Oklahoma House he had a cumulative average score of 76% on the Oklahoma Conservative Index. He began his professional career as a forensic chemist, including work for the Tulsa Police Department, and is currently a pharmacist.

Marty Quinn, 62, of Claremore is currently a member of the Oklahoma Senate and cannot run for reelection this year due to Term Limits. He has served in the State Senate since 2014, and before that served four years in the Oklahoma House. He has a cumulative average score of 72% on the Oklahoma Conservative Index. He has spent his professional career in the insurance business.

Dustin Roberts, 38, of Durant is currently a member of the Oklahoma House and cannot run for reelection this year due to Term Limits. During the time he has served in the Oklahoma House he has a cumulative average score of 58% on the Oklahoma Conservative Index. He is a U.S. Navy veteran and a citizen of the Choctaw Nation. He is also a small business owner.

Avery Frix, 28, of Muskogee has been a member of the Oklahoma House since 2016. He has a cumulative average score of 56% on the Oklahoma Conservative Index. He comes from a long line of builders dating back to his great-grandfather, who started Frix Construction in 1940. In addition to working in the family business, he is also the owner of Oxford Productions, a tourism and facility management company.

Wes Nofire, 35, of Park Hill is a member of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council. He has often been at odds with Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. over such issues as executive spending power and negotiations with the state concerning the McGirt decision. He was a professional boxer and competed under the name “The Cherokee Warrior.”

Pamela Gordon, 62, of McAlester is the former executive director of McAlester Defense Support Services. She has previously worked as a school superintendent, crime scene investigator, and contractor with the U.S. Marine Corps..

Guy Barker, 32, of Monkey Island at Grand Lake is the secretary-treasurer of the Quapaw Nation. He is a graduate of the Oklahoma City University School of Law and worked for the Oklahoma Supreme Court. He is also a small business owner.

Johnny Teehee, 57, of Vian has worked in law enforcement for 35 years is currently the Chief of Police in Muskogee. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He is also a high school football position coach for Vian High School. He and his wife are members of the Cherokee Nation.

Chris Schiller, 45, of Muskogee is a pharmacist and the owner of Economy Pharmacy and founder of Kapsulations. He is a past president of the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association.

Erick Wyatt, 43, of Kingston is a retired U.S. Army sergeant who served in Iraq. In 2014 he ran for the U.S. Senate, finishing in third place with 4.4% of the vote in the GOP primary against Senator Inhofe. He also made an unsuccessful race for the Oklahoma House in 2018.

Clint Johnson, 49, of Tahlequah is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who has worked as a Cherokee County Sheriff’s deputy. He has previously run unsuccessfully for Cherokee County Sheriff.

With so many Republicans running, the contest for the GOP nomination is unlikely to be determined in the June 28 Primary, and the contest will extend to the Runoff Primary on August 23. The Winner will face a Democrat and an independent on the November ballot.

Naomi Andrews, 39, of Tulsa was the only Democrat to file. She is the First District vice-chairwoman for the Oklahoma Democratic Party. She has worked in communications and is currently the director of marketing and development for the Kingsley-Kleimann Group and executive director for the Center for Plain Language.

Bulldog Ben Robinson, 88, of Muskogee filed as an independent. He is a former Democrat legislator who served in the Oklahoma Senate from 1989-2004. He was forced to retire after Term Limits kicked in. During his time in the Oklahoma Senate he had a cumulative average score of just 14% on the Oklahoma Conservative Index.

U.S. House – Third District

The third district covers most of the north central and western parts of the state, including the panhandle. Geographically, it covers about half the land area of the state. The boundary changes following the 2020 U.S. Census extend the district into southwestern Oklahoma County, which includes a portion of south Oklahoma City and a part near downtown. This area was part of the Fifth District. Meanwhile, Lincoln County, and the southern part of Logan County, including Guthrie, were removed from the Third District and shifted to the Fifth District. These areas are to the east and north of Oklahoma County. A portion of eastern Canadian County (west of Oklahoma County), including Yukon and Piedmont, was also removed and shifted to the Fifth District.

Long-time Congressman Frank Lucas, 62, of Cheyenne was first elected in a Special Election in 1994. He is the longest serving member among the current Oklahoma Delegation in the U.S. House, and is running for reelection. He is a former State Representative and runs a ranching operation. He was reelected in 2020 with 78.49% of the vote. He has two challengers for the Republican nomination. One Democrat also filed for the seat. He has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Wade Burleson, 60, of Enid is challenging Lucas for the Republican nomination. For thirty years, until his retirement in February, he was Lead Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, which has a congregation of over 3,000 members. He also served two terms as President of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. He is an author with published books and articles on American history and biblical theology. His campaign materials promote him as “a vocal champion for informed consent in medicine, parental choice in education, free and open markets in business, and non-governmental interference in ranching and farming.” Burleson says Congressman Lucas is a career politician who doesn’t look beyond the agricultural industry and has compromised conservative principles.

