Tulsa County voters will have some homework to do in the upcoming August 23 runoff election with races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, county commissioner, state school superintendent, state treasurer, labor commissioner and Corporation Commission.
Voters in the city limits of Tulsa will also vote for one council seat and three amendments to the City Charter.
Here is some information on the federal, state and county races.
The big prize on August 23 is the Republican runoff for the nomination to replace U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, who is taking early retirement. The winner will face Democrat nominee Kendra Horn and Independent Ray Woods.
U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, was the top vote getter (44%) in the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate, the seat.
Mulliin will face former Tulsa House Speaker T.W. Shannon, who got 18% in the primary,.
Mullin was first elected to the House in the Second District in 2012. Although he initially pledged to three terms, he is in his fifth term in office.
Mullin, who lives in Westville, Oklahoma, is a successful businessman. He founded Mullin Plumbing and several other companies.
Mullin is a member of the Cherokee Nation – one of only five Native Americans serving in the U.S. House.
Mullin is on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is co-chair of the House Energy Action Team. He is on several other committees.
Mullin describes himself as a conservative Christian. He has been endorsed in the runoff by former President Donald Trump.
T.W. Shannon is a “lifelong Christian” who represented District 62 in the Oklahoma House from 2006 to 2014.
When Tom Coburn retired from the U.S. Senate in 2014, Shannon was defeated in the GOP primary by eventual winner, Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma.
Shannon has a degree in communications from Cameron University in Lawton and a law degree from Oklahoma City University. He has worked as a self-employed business consultant and is now CEO of Chickasaw Community Bank in Oklahoma City.
His father is a Chickasaw and his mother is an African American. Shannon is an enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw Tribe. He attends Bethlehem Baptist Church in Lawton.
In State Senate District 2, Jarrin Jackson was the top vote-getter (34%) and Ally Seifried was second (34%) in the Republican primary.
They will face each other August 23 in a runoff.
Jackson, a combat veteran, is retired U.S. Army infantry officer. He is a graduate of West Point and he won the Bronze Star. He owns an ammunition company and he and his family live south of Claremore. He has been endorsed by Gun Owners of America.
Jackson is a conservative and an evangelical Christian.
Seifried has a degree in political science from Rogers State University. She and her husband attend DestinyLife Church.
Seifried’s family owns eight small businesses. Her brother was a lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. She is a conservative.
In House District 66 in Sand Springs, Gabe Renfrow was the top candidate in the GOP primary (38%) while Clay Staires came in second (26%). They face each other in the runoff.
Refrow is a registered nurse at a local hospital cardiovascular catheterization lab. He is a graduate of Bacone College in Muskogee and NSU in Tahlequah. He is a member of the NRA. He is a conservative.
Staires is a former schoolteacher and coach who switched to a career in business.
Staires started his consulting business in 2012 to help small business owners transition through a new or different phase than they planned or were accustomed to. Staires played football for Barry Switzer while attending the University of Oklahoma and graduated with a degree in education. He started his teaching and coaching career at Tulsa Memorial High School.
After 15 years of teaching, Staires returned home to Avant where he and his wife, Lisa, took over the leadership of Shepherd’s Fold Ranch, a Christian Summer Camp, and started a leadership training school called The Furnace. Staires also served on the Avant School Board, the Skiatook Chamber Board and in the Green Country Ministers Alliance.
In the Democrat primary for U.S. Senator, Madison Horn came in first and Jason Bollinger was second, forcing a runoff vote on August 23.
Horn works in cybersecurity. According to her website, she wants to advance the “security of human rights across all facets of our society while eliminating the marginalization of groups in the process.” She thinks public education should be a primary focus and she wants to expand government health care.
Bollinger has an undergraduate degree in accounting and a law degree from OU. He worked in the U.S. State Department but now has his own law practice in Oklahoma City.
He strongly opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a self-described member of the LGBTQIA2S community and he wants to defend the rights of “trans youth to gender affirming care.”
In the GOP primary for state treasurer, State Rep. Todd Russ came in first (48%) and former State Sen. Clark Jolley was second (34%). They face each other on August 23.
Russ has been a banker for more than 30 years. He was president and CEO of Washita State Bank. In 2008, he became a management consultant. He is a former director of the Oklahoma Bankers Association and chairman of the OBA Small Bank Council.
He and his wife are members of New Beginnings Assembly of God in Cordell.
Jolley was in the Oklahoma Senate for 12 years. He was past chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He was secretary of Finance, Administration and Information Technology.
He attended Oklahoma Baptist University before getting a degree from OU. He was an adjunct professor at Mid-America Christian University and Oklahoma Christian University. His family are members of Crossings Community Church.
For state school superintendent, Ryan Walters had 41% of the GOP primary and April Grace was second (31%). They will be on the August ballot.
Walters taught school for eight years in McAlester High School. He taught AP courses in World History, U.S. History and U.S. Government. He also taught special education and other courses. He was named an Oklahoma Teacher of the Year finalist n 2016.
Today, Walters is Secretary of Public Education. He was appointed by Gov. Stitt. He is responsible for the State Board of Education, College and University Boards of Regents or Trustees, Office of Educational Quality and Accountability and the State Board of Career and Technology Education. He has been endorsed by former Gov. Frank Keating, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and by several state lawmakers.
Grace has been an Oklahoma educator for more than 30 years. She began as a high school science teacher and coach. In 2016, she was named superintendent of Shawnee Public Schools.
She won the Oklahoma Association of School Administrators Superintendent of the Year Award. She won the Oklahoma State Superintendent for Arts Excellence School Administrator in 2020.
The runoff for the Republican nomination for labor commissioner will be between Commissioner Leslie Osborn (48%) and State Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy (38%).
Roberts has represented his district for 12 years in the Oklahoma House. He has an undergraduate degree from Southern Nazarene University and a master’s degree in physical therapy from OU
A fiscal conservative, Roberts chaired several committees including Public Health, County and Municipal Government and select agencies.
Roberts has been endorsed by Gov. Stitt
Commission Osborn represented District 47 in the Oklahoma House. She was chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee until Republican leaders removed her from that chairmanship.
She has a degree from OSU. She ran her own business for 22 years before entering politics. She was elected labor commissioner in 2018.
The Republican runoff for Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner will be between Sen. Kim David, R-Wagoner, and State Rep. Todd Thomsen.
State Rep. Todd Thomsen was a veteran of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol for 35 years. He played football for Barry Switzer and won a national championship in 1985. Thomsen has a degree in management information from OU.
He has worked for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Southeast Oklahoma. He was first elected to the House in 2006. In the House, he was vice chairman of the Education Committee. Chairman of the Utilities Committee and Majority Whip, among other assignments.
David was the first woman in Oklahoma history to be named majority leader in the Senate. And she was the first to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee and the first Republican woman to serve as majority whip.
She owns a small business that manages properties and she previously worked in petroleum marketing. She has a degree in petroleum geology from OSU.
August 23 runoff races
Republicans
U.S. Senator (Inhofe seat)
- Markwayne Mullin vs. T.W. Shannon
State Treasurer
- Todd Russ vs. Clark Jolley
State School Superintendent
- Ryan Walkers vs. April Grace
Labor Commissioner
- Leslie Osborn vs. Sean Roberts
Corporation Commissioner
- Kim David vs. Todd Tomsen
U.S. House District 2
- Avery Frix vs. John Brecheen
State House District 66
- Gabe Renfrow vs. Clay Staires
Tulsa County Commissioner District 3
- Bob Jack vs. Kelly Dunkerley
State Senate District 2
- Jarrin Jackson vs. Ally Seifried
Democrats
U.S. Senator (Inhofe seat)
- Madison Horn vs. Jason Bollinger