By Constitution Staff

The June 18 GOP Primary Election narrowed the list of candidates running for the open seat on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC). The OCC regulates oil and gas drilling, electric and gas utilities, trucking, pipelines, and telecommunications in Oklahoma. There are three Corporation Commission seats with six-year staggered terms. So, every two years one of the seats is up for reelection. The seat held by Republican Bob Anthony is up for election this year.

Anthony is the longest serving member of the commission and is completing his sixth and final term. He could not run for reelection this year due to Term Limits. While the term limits law for state offices only allows two terms for members of the commission, the law did not apply to the seat until 2012 when Anthony was elected to his fifth term. He was elected to his final term in 2018. The other two commissioners are Republicans Todd Hiett and Kim David, and their seats will not be up for election until 2026 and 2028 respectively.

During his 36-year tenure on the Corporation Commission, Anthony has often been the lone voice speaking up for the utility consumers in Oklahoma. He was the only vote against the plan that passed the 2021 winter storm costs onto Oklahoma electric and natural gas ratepayers.

Three Republicans, a Democrat, and an Libertarian filed for the open seat. Brian Bingman, Justin Hornback, and Russell Ray ran for the Republican nomination.

J. Brian Bingman, 70, of Sapulpa began his career as a petroleum landman for Continental Oil Co. (now Conoco-Phillips) soon after graduating from college. He was later vice president of land and operations for Uplands Resources. He is a former mayor of Sapulpa, was a member of the Oklahoma House, and then served in the Oklahoma Senate. He ended his legislative career serving as the Senate Pro-Tempore for six years before being term-limited from office in 2016. He was one of the more moderate Republicans in the Legislature with a cumulative average of 59% on the Oklahoma Conservative Index published by the Oklahoma Constitution. Bingman unsuccessfully challenged Anthony for the Republican nomination in 2018. Anthony finished in first place in the GOP Primary that year with 47% of the vote and went on to win the runoff with nearly 54% of the vote over Bingman. In 2020 Bingman was appointed to serve as Secretary of State and Secretary of Native American Affairs by Gov. Kevin Stitt. He resigned in 2023 in anticipation of his run for the Corporation Commission seat. He has been endorsed by Gov. Stitt.

Justin Hornback, 40, of Broken Arrow has two decades of experience in the energy industry, with knowledge concerning transmission pipelines, energy generation, regulations, and safety. He has worked as a Pipeline Welder/Welding Inspector/Specialist in Safety and Health. He also worked with the leadership of the Pipeliners Union 798 between 2017 and 2021. He previously ran for a seat on the Corporation Commission in 2022, finishing in third place in the GOP Primary with 20.35 percent of the vote.

Russell Ray, 55, of Edmond is a former journalist who currently serves as director of communications for the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education. He was editor of the Journal Record based in Oklahoma City, covered energy news for the Tulsa World, and served as Editor-in-Chief of Power Engineering magazine writing a regular column on energy policy, pricing and technology. Earlier in his career he was business reporter for the Tampa Tribune and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Ray had echoed the concerns of Bob Anthony concerning the storm costs that were passed onto consumers.

Bingman secured the Republican nomination in the June 18 Primary with 126,778 votes (53.42%). Hornback finished in second place with 68,039 votes (28.67%). Ray received 42,516 votes (17.91%). Bingman will face a Democrat and a Libertarian candidate on the November ballot.

Harold Spradling, 89, of Oklahoma City is making his fourth race for a spot on the Commission, this time as a Democrat. Spradling has previously run as a Republican. He finished in last place in the 2022 the Republican primary with 12.59% of the vote. He also ran in 2018, and 2020. The retired businessman and social worker was also an unsuccessful candidate for the Oklahoma House in 1994.

Libertarian Chad Williams, 43, of Choctaw has served as chairman of the Libertarian Party of Oklahoma and has been on the Choctaw City Council.