By Constitution Staff

Special Elections to fill vacancies in the Oklahoma Legislature continue to advance, with two seats filled and others moving toward the final election. The vacancies were the result of the resignation of three legislators, two in the Senate and one in the House.

As we reported in our Winter 2024 edition, in the Special General Election on December 12, Republican Dusty Deevers, CEO of Deevers Properties and also the pastor of Grace Community Church in Elgin, won election to Senate District 32 in southwestern Oklahoma. He filled the seat of Sen. John Michael Montgomery (R-Lawton) who announced that he was resigning from the Oklahoma Senate effective August 1, 2023 to accept the role of president and CEO of the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce.

House District 39

State Representative Ryan Martinez resigned from his House District 39 seat on September 1, 2023 after pleading guilty to a felony offense of being in physical control of a vehicle while intoxicated. Seven Republicans, two Democrats and one Libertarian filed for the open seat. Since Richard Prawdzienski, 75, of Edmond was the only Libertarian to file, he advanced directly to the Special General Election ballot. Prawdzienski is a real estate investor and was an independent candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma in 2010. He ran unsuccessfully as a Libertarian candidate for District 41 of the Oklahoma State Senate in 2012 and again in 2016. In the 2014 he was an independent candidate for Oklahoma Governor.

The seven Republicans competed for the nomination in the Special Primary Election on December 12, 2023. In that election, attorney Erick Harris, 36, of Edmond won the GOP nomination. Prior to entering private practice, Harris served as an assistant attorney general in the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office. He has also taught American Government at the University of Central Oklahoma for nearly 10 years as an adjunct professor. The former Democrat was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for State Senator in District 30 in 2018, losing in the primary.

In the Democratic primary, Regan Raff, 43, of Edmond captured the nomination. He is the owner of a small business doing bookkeeping.

The winners of the Republican and Democratic primaries joined the Libertarian candidate in the Special General Election on February 13, 2024. Harris won the election with 2,507 votes (50.37%). Raff finished second with 2,246 (45.13%). Prawdzienski followed with 224 vote (4.5%). Harris was sworn in as a member of the Oklahoma House on February 21 and will serve the remainder of Martinez’s two-year term. The legislative session was already in progress, having begun on February 5, but few critical votes on legislation had occurred before he took office.

Harris filed for reelection to a full term and will again be opposed in November by Libertarian Prawdzienski, but no Democrat filed.

Special Elections for two Senate Districts

Senators serve four-year terms, with half of the seats up for election each election cycle. The even numbered districts will not be on the ballot until 2026. The odd numbered seats are up for election this year. However, two of the even numbered will be on the ballot because the seats are being vacated in the middle of the term – one due to Term-Limits and the other due to a resignation. Gov. Stitt set the Special Election dates to coincide with the schedule for the other elections this year. The filing period was set for April 3-5. The Special Primary election will be held on June 18. The Special Runoff Primary Election, if necessary, will be held on August 27, 2024. And, the Special General Election will be on November 5.

Senate District 46

Although incumbent Senate Minority Leader Kay Floyd (D-Oklahoma City) was reelected in 2022 to a four-year term, she is Term-Limited this year in the middle of her term. This was the result of the time she served in the House before her election to the Senate. Therefore, a Special Election is being held for the seat this year. She was elected to the seat in the House in 2012.

Two Democrats, a Republican, and an independent filed for the open seat. Democrat Mark Mann, 52, is an insurance agent and attorney. Sam Wargin Grimaldo, 36, is an attorney. He previously worked with the Latino Community Development Agency to provide youth and family programming before becoming a high school teacher for OKC Public Schools. Charles Barton, 69, of Del City was the only Republican to file. Independent David Pilchman, 34, of Oklahoma City is a theater production manager.

Senate District 48

Sen. George Young (D-Oklahoma City) submitted a resignation letter effective November 15, 2024 in the middle of his term. He was first elected to the Oklahoma House in 2014 and then to the Senate in 2018. Young, is pastor at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, In addition to his pastoral work, Young is a certified mediation specialist in family and divorce issues.

Only two candidates, both Democrats, filed for the open seat. So, the new senator will be elected in the June 18 Special Primary Election, but will not take office until after November 15.

Nikki Nice, 43, is the Ward 8 Oklahoma City Councilwoman. Nice was first elected to the OKC City Council in 2018 and was reelected in 2021.

Former Sen. Connie Johnson, 71, is running to return to her old seat. She was among the most liberal members of the Oklahoma Senate with a cumulative average of just 12% on the Oklahoma Conservative Index published by the Oklahoma Constitution. She was the Democrat nominee in 2014 for the U.S. Senate and lost to Senator James Lankford. She ran for governor in 2018, and lost the Democrat nomination to former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson who went on to be defeated by Kevin Stitt in the General Election. She ran for governor again in 2018 and lost the nomination to Joy Hofmeister.