June 2022 Archives

Polls will be open Tuesday, June 28, 2022, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

NOTE: Precinct boundaries, voting locations, and district boundaries have changed, in some cases dramatically. Enter your name and date of birth on the Oklahoma State Election Board's online voter portal and you will see where to vote and your sample ballot.

In response to popular demand, I have assembled the guidance detailed below into a downloadable, printable, single-page PDF.

Here are the candidates I'm recommending and (if in the district) voting for in the Oklahoma Republican primary elections on June 28, 2022. (This entry will change as I decide to add more detail, link previous articles, or discuss additional races between now and election day. The entry is post-dated to keep it at the top.)

As I post this, I'm still unsure about several races, and there are other races I had planned to write about in detail, but time is short, people are voting, and many have asked for a summary of my recommendations. My most enthusiastic choices are in bold; in other races, there may be one or two other candidates that would be acceptable, or I simply don't know the endorsed candidate as well as I would like. There are certain incumbents that I'd like to see defeated, but I don't feel comfortable endorsing an opponent at this point. I'll try to fill in TBDs and NOTs before the start of early voting.

US Senate (unexpired term): Nathan Dahm
US Senate (full term): Joan Farr
1st Congressional District: Kevin Hern renominated without opposition
2nd Congressional District: Josh Brecheen
3rd Congressional District: Wade Burleson
4th Congressional District: James Taylor
5th Congressional District: Subrina Banks

Governor: Kevin Stitt
Lt. Governor: Matt Pinnell renominated without opposition
Auditor and Inspector: Cindy Byrd
Attorney General: John O'Connor
Treasurer: Todd Russ
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Ryan Walters
Labor Commissioner: Sean Roberts
Insurance Commissioner: Glen Mulready re-elected without opposition
Corporation Commissioner: Todd Thomsen

District Attorney, District 14: Steve Kunzweiler was re-elected without opposition

District 14 District Judge, Office 12: Kevin Gray

State Senate 2: Jarrin Jackson
State Senate 10: Emily DeLozier
State Senate 12: Rob Ford
State Senate 22: Jake Merrick
State Senate 26: Brady Butler
State Senate 34: Dana Prieto
State Senate 36: David Dambroso

State House 5: Tamara Bryan
State House 11: Wendi Stearman
State House 13: Brian Jackson
State House 24: Chris Banning
State House 66: Wayne Hill
State House 76: Timothy Brooks
State House 79: Paul Hassink

Tulsa County Assessor: John Wright
Tulsa County Treasurer: John Fothergill re-elected without opposition
Tulsa County Commissioner District 1: Stan Sallee renominated without opposition
Tulsa County Commissioner District 3: Bob Jack

Osage County Commissioner District 1: Everett Piper

District Attorney, District 7 (Oklahoma County): Kevin Calvey

MORE INFORMATION:

POLLING:

Amber Integrated surveyed all of the statewide races June 6-9.
KOTV/KWTV/Sooner Poll survey of the race to replace Inhofe, June 13-21

OTHER CONSERVATIVE VOICES:

Here are some blogs, endorsement lists, candidate questionnaires, and sources of information for your consideration.

• Muskogee Politico news, questionnaires, and analysis
• Muskogee Politico primary picks
• Muskogee Politico legislator tax votes, 2016-2018
• Oklahoma Conservative PAC meeting videos, including candidate speeches
• OCPAC 2022 Primary Voter Guide
• Oklahoma Constitution Index: Scores incumbent legislators on voting record
• iVoterGuide surveys of Oklahoma statewide, federal, and legislative candidates
• City Elders Tulsa speakers' videos, including candidate speeches
• Oklahomans for Life candidate surveys
• Oklahomans for the 2nd Amendment (OK2A) endorsements
• NRA-PVF endorsements
• Oklahomans for Health and Parental Rights (OKHPR) endorsements
• Endorsements from David Van Risseghem at Sooner Politics

ANTI-CONSERVATIVE VOICES:

Here are some endorsement lists that are negative indicators:

• Oklahoma Public Employees Association: State government employees union can be counted on to support bigger, less-efficient government and higher taxes
• Oklahomans for Public Education: OPE advocates for higher taxes, opposes school choice, and opposes efforts to keep leftist advocacy out of the classroom. They work to defeat principled Republicans. A yellow warning mark from OPE is a badge of honor for a conservative candidate. Here is the OPE voter guide for 2022.
• Oklahoma Education Association, state affiliate of the leftist NEA teachers' union, has endorsed nine Republicans in contested primaries. The list was leaked to Corey DeAngelis.

