There are numerous State Senate and House races this year, some will only be voted on in the general election in November, some are already decided.
Starting with the State Senate in District 2 there is a challenger to Sen. Ally Seifried, 33, of Claremore by Payton Pepin, 44, of Claremore, the winner of which will face Democrat Randy Cowling of Owasso in the general election.
Seifried is finishing her first term in office as a state senator being elected in 2022. She is a 9th generation Oklahoma who works in her family’s small business when not serving in the Senate. She holds a BS degree in Science and Political Science from Rogers State University. Her priorites if elected are 1. The effort to move school board elections to November. It’s passed the Senate twice and stalled in the House. This is my top educational priority. 2. Stronger literacy and numeracy efforts so our kids can succeed and be all that God has called them to be. There has been progress, but there’s more work to be done 3. Education outcomes are declining. Accountability and making sure every dollar is spent wisely to deliver real results for Oklahoma students. She has a 63 percent cumulative Conservative Index from the Oklahoma Constitution newspaper ( most conservative is 100 percent.)
Pepin is a Construction Manager running his own Construction company and is a published author. He graduated from OSU-Tech with a degree in Construction Management. He says he has been active in politics fighting to defend the Rights and Liberties of the Average American since 2018. He is committed to not take lobbyist money if elected. On his website he claims that Seifried votes for Republican values 31 percent of the time. His priorities are 1. To be a firewall against government invading the daily lives of our families with high taxes, bureaucracy, and overregulation 2. To lower property taxes for our seniors and work for property tax reform across our state. 3. To protect our communities from foreign entities that don’t belong in Oklahoma, stopping foreign ownership of our land and 4. To end the Green New Scam – Stop allowing our tax dollars to be used to fund green energy projects that destroy and devalue our land.
Senate District 34 has incumbent Republican Sen. Dana Prieto running against three challengers in the primary – Brent Driskill, Aaron Forst and Kent Taylor. The winner of that primary will face the lone Democrat filer Amy Hossain in November.
Prieto, 69, of Tulsa, was first elected in 2022. He is a founding member of the Oklahoma Freedom Caucus, the most conservative legislative caucus in the state. He has a 85 percent cumulative Conservative Index from the Oklahoma Constitution newspaper. He owns and operates Everlasting Enterprises, a marketing company. He has been active in the Republican party for many years volunteering for Nathan Dahm for Senate and the Hern campaign as well. His top priorities if elected are Parents rights, stopping DHS and other agencies from their overreach, and stoping the state from over spending. He believes in the free market, not the government for many of our economic problems.
Driskill, 38, of Owasso, has worked in the oil and gas industry, working his way up to becoming a production manager and now operates his own business dealing with real estate and energy investments. He says that “he’s a proven leader who understands the challenges facing Oklahoma families and small businesses. “ His top priorities are fiscal responsibility & lower taxes in government, he believes in developing a pro-growth, pro-jobs economy, wants to defend life, liberty, and the Constitution, support education that works for all, and in securing communities & law and order.
Forst, 43, of Owasso, has pursued degrees in Emergency Medical Services, Biomedical Engineering, Nanotechnology, and Business Administration – studying at Tulsa Community College, Rogers State University, and Purdue University. He is an entrepreneur and has started two businesses, that have thrived.
Forst first ran for office in 2018 as a Democrat for the Oklahoma House. He says that his change to the Republican Party reflects his conservative values of faith, family, limited government, pro-business policies, pro-life stances, and traditional family values. He says on his website that he will protect our conservative values, defend our constitutional rights, and preserve the freedoms that make Oklahoma strong.”
Taylor, 62, of Owasso, graduated from OU with a BA in Communication, Management and Oklahoma City University with a MBA in accounting and finance. He has worked for BOK, Helmerich & Payne, TCG Tulsa Consulting Group, and is the principal owner of Kentt Holdings, LLC an international financial management and improvement consulting firm. He supports pro-economic development, and is against unreasonable government regulation and taxes; traditional values (Right to Life and 2nd Amendment); with schools he would like to increase teacher pay, bring back strict discipline and insist on high academic standards; be an active voice for senior citizens; limit welfare and require drug testing for welfare; and supports law enforcement and no taxpayer funding for illegal immigrants.
The Senate District 36 race will pit incumbent Sen. John Haste, Broken Arrow against Philip Weiland also of Broken Arrow. The winner will take on Democrat Rick Larsen, Tulsa, in November.
Haste, 71, attended the University of Tennessee at Martin. He was a senior vice president in the home furnishings industry and has served as Chair on the Oklahoma State University Medical Authority and Trust. He was first elected to office in District 36 in 2018. His website says he has delivered results since in office: he helped pass the largest tax cut in state history and eliminated the grocery tax, helped ban sanctuary cities in Oklahoma, invested in roads and infrastructure, authored legislation to expand workforce-ready degrees, protected 2nd Amendment rights, defended girls’ sports,and supports pro-life.
Weiland, 42, has not provided any information or any websites that the Tulsa Beacon could find.
