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Oklahoma
Senate (Special Election)
| OKLAHOMA |
Nov. 8,
2022 U.S. Senate (Special Election)
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Plurality: 295,191 votes (26.52 percentage points). OK
State Election Board
Notes: Sen. Jim Inhofe (R), 87, re-elected to a fifth term in 2020, announced on Feb. 25, 2022 that he would retire effective Jan. 3, 2023 (+). The seat was seen as all-but-certain to remain in Republican hands. After a hard-fought GOP primary and runoff, U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R) defeated former U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn (D), Robert Murphy (L) and Ray Woods (I) by a very comfortable margin. Mullin announced on Feb. 26 (>). He was elected to represent OK-2, the eastern part of the state, in 2012 and is serving his fifth term. A businessman and former MMA fighter, he lives on a ranch in Westville and is an enrolled member of the Cherokee nation. Horn, an attorney, launched her campaign on Mar. 14 (>). She was elected to represent OK-5, encompassing most of Oklahoma City, in an 2018 upset, but defeated in her bid for re-election. Mullin refused to debate in the general election. Most of the Mullin campaign's financial activity was in the primary. Through the Oct. 19 finance report his campaign raised $4.8 million, spent $5.0 million and had $470,203 in cash on hand; this included a bit less than $250,000 in small (less than $200) individual contributions (5.2%), $2.2 million in large individual contributions (46.0%), $1.2 million in PAC contributions (23.9%), and $1 million in candidate self-financing (20.8%). By contrast, the Horn campaign reported $1.6 million raised, $1.5 million spent and $191,312 in cash on hand; this included $357,253 in small contributions (22.1%), $1.2 million in large individual contributions (74.9%) and $40,099 in PAC contributions (2.5%) (>). June 28 Primaries and Aug. 23 Runoff After Inhofe's announcement, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) set dates for an election coinciding with the regular midterm election to fill the remainder of his term. Attorney Stephen Jones sought to postpone the election because the seat was not yet vacant (>); "the vacancy in Senator Inhofe’s office is not scheduled to occur until January 3, 2023 at the earliest. The next regularly scheduled statewide Primary, Runoff Primary and General Election after January 3, 2023 is in 2024.” The Court declined to take up the matter, however. Thirteen Republicans filed to run in the June 28 primary, while Horn was unopposed for the Democratic nomination,. In addition to Mullin, leading GOP candidates included former House Speaker T.W. Shannon, who made an unsuccessful run for Congress in 2014 and has served as CEO of Chickasaw Community Bank since 2017; former EPA administrator and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, state Sen. Nathan Dahm, and longtime Inhofe aide Luke Holland. Inhofe endorsed Holland (>), who worked for him for 12 1/2 years starting as staff assistant in June 2009 and rising through the office as legislative correspondent, legislative assistant, legislative director, and most recently chief of staff for five years. Dahm, Holland, Pruitt and Shannon debated on News 9 and News On 6 on June 9 (>) and hosted by the State Chamber Research Foundation on June 22 (>); Mullin declined both as Congress was in session. Of 357,845 votes tallied, Mullin finished far ahead with 43.62% followed by Shannon (17.53%), Dahm (11.92%), Holland (11.28%) and Pruitt (5.04%). Mullin and Shannon proceeded to the Aug. 23 runoff. Trump endorsed Mullin on July 10. Mullin and Shannon debated on News 9 and News On 6 on Aug. 2 (>). Of 281,364 votes tallied, Mullin defeated Shannon by 66.08% to 34.92%. Campaign Managers: Markwayne Mullin: Joshua Owen Field representative to Rep. Mullin from 2019. Bachelor's degree in political science from Northeastern State University, 2020. From Haworth, OK. Kendra Horn: Allison Lawrence (Aug. 2022) Founder (June 2021) of Impact Strategies, LLC a political finance firm in Oklahoma. Contract work as investor relations for Cortado Ventures (Sept. 2021-Sept. 2022), managing director of Lawrence Capital, LLC (Sept. 2015-Sept. 2022) and project manager for Arnall Family Foundation (Nov. 2019-Dec. 2021). Finance director on Kendra Horn for Congress, July 2017-Jan. 2021. M.P.A. in non-profit/public/organizational management from University of Oklahoma, 2012; B.A. in English language and literature from Texas Christian University, 2008. See also: Kayla Branch. "Lobbyists, energy and health care interests help fund Markwayne Mullin's Senate run." The Frontier, Nov. 4, 2022. Chris Casteel. "Markwayne Mullin vs. Kendra Horn: Where they stand." The Oklahoman, Oct. 17, 2022. Saurav Ghosh. "Straw Donor Schemes Funneled Over $820,000 to Single-Candidate Super PACs." Campaign Legal Center, Aug. 24, 2022. Stephanie Akin. "Ex-Rep. Kendra Horn looks for comeback in Oklahoma." Roll Call, Aug. 18, 2022. Randy Kerhbiel. "Mullin Senate campaign brings in $250,000 in three weeks; more than $500K went to PAC that supports him." Tulsa World, July 19, 2022. Chris Casteel. "Sen. Jim Inhofe to resign from Senate, backs top aide Luke Holland to succeed him." The Oklahoman, Feb. 25, 2022. Vikram David Amar and Jason Mazzone. "A Case Pending in the Oklahoma Supreme Court Involving Senator Jim Inhofe Raises Interesting Questions Under the Seventeenth Amendment: Part One in a Series." Verdict (Justia), Mar. 17, 2022. Vikram David Amar and Jason Mazzone. "Where Things Might Go in the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s Seventeenth Amendment Case Involving Senator Jim Inhofe’s 'Irrevocable' Promise to Retire in January: Part Two in a Series." Verdict (Justia), Mar. 21, 2022. --. "Oklahoma Supreme Court declines to stop special election." AP, Mar. 24, 2022. |
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