Oklahoma Bankers Association We make bankers better!
As summer comes to a close, things are starting to heat up in both Washington, D.C., and in Oklahoma City.
First, I want to bring you up to speed on what happened on Aug. 27 when the runoff elections were held, and what it means for our industry. This article will also serve as a reminder to go and vote – and yes, every vote counts! I’ve got some examples as to why you should vote and how every vote is critically important.
On Aug. 27 there were four runoff races in the state Senate and six in the state House. Below is a brief description of each race and what it could mean going into the next legislative session.
State Senate District 3
(Partial Cherokee, Mayes, Rogers and Wagoner counties)
Blake “Cowboy” Stephens — 3,585 (39.24%)
Julie McIntosh — 5,551 (60.76%)
This race was between incumbent Sen. Blake “Cowboy” Stephens and political newcomer Julie McIntosh. Senator Stephens has been a strong supporter of community banking in his time in the Senate. I’ve talked with several business folks in the district and have no doubt McIntosh will be a supporter of our industry, too, though. Julie will face independent candidate Margaret Cook in the general election in November.
State Senate District 15
(Partial Cleveland County)
Lisa Standridge — 2,507 (50.55%)
Robert Keyes — 2,452 (49.45%)
This run-off was a battle from the second both Lisa and Robert filed to run for this seat. State Senate District 15 is an open seat as Sen. Rob Standridge, who held it for 12 years, was term-limited out. Yes, Lisa Standridge is the wife of Rob. Lisa did say in her ads she is ultra-conservative, so time will tell how she feels about community banking. Lisa will face Democratic candidate Elizabeth Foreman in the general election.
State Senator District 33
(Partial Tulsa County)
Christi Gillespie — 2,621 (55.46%)
Shelley Gwartney — 2,105 (44.54%)
Senate District 33 is an open seat previously held by State Sen. Nathan Dahm for the last 12 years. Dahm was not a friend to our industry, so we are excited about the opportunity to pick up an ally in this district. Christi is the former vice mayor of Broken Arrow, and has been very active in the business community. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with her on several occasions and was impressed. She will face Democratic candidate Bob Willis in the general election.
State Senator District 47
(Northwest Oklahoma County)
Kelly Hines — 3,336 (60.31%)
Jenny Schmitt — 1,922 (39.69%)
Senate District 47 is an open seat previously held by President Pro Tempore of the Senate Greg Treat. You can ask anyone who lives in this district and they’ll say this was a very competitive race, but the results don’t show how close it really was. Both candidates were well-funded and worked extremely hard. I’ve talked with both Kelly and Jenny during the campaign, and, either way, we were going to have a friend in District 47. This district isn’t solid red, as there is a tint of purple in certain areas. Therefore, Kelly will have to keep his foot on the gas as Democratic challenger Erin Brewer has been working the district for months.
House District 20
(Cleveland and McClain counties)
Mike Whaley — 1,668 (49.93%)
Jonathan Wilk — 1,673 (50.07%)
House District 20 is an open seat as Rep. Sherrie Conley didn’t seek re-election. As you can see by the results, this race was as close as it gets. At the end of the night on Aug. 27, Jonathan had a two-vote victory. After the county election board looked at some questionable ballots, his lead ballooned to five votes.
House District 32
(Lincoln, Logan and Payne counties)
Jim Shaw — 3,291 (54.34%)
Kevin Wallace — 2,765 (45.56%)
This was arguably the most surprising outcome of any election so far, including the original primaries back in June. Rep. Kevin Wallace was running what would be his last campaign for the House of Representatives as he had already served 10 years and was only eligible for one more term. Kevin rarely, if ever, had an opponent who was considered a tough challenger. Kevin had been a pillar in the House leadership team, and has been chairman of the House Appropriations committe for the past several years. Jim Shaw clearly was the toughest opponent Kevin has faced. Jim is a newcomer to Oklahoma politics and, boy, did he make a splash! Kevin had to scratch and claw his way just to make the run-off. Lots of money flowed into Kevin’s campaign coffers going into the run-off. Numerous folks, including high-ranking public officials, made their way to District 32 to knock on doors and help the incumbent. It all came down to local issues, however, and things that have happened in the district pushed Jim across the finish line. While we lost a great supporter of community banking in Rep. Wallace, I’ve been encouraged from talking to folks in the district that Jim will be a friend as well. There are no Democratic challengers in this race, so Shaw is now the state representative for District 32.
House District 50
(Jefferson and Stephens counties)
Stacy Jo Adams — 2,287 (61.71%)
Andrew Aldridge — 1,215 (38.29%)
This is an open seat as the current representative, Marcus McEntire, announced early he wouldn’t be seeking re-election. Stacy Jo was an easy winner, and as a result of not having an opponent in the general election, she will be the new state representative for House District 50.
House District 53
(Moore/Cleveland County)
Jason Blair — 1,056 (62.41%)
Nick Pokorny — 636 (37.59%)
This is an open seat as Rep. Mark McBride is term limited. McBride was a good friend to community banking, he understood our issues and knew the role each of you play in your community. I personally live in this district and will be excited to work with Jason. Jason was elected when he won the run-off as there’s no general election in this district.
House District 60
(Canadian County)
Mike Kelley — 1,458 (64.77%)
Ron Lynch — 793 (35.23%)
House District 60 is an open seat as Rep. Rhonda Baker did not seek re-election. Baker was a strong advocate for education and was also very knowledgeable about our issues. She was a good friend to banking and we hated to see her leave. We’ve been told Mike will work with us on our issues and should be a good friend. Mike is now the new representative for House District 60 as there is no general election.
House District 98
(Tulsa and Wagoner counties)
Dean Davis — 1,226 (49.44%)
Gabe Woolley — 1,254 (50.56%)
Rep. Dean Davis was the incumbent in this race with political newcomer Gabe Woolley. It was a hard-fought battle, and as you can see, Gabe won by 28 votes. We will do our best to work with Gabe, assuming he defeats Democratic challenger Cathy Smythe in the general election.
• • •
This is where I make my annual election-year pitch to encourage everyone to vote. I won’t tell you how to vote, but I will strongly encourage you to vote.
As you could see, we had multiple races in the latest run-offs decided by less than 100 votes. Every State House district represents about 37,236 Oklahomans, and each State Senate district represents about 78,435 Oklahomans.
Lets take a closer look at some of the races and show you the facts about why every vote counts:
State Senate District 15
(Partial Cleveland County)
Lisa Standridge — 2,507 (50.55%)
Robert Keyes — 2,452 (49.45%)
There are 28,648 registered Republicans in this Senate district. There was a total, however, of just 4,959 votes. Those votes represent only 17% of registered voters in the district, and that small percentage is who decided would represent everyone in the district at the state Capitol.
House District 20
(Cleveland and McClain counties)
Mike Whaley — 1,668 (49.93%)
Jonathan Wilk — 1,673 (50.07%)
There are 12,206 registered Republicans in this House district. There were a total of 3,341 votes cast, which represented just 27% of those registered voters.
This seat was decided by five votes!
I’m not picking on any particular political party, but just using the recent run-offs as an example. As a state, Oklahoma is ranked dead last in the country in percentage of registered voters who actually vote!
We are at 54.99%, while Minnesota is the top state with 79.96% of registered voters making it to the polls.
With all that said, please get out and vote when you have the opportunity!