If you appreciate the many hours of research that went into this guide and into the rest of my election coverage, and if you'd like to help keep this site online, you can contribute to BatesLine's upkeep via PayPal. In addition to keeping me caffeinated, donated funds pay for web hosting, subscriptions, and paid databases I use for research. Many thanks to those generous readers who have already contributed.

It's now 7 hours until polls open, but there are a couple of things that came up in the last couple of days worth noting:

In the full-term Senate race, I changed my pick from Jackson Lahmeyer to Joan Farr. My vote for Lahmeyer was a protest against incumbent James Lankford's squishiness and opposition to fixing McGirt, but now I feel we need to protest against Lahmeyer's creepy and misleading ads. The most recent example is Lahmeyer's use of an Associated Press story about a deposition Lankford gave in a 2010 lawsuit in which the family of a 13-year-old girl sued the family of a 15-year-old boy who had had sex with her, presumably at Falls Creek Baptist Assembly, of which Lankford was director prior to winning the 5th Congressional District seat.

The specific question by the attorney is not provided as a direct quote in the story, nor is the case number provided, which would allow independent analysis, but there seems to be a gap between the question the lawyer is asking -- Can a 13-year-old legally consent to sex? -- and the question Lankford appears to be answering -- Is it possible that a 13-year-old would willingly agree to participate in sex? The answer to the latter question is sadly, yes, a 13-year-old could be groomed by an older child or adult or warped by online filth. This is why we have age of consent laws. From the story:

Under additional questioning about whether he would allow his two daughters to consent to sex at the age of 13, Lankford gave a more expansive answer.

"No, I would not encourage that at all," he said. "Could she make that choice? I hope she would not, but I would not encourage that in any way with my own daughter."

Lahmeyer has turned Lankford's answer into a scandal: "Senator Lankford said under oath in a deposition that a 13 year old is old enough to consent for sex." But that isn't what Lankford said, and Lahmeyer is intelligent enough to know it. Lankford was quite clear that he doesn't approve of teenagers engaging in sexual activity; I suspect he would disapprove of anyone having sex before or outside of marriage. I've never heard anything to the contrary.

So how to teach Lankford a lesson without rewarding Lahmayer's mendacity? A vote for Joan Farr. Farr has managed to put herself on the ballot simultaneously in Oklahoma and Kansas for U. S. Senate seats in both states. She has no chance of prevailing in either state. But a vote for her is one more non-Lankford vote, and if there are more votes for other candidates than for Lankford, there would be a runoff. My hope is that winding up in a runoff as an incumbent would be a wake-up call for Lankford and an occasion for repentance and reform. If forcing Lankford into a runoff happens largely because of Farr, this ought to be a humbling outcome for Lahmeyer.

In the other Senate election, the race for Jim Inhofe's unexpired term, allies of Cushing physician Randy Grellner are claiming that it's Grellner that has a shot at the runoff. One of his followers recently called me a liar for pointing out that the most recent public poll of the race has Grellner at 1% but Nathan Dahm at 8%, within 5 points of passing T. W. Shannon and making a runoff with Mullin if conservatives close ranks behind Dahm. The Amber Integrated survey, also from the month of June, also put Grellner at 1%.

This follower claimed that Grellner got 15% in a recent poll. When I asked for proof, I was sent a screenshot of a push-poll question:

With a field of 13 candidates running for U. S. Senate, the race will go to a runoff. As of today, the frontrunner is Markwayne Mullin, but in a close second are several candidates with a variety of backgrounds. They are: Dr. Randy Grellner, a Republican Businessman who started from humble beginnings working on a ranch; Former Speaker of the House and CEO of Chickasaw Bank TW Shannon; and former EPA Administrator under President Trump, Scott Pruitt. if the election for those three were held today, who would you vote for?

The screenshot did not include results, but it's apparent that this was a push poll ("started from humble beginnings") designed to frame Grellner as the conservative outsider alternative, not a scientific poll, and it does not provide useful information to a conservative voter wanting to vote strategically for the like-minded candidate with the best shot of reaching a runoff. If you can only manage 15% of the vote in a poll that excludes the front runner (Mullin) and two well-funded conservative alternatives (Dahm and Holland), that is not at all impressive. I am suspicious that, because the number of respondents was small, this survey was designed to generate a number that Grellner could report favorably. It was certainly not designed to produce an honest result, and it will mislead Grellner's supporters to a disappointing outcome, one in which their votes could have, but didn't, help boost a conservative into the runoff.

More short takes on races for county offices, Tulsa area legislative seats, and judicial races.

There isn't a primary in two of the Tulsa County races up this year: County Treasurer John Fothergill did not draw an opponent at all, and District 1 County Commissoner Stan Sallee is unopposed for the Republican nomination, but will face Democrat Sean Johnson in the general election. (County Clerk, Court Clerk, Sheriff, and Commissioner District 2 are up in presidential election years.)

Tulsa County Assessor: John Wright. In 2018, John Wright succeeded his boss, Ken Yazel, and has continued to work to improve the office's professionalism and public access. A new assessor's office website is due to come online next week.

Tulsa County Commission District 3: Bob Jack. When he ran for State Senate 6 years ago, I was skeptical of Jack's conservative bona fides because of his past involvement with the Chamber, but I have had occasion over the intervening years to watch his service as a volunteer and elected official in the Tulsa County Republican Party. I have observed Bob Jack's solid commitment and willingness to advocate clearly for conservative principles, even in the face of public flack, as well as his increased wariness of forces that work under the GOP label but against the GOP platform. As a long-time but now retired leader in the construction industry, he is well equipped to scrutinize public works expenditures for waste.

Judicial District 14, Office 12: Kevin Gray. Gray, registered to vote as a Republican, has served as a prosecutor under District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler. Gray led the prosecution of the criminal who shot two Tulsa police officers, killing one. Incumbent Judge Martha Rupp Carter, first elected in 2018, did not seek re-election. The other candidates in the race are Tanya N. Wilson, a Democrat, and Todd Tucker, a Republican. Wilson has the financial backing of Kaiser System lawyer Frederic Dorwart and several other attorneys from his firm. Regardless of the winning percentage, the top two vote-getters in the Tulsa County-only primary will advance to the November general election for voters in both Tulsa and Pawnee Counties.

Only one other judgeship in District 14 was contested this year. There will be a November election for Office 13 between R. Kyle Alderson and David A. Guten. Both candidates are registered Republicans. The office was held by Judge William Musseman, Jr., who has been appointed by Gov. Stitt to the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Legislative seats:

We've seen that we can generally count on Oklahoma Republicans to advance the pro-life cause and laws that carry out the Second Amendment, among other culturally sensitive issues. Where many Republicans have tended to fail those who elected them is in letting themselves be lead around by special-interest lobbyists either directly, or via legislative leadership. Republican legislators who demonstrate independence of mind and determination to eliminate waste and protect taxpayers are routinely targeted for defeat in the primaries by their Republican colleagues. There are too many legislative races to evaluate in detail as I would like to do if I had time, but you can go to the Ethics Commission website to see who gave the candidates money, you can see how incumbents did in the Oklahoma Constitution index, and you can see who is endorsed or condemned by anti-taxpayer groups like OPEA, OPE, and the State Chamber PAC. Notes on a few races that touch Tulsa and surrounding counties:

State Senate 2: Jarrin Jackson was an infantry officer in Afghanistan and Bronze Star recipient. Jackson received Tom Coburn's endorsement when challenging incumbent congressman Markwayne Mullin in 2016 for the seat Coburn once held. Jackson was a frequent guest on KFAQ's Pat Campbell Show, which gave a wide audience opportunity to observe his intelligent analysis and commitment to America's founding principles. Ally Seifried has some endorsements from conservative organizations, but her donors (including the State Chamber PAC and Democrat donor Burt Holmes) and consultants point to her being the last candidate conservatives should want in office.

State Senate 10: Emily DeLozier. Her opponent, incumbent Bill Coleman, has been endorsed by the leftist Oklahoma Education Association and by OPE.

State Senate 12: Rob Ford has served as a town official in Mounds and for many years as a leader in the Creek County Republican Party, which is how I got to know him. Both candidates in the race got an A rating from OKHPR. Anti-taxpayer organization OPE gave a poisoned apple to Ford's opponent.

State Senate 34: Dana Prieto has been endorsed by OKHPR and OCPAC. Prieto is a long-time small business owner who was endorsed by Tom Coburn in his previous run for State Senate. Peixotto also got an A rating on his OKHPR survey. Either Republican would be preferable to incumbent Democrat J. J. Dossett, but from campaign filings Prieto seems to have a better organized campaign.

State Senate 36: David Dambroso is endorsed by OK2A, OKHPR, and OCPAC. Incumbent John Haste got a C from OKHPR for his voting record on matters of health and parental rights, and he has been endorsed by the leftists at OPE and OPEA.

House District 24: Chris Banning, an Air Force veteran who founded Banning Investment Group and Banning Contracting Services, two service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses that provide services to the U. S. Department of Defense and Department of Veteran Affairs. According to his LinkedIn profile, Banning also serves as a director of the Oklahoma Defense Industry Association. Banning has been endorsed by OKHPR, OK2A, and OCPAC. Incumbent Logan Phillips has been endorsed by leftists at OEA, OPE, and OPEA, and his voting record earned a D from OKHPR.

House District 29: No recommendation. Kyle Hilbert, the incumbent, has been endorsed by OCPAC and OK2A, has a B (but not an endorsement) from OKHPR for his voting record, but is also endorsed by OPE and OPEA. Hlibert's rating from the Oklahoma Constitution newspaper is a mere 58 over his career, although he managed an 80 in the 2021 session. His opponent, Rick Parris, ran for the seat as a Democrat in 2016.

House District 66: Wayne Hill, Osage County GOP chairman, OK2A chapter director, and board member of Mend Pregnancy Resource Center, has been endorsed by OK2A, OKHPR, and OCPAC. Gabe Renfrow has the support of OPE and OPEA, plus lots of money from PACs. Clay Staires, brother-in-law of State Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready and son of the founders of Shepherd's Fold Ranch near Avant, and Sand Springs city councilor Mike Burdge are also running. Incumbent Jadine Nollan is term limited.

House District 76: Timothy Brooks is an agency partner with Flippo Insurance and volunteers as a Trail Life leader. Brooks was endorsed by OCPAC. Incumbent Ross Ford has been endorsed by OKHPR and OK2A, but also endorsed by leftists at OEA, OPE, and OPEA. Brooks's website has a long list of examples by date and bill number of Ross Ford's liberal voting record.

House District 79: Paul Hassink is an electrical engineer with degrees from Georgia Tech and Purdue and has special concern for the security and resilience of Oklahoma's power grid. Hassink was the consensus choice of the Tulsa 9/12 project, Tulsa Area Republican Assembly, and Tulsa County Republican Men's Club. Other Republican candidates are former Tulsa City Councilor Karen Gilbert and former Washington County Treasurer Stan Stevens, who left office in 2008, after pleading guilty to drug felonies involving charges of possession of opioids with intent to distribute. Gilbert is backed by the State Chamber PAC and numerous establishment types, including Democrat donor and Council-suer Burt Holmes. The incumbent is Democrat Melissa Provenzano.

Beyond Tulsa County boundaries:

Nationally renowned conservative commentator Everett Piper is running for the 1st District seat on the Osage County Commission. Piper, who served as president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, wrote the book Not a Day Care, decrying the trend toward safe spaces and trigger warnings on American college campuses.

Kevin Calvey had a sterling conservative record as state representative. He is running for District Attorney in Oklahoma County and would be excellent in that role.

I was pleased to see that my friend Jason Carini was re-elected Rogers County Treasurer without opposition.

State Sen. Nathan Dahm is within striking distance of making it into the runoff for U. S. Senator Jim Inhofe's unexpired term, according to a new Sooner Poll of the Oklahoma Republican primary. Oklahoma conservatives are beginning to coalesce behind the Broken Arrow legislator.

The poll shows U. S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin with 38.7%, Chickasaw Nation bank CEO T. W. Shannon with 13%, Nathan Dahm with 8.1%, Inhofe chief of staff Luke Holland at 5%, Scott Pruitt at 2.4, Alex Gray at 1.8%, and Dr. Randy Grellner at 1%.

Mullin has protected his lead with the Joe Biden strategy of hiding and avoiding questions. He has skipped two televised debates, claiming congressional business and refusing even to participate remotely from Washington.

Dahm, Pruitt, and Gray have all expressed support for a clear and effective remedy for the legal chaos created by the U. S. Supreme Court's McGirt decision, namely disestablishment of the "reservations" that Justice Neil Gorsuch claims were never abolished. Gray has suspended his campaign, and Pruitt came into the race at the last minute and has struggled to build a following or campaign funds. If supporters of Pruitt, Gray, and Grellner were to back Dahm instead, a supporter of disestablishment would make the runoff. Mullin and Shannon are both publicly committed to endless legal ambiguity to the detriment of ordinary Oklahomans (both tribal members and not) and to the benefit of casino-fueled petty fiefdoms.

(Under disestablishment, tribal governments would return to their role prior to McGirt -- managing revenue generated by casinos and other businesses for the benefit of tribal citizens and overseeing land held in trust. Disestablishment would eliminate the ambiguous sovereignty status created by McGirt, in which the territorial sovereign of a place depends on the ancestry of the people present and the activities in which they are engaged.)

More short takes, this time on the races for Federal office on the June 28, 2022, Oklahoma Republican primary ballot: Both Senate seats, an open race in the 2nd Congressional District, and challenges to incumbents in Districts 3, 4, and 5. If you're on the home page, click the "Continue Reading" link to... continue reading and see the whole post.

U. S. Senate, unexpired term: Nathan Dahm. Dahm is by far the most capable legislator on the ballot. As a state senator, Dahm has been effective in writing and passing legislation that advance conservative priorities. My only reservation has been concern about dividing the conservative vote and winding up with two candidates in the runoff (Mullin and Shannon) who are willing tools of gambling-fueled petty fiefdoms and hostile to the interests of ordinary Oklahomans. While Scott Pruitt, like Dahm, is a supporter of disestablishing the purported reservations created by the McGirt ruling, and while Pruitt has previously won a statewide election, Pruitt's self-destruction as EPA administrator, the result of his arrogant indifference to boundaries and appearances, makes me doubt his ability to prevail in a runoff with Mullin or Shannon. Fundraising and social media impact indicate that Dahm has a larger and more committed following than Pruitt. In the Amber Integrated poll, Dahm and Pruitt were neck and neck, but well behind Mullin and Shannon. If the large proportion of undecided voters are conservatives put off by the front runners, but waiting to see who has a shot at the runoff, Dahm could pass Shannon.

(UPDATE: The latest Sooner Poll shows conservative support beginning to consolidate around Dahm, putting him within reach of passing Shannon for the second slot in the runoff.)

The 2022 Republican primary for Oklahoma Attorney General pits appointed conservative incumbent John O'Connor against 2018 loser Gentner Drummond. The nominee will face a Libertarian in November.

I endorse John O'Connor for Attorney General, a conservative Oklahomans can trust to defend our laws and our rights.

John O'Connor was appointed to the position by Gov. Stitt in early 2021 and is running for a full term. O'Connor has been vigorous in defending Oklahoma citizens and their laws against federal encroachment and assertive in advancing Oklahoma's position as we clean up the mess created by the erroneous McGirt decision. O'Connor has been endorsed by Oklahomans for Health and Parental Responsibility, National Right to Life, Oklahomans for the Second Amendment (OK2A), National Rifle Association PVF, Susan B. Anthony Fund, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association, Parent Voice Tulsa, Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee, among other conservative groups.

His opponent, Gentner Drummond, ran and lost in the 2018 Republican primary. As noted at the time, Drummond has been a major donor to Democrat campaigns, such as Brad Carson's run for Senate in 2004 and Dan Boren's campaigns for the U. S. House, at a time when Republican control of both bodies was on the line. In 2018, Drummond was an enthusiastic supporter of and donor to district judge candidate Christopher Uric Brecht-Smith, a homosexual leftist who expressed support for using the law to force adoption agencies to pretend "gay marriage" was no different than genuine marriage. More recently, Drummond donated $1,000 on August 31, 2020, to elect braindead Joe Biden president.

A large number of Drummond's donors are also donors to Democrat Joy Hofmeister's campaign for governor and many are connected to leftist billionaire George Kaiser's network including BOK Financial PAC, Frederic Dorwart and other attorneys from his law firm, Ruth Kaiser Nelson (George's sister, and long-time Planned Parenthood board member), Janet Levit (former TU provost and wife of GKFF executive director Ken Levit), Joey Wignarajah (Kaiser's Argonaut Private Equity).

Drummond has also taken money from tribal government officials. In a recent debate, Drummond echoed tribal bank executive T. W. Shannon's highly dubious and likely disingenuous claim that the McGirt ruling will have no precedential impact beyond criminal prosecution. Drummond also stated that he opposes congressional disestablishment of the purported reservations. Clearly, Oklahomans cannot rely on Drummond to work proactively to protect our rights against encroachment in the name of "tribal sovereignty."

In that same debate, John O'Connor showed clarity about the crisis facing Oklahomans:

"It's not just me who supports that," O'Connor said. "For 113 years, the federal government and the state of Oklahoma all treated this as there were no reservations. In 2016, one of our tribal leaders testified to the Congress that there were no reservations in the state of Oklahoma."

O'Connor said statehood effectively ended reservations in Oklahoma before pivoting to the rights of home owners.

"The promise we need to look at is the promise to eastern Oklahomans who bought their homes who have paid 20 years on a 30-year mortgage," he said. "The promise to them is that they can own their land and their homes under the circumstances that they understood when they bought their homes, and that is that the state of Oklahoma is their sovereign."

Somewhat short takes on the races for Oklahoma statewide office on the June 28, 2022, Republican primary ballot. Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell did not draw a primary opponent, and Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready has been re-elected without opposition. I've endorsed John O'Connor for Attorney General in a separate entry.

During the recent U. S. Senate debate on KOTV/KWTV, there wasn't much distance between the four participating candidates on economic matters and social issues. There were a few differences on how the U. S. should respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the wisdom of unrestricted aid to the Ukrainian government. Conservatives would find any of the candidates would be preferable to unopposed Democrat nominee Kendra Horn and losing the chance to regain Republican control of the Senate.

There were major differences on what is the most consequential issue for Oklahomans in this election: The response to the U. S. Supreme Court's decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, the Court's 5-4 declaration, contrary to over a century of settled law, that the Creek "Reservation" was never disestablished and still exists for the purposes of the Federal Major Crimes Act, and therefore a child molester's conviction in state court was invalid. Whether it would serve as a precedent affecting land title, regulation, oil and gas exploration, and taxation is a matter that Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority, chose to leave unresolved for future litigation.

The implications of a ruling in favor of tribal government territorial sovereignty were serious enough to prompt amicus briefs supporting the State of Oklahoma from the City of Tulsa, the Federal Government, the National Sheriff Association, and several states.

The situation directly created by Gorsuch's McGirt opinion is bad enough: Eastern Oklahoma crime victims who are tribal citizens and non-tribal citizens who are victimized by tribal-citizen criminals must look to a Biden-appointed U. S. Attorney and overcrowded federal courts (and Clinton/Obama/Biden federal judges) for justice, rather than the district attorneys and district judges that are directly accountable to Oklahoma voters.

Candidate Alex Gray, National Security Council chief of staff in the Trump administration, was not invited to the debate, but he has been prominent in calling for the most straightforward solution: Congress must act formally to disestablish the reservations that no one believed or claimed existed until a few years ago. This will not happen, however, unless Oklahoma senators and congressmen lead the way. It is therefore crucial for Oklahoma voters to choose candidates at every level who will actively work for disestablishment of reservations.

Nathan Dahm and Scott Pruitt spoke strongly in favor of disestablishment in the debate. Pruitt called the McGirt decision "an existential threat to the sovereignty of the state of Oklahoma," and said, "Congress has every right and every authority to disestablish reservations in the State of Oklahoma and restore the sovereign boundaries of Oklahoma." Dahm noted the verbal sleight of hand used by Gorsuch to "create" a reservation that Gorsuch admitted was never formally established. Dahm committed to introducing legislation to disestablish reservations in Oklahoma.

(The question was discussed in the KOTV/KWTV debate beginning at about 25:30.)

Luke Holland, Jim Inhofe's former chief of staff, wants to let all those pending cases based on the McGirt precedent work their way through the Federal courts and after that have the state and the Federal government and the tribal governments negotiate a crazy quilt of compacts and agreements to deal with the problems that the court rulings create.

T. W. Shannon, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and CEO of the bank owned by the Chickasaw Nation government, tried to minimize the impact of the McGirt ruling, as if the court's manufacture of a reservation would have no impact on other cases. He spoke against any federal action on the matter, attempting to frighten voters that Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer would be in control of Oklahoma's destiny. That's strange thing to say, considering that he's running for Senate in hopes of being part of an expected Republican majority in both houses of Congress with Republican leaders replacing Pelosi as Speaker of the House and Schumer as Senate Majority Leader.

Later in the debate (about 37 minutes in), Shannon was asked about the amicus curiae brief he signed in support of child molester McGirt. In reply, Shannon claimed that McGirt "is now doing more time and serving a longer sentence" after being convicted in Federal court. