By Constitution Staff

Six candidates filed to run in the Special Election for the Oklahoma House District 35 seat vacated by former Rep. Ty Burns (R-Pawnee) who resigned effective October 1. Burns pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors for incidents of domestic abuse and assault involving family members in November 2024 and April 2025. He received a one-year suspended sentence and must complete a 52-week Batterer’s Intervention Program. Rep. Burns was one of the more moderate Republicans in the Legislature, earning a 67% cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index for the five years he served.

House District 35 includes parts of Pawnee, Payne, Creek, Noble and Osage counties. Gov. Kevin Stitt set October 6-7 for the filing period, and five Republicans and one Democrat filed for the seat. Primary elections were set for December 9, and if no candidate receives a majority in the primary, the top two vote getters would go into a Runoff set for January 13. The General Election will be held on February 10.

There will not be a Democratic primary, since Luke Kruse, 40, of Glencoe was the lone candidate to file for his party’s nomination. He will advance directly to the General Election. Kruse has taught political science and history at Northern Oklahoma College for 19 years.

The five Republican candidates will compete in the GOP Primary. The Republicans include Amber Roberts, Dillon Travis, Mike Waters, James Winn and Kevin Wright.

Amber Roberts, 43, of Hominy is a small business owner and has served on the Hominy City Council. In 2018 she was candidate for state Senate District 10. In that campaign she advanced to the GOP Runoff where she lost to incumbent Sen. Bill Coleman (R-Ponca City).

Dillon Travis, 33, of Maramec is a farmer, rancher and agricultural business owner. His business provides hay to farmers and ranchers across the state. He is also a lecturer in agricultural communications at Oklahoma State University.

Mike Waters, 54, of Pawnee worked for 25 years in law enforcement, including being the former Pawnee County sheriff. He is also a past president of the Oklahoma Sheriffs Association. He now is now involved in ranching.

James Winn, 43, of Mannford is a farmer and rancher. He was previously employed in the oil and gas industry working on oil rigs and pipelines. In 2024 he sought the Republican nomination for Senate District 21 and lost in the GOP Primary. The open seat was ultimately won by Sen. Randy Grellner (R-Cushing).

Kevin Wright, 58, of Jennings a small business owner and church leader. He has served as the mayor of Jennings.

Rep. Burns was first elected in 2018 and reelected in 2020, 2022 and 2024. The winner of the Special Election will serve the remainder of Rep. Burns’ current term and will have to run for a full term in 2026 if they wish to retain the seat.