House District 69 has four Republicans battling it out for an open seat that was Mark Tedford’s. The winner of this primary will go against the lone Democrat filer Tyler Price of Jenks.
Sheila Dills, 58, of Tulsa, has previously served in the Oklahoma House from 2018 to 2022. In 2022 she chose not to run after the death of her husband. She is a business owner in Jenks of Property Investments which she has owned since 1992. She has owned three other businesses, two are still under ownership – Thatcher and Dills LLC (property investing) and Patisserie by Sheila Anne. She has a BS in Broadcast Journalism from OSU. Her priorities if elected would be to 1. Improve education, focusing on reading, the teacher workforce and to expose waste and abuse. 2. To champion conservative values, i.e. protect women’s sports, stop government overreach… 3. Provide a pro-business and pro-jobs climate while lowering taxes and regulations. During her earlier tenure in the house she earned a cumulative 64 percent on the Oklahoma Constitution newspaper Conservative Index.
Angela Strohm, 54, of Jenks, is a longtime grassroots Oklahoma Republican, she is the current Tulsa County GOP State Committeewoman. She was formerly a classroom teacher for 10 years and a substitute teacher for six years. She has worked extensively as a Republican volunteer at the county level and on campaigns, she is also involved in several Republican Women’s clubs. She holds a Bachelors degree in Education. She has vowed to not take lobbyist money or gifts and wants to be accountable only to the voters. She supports the Oklahoma Republican Platform, the Save Oklahoma Plan, stronger property rights, school accountability, medical freedom, and more transparency from state government.
Strohm wants to free the Turnpikes, protect the unborn, end waste in government agencies, supports audits, wants to end indoctrination in schools and audit schools.
Carrie DeWeese, 52, of Jenks, is a realtor and works in her family’s business Brian D. Wiggs Homes. she has a BA in Psychology and Political Science from the University of Tulsa. She has held leadership positions in state and national housing organizations. Her top priorities would be to protect the American Dream by keeping housing affordable, supporting small business by lowering regulations and government overreach, reducting government bureaucracy, creating stonger public schools with better pay for teachers, supporting law enforcement and protecting senior citizens.
Cody Nichols has been a Republican for eight years, but previous to that he was not registered in any other parties. He served as an air traffic controller while serving in the Marine Corps. He now is a small business owner, and previously managed the construction of multimillion dollar hotels. His three key messages would be Education – supporting teachers, enforcing accountability of administrators and clear expectations, goals for students, and cutting waste and inefficiencies. Relief from high property taxes. Helping people in poverty by community initiatives, mentorship and job training through private investment.
House District 74 features the two Republicans who were in the 2024 primary runoff Rep. Kevin Norwood and Sheila Vancuren. The winner of this primary will face Independent candidate Aaron Brent in the November general election.
Norwood, 58, of Owasso, was elected in 2025 in a special election to replace Mark Vancuren who resigned to take a position in County government. He holds a bachelor degree from Southwestern Christian University, a Masters from ORU in practical theology and a doctorate degree from George Fox Global Leadership. He was a youth pastor for 36 years. He has been the President of Wired Inc. for 22 years. His focus according to his website is to cut taxes for Oklahoma families, put students first with strong reading & math, increase teacher pay & support, expand parental choice with tax credits, protect 988 & 211 essential services and advance conservative policies
Vancuren, 58, of Owasso, earned a biology degree from OSU, and is a former educator. She also holds a master’s degree from East Central University in counseling. For the last 18 years she has been a realtor. She is the wife of Mark Vancuren who previously served as Representative for District 74. Her priorities are to restore excellence in education, stop illegal immigration, stop gender transition of minors, preserve fairness in women’s sports, improve infrastructure, eliminate vaccine mandates and harmful additives, is pro-life and pro-Second Amendment and wants to end radical social engineering.
The House District 98 race pits the same two candidates from 2024 – Rep. Gabe Woolley and former Rep. Dean Davis. The winner of this primary will face Democrat Cathy Smythe in the November general election.
Woolley, 31, of Broken Arrow, was elected in 2024. He earned a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Oklahoma Wesleyan and has worked as a teacher for nine years in Tulsa. He describes himself as a Republican, a Constitutional conservative, a teacher, an advocate and a Christian. His top priorities are to cut government spending, to reform government through accountability and transparency, to improve education, to ban foreign influence in Oklahoma, and to reduce and eliminate property tax and reduce homeowners insurance. He scored a 90 percent on the Oklahoma Constitution’s Conservative Index.
Davis, 53, of Broken Arrow, was the representative from this district from 2018 to 2024. In 2023 the Oklahoma House voted to censure him following a recent arrest for public intoxication in Bricktown. During his arrest according to KOCO channel 5 he claimed he could not be arrested because he is a state lawmaker and the state Constitution protects him from arrest while the legislature is in session. On his facebook account Dean Davis for House Dist 98 he says he will support and respect our educators, invest in our schools, promote safe, positive learning environments and empower parents. His cumulative conservative index for the years 2018 to 2024 is 68 as judged by the Oklahoma Constitution newspaper with 100 being the most conservative.