Also challenging Lucas for the GOP nomination is Stephen Butler, 59, a Yukon businessman.

The Republican nominee will face a Democrat on the November ballot. Jeremiah Ross, 38, of Bristow is a criminal defense attorney and was previously an Assistant Attorney General for the Osage Nation. He previously ran for a seat in the Oklahoma House, but lost in the Democratic primary.

U.S. House – Fourth District

The Fourth District covers much of south central and the southwestern parts of the state. There were no significant changes made to the boundaries following U.S. 2020 Census. Congressman Tom Cole, 72, of Moore is running for reelection. Cole was first elected to Congress in 2002. He previously served in the Oklahoma Senate 1989-90. He was reelected in 2020 with 67.79% of the vote.

Congressman Cole has two challengers for the GOP nomination.

James Taylor, 63, of Oklahoma City is again challenging Cole for the Republican nomination. He previously ran for the seat in 2016, 2018, and 2020. Taylor was one of two Republicans to run against Cole in 2016 and finished in second place to Cole with 18% of the vote. When he ran in 2018 he received 35% of the vote against Cole. In 2020 he received 15.19% of the primary vote. Dr. Taylor, who is black, says that he would be more conservative than Cole. He is the author of It’s Biblical, Not Political, which guides Christian voters on how to vet political candidates to ensure they will follow the Constitution and the intent of our Founding Fathers to limit federal power while protecting the rights of the states and people respectively. Taylor was a U.S. History teacher in Oklahoma City Public Schools before being fired for refusing to comply with the district’s mask mandate. He has also been the senior pastor of Christ’s Church in Norman.

Also challenging Cole for the nomination is Frank Blacke, 45, of Oklahoma City.

The winner of the Republican nomination will face Democrat Mary Brannon, 70, of Washington, OK. She won the Democrat nomination in both 2018 and 2020. Brannon received 33% of the vote in the General Election against Cole in 2018, and 28.78% in 2020. She is a former teacher and school counselor.

U.S. House – Fifth District

For the last decade, the Fifth District has included most of Oklahoma County and all of Pottawatomie and Seminole counties. But, the redistricting made several adjustments to the district. Lincoln County and the southern part of Logan County, including Guthrie, were added to the district. Previously they were part of the Third District. And a portion of eastern Canadian County, including Yukon and Piedmont, were also added. Meanwhile a portion of south Oklahoma City and a part near downtown were shifted from the Fifth district to the Third.

The big news coming out of the 2018 Oklahoma congressional elections was the flipping of the Fifth District seat from Republican to Democrat when Kendra Horn defeated the incumbent, Steve Russell. Oklahoma had not had a Democrat in Congress since 2012. And, for the first time in state history Oklahoma had a Democrat woman to Congress.

Nine Republicans were competing in 2020 to return the seat to the GOP and State Sen. Stephanie Bice of Edmond secured the Republican nomination and went on to defeat Congresswoman Horn. Bice was elected to the Oklahoma Senate in 2014 and reelected in 2018. Although Bice was a moderate Republican, earning a 56% cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index for the six years that she had been in office, she has been far more conservative than the liberal Congresswoman Horn. Bice, 48, won the seat in 2020 with 52.06% of the vote, and is running for reelection.

One conservative Republican is challenging Bice for the GOP nomination. Subrina Banks, 44, of Edmond is owner of LUX Real Estate Group. She also hosts a YouTube show called Me, Myself and Liberty.

Democrats have their sights on recapturing the seat. But, the recent boundary changes will make it more difficult to flip the district as they did in 2018. The areas added to the district tend to vote Republican, while the areas removed tend to vote Democrat. One Democrat filed for the seat.

Joshua Harris-Till, 32, of Oklahoma City lists himself as a brand management consultant, but he has spent most of his adult life in Democratic politics. He got his start in politics working as an intern in former Congressman Dan Boren’s district office. He was elected president of the Young Democrats of America in 2019. He ran unsuccessfully for Congress in the Second District in 2014 and 2016, losing to Congressman Markwayne Mullin. In the 2016 race he received 23.2% of the vote.

There will also be an independent candidate on the November ballot, David Frosch, 36, of Oklahoma City.