By Constitution Staff

On January 10, Mary Fallin was sworn into office and made history becoming the state's first female governor. But, even before the first votes were cast in the November election, Oklahoma was poised to make that history, whether it was Fallin, the former lieutenant governor, or Jari Askins, the sitting lieutenant governor.

More importantly, the 2010 election was historic for Oklahoma Republicans. In addition to taking back the governor's office with Fallin, Republicans for the first time in Oklahoma history, swept all of the statewide races on the ballot, and now control all thirteen statewide offices for the first time in Oklahoma history.

While previous Oklahoma Republican governors (Henry Bellmon, Dewey Bartlett, and Frank Keating) faced a Legislature with both chambers controlled by Democrats, for the first time a Republican governor will be working in conjunction with a Republican Legislature. With the 2008 election, Republicans gained control of both houses of the Legislature, but they were opposed by a Democrat governor.

With Askins running for governor, the lieutenant governor's office was again an open seat as it was in 2006 when Askins was elected. Republicans took back the post with the election of Sen. Todd Lamb of Edmond.

While Republicans have held various statewide secondary offices at one time or another in the past, such as State Treasurer or Insurance Commissioner, never before have all of the secondary offices been occupied by Republicans. In fact, this is the first time that most of those positions have ever been held by a Republican.

Republicans defeated three Democrat incumbents running for election to the secondary offices, including state Auditor and Inspector Steve Burrage, Labor Commissioner Lloyd Fields, and Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland. Republicans elected to the secondary offices were: Scott Pruitt, Attorney General; Ken Miller, State Treasurer; Janet Barresi, Supt. of Public Instruction; Gary Jones, Auditor and Inspector; John Doak, Insurance Commissioner; and Mark Costello, Labor Commissioner.

Going into the election, Democrats held all of the secondary offices, in addition to governor and lieutenant governor. Now, all are held by Republicans. Republican U.S. Senator Tom Coburn was reelected and returns to Washington with Republican Senator Jim Inhofe, who was reelected in 2008. And, with the reelection of Corporation Commissioner Dana Murphy, that three-member panel remains in Republicans hands.

Republicans held on to their four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, including the seat vacated by Mary Fallin, with James Lankford winning the fifth district seat. Oklahoma's three Republican incumbent congressmen, John Sullivan, Frank Lucas, and Tom Cole were all re-elected. In the only bright spot for Democrats, incumbent second district Congressman Dan Boren was re-elected. He is now Oklahoma's highest ranking Democrat office holder.

The Republican advance in Oklahoma began with the taking of the Oklahoma House in 2004, when Republicans took over the state House for the first time in more than 80 years. And, the GOP took control of the Senate for the first time in history two years ago.

The state GOP has made steady gains each election cycle since taking control of the Legislature. Republicans this past session outnumbered Democrats 62-39. After picking up eight more seats in the 2010 elections, Republicans now have a 70-31 advantage. Democrat incumbents defeated by Republicans in the November election include Representatives Dennis Bailey of Broken Bow, Samson Buck of Ardmore, Wallace Collins of Norman, Ken Luttrell of Ponca City, and Glen Bud Smithson of Sallisaw. Collins was first elected in 1996, by a narrow margin over Oklahoma Constitution Editor Steve Byas (Collins later lost a libel suit to Byas), and lost in 2000 to a Republican, but regained the seat in 2006.

Going into the election year the state GOP held a 26-22 majority in the 48 member Senate. Senators serve four-year terms, with just half of the seats up for election each election cycle. The odd numbered districts will not be on the ballot until 2012. Republicans hold 15 of those seats, with Democrats holding the other nine. The twenty-four even numbered districts were up for election in 2010. Thirteen of those were held by Democrats, and eleven by Republicans. Republicans now have a 32-16 edge in the Senate after picking up six seats, including the defeat of Democrat incumbent Sen. Jay Paul Gumm of Durant.

Since Sen. Todd Lamb (R-Edmond) won the race for Lt. Governor, his seat became vacant and was filled by a special election in January. Since five Republicans and no Democrats nor Independents filed for the open seat, there was no chance of the election reducing the GOP numbers in the Senate. The seat was won by Greg Treat, 32, a former staffer to U.S. Senator Tom Coburn. and then-Cong. Mary Fallin.

Fallin's victory and the Republican sweep of the other statewide offices was voted the No. 1 news story of 2010 by members of The Associated Press. Only time will tell if Republicans will fulfill the promises upon which they were elected, or disappoint the voters (like the national Republicans who won Congress in 1994), and risk losing in the future (like the national Republicans did in 2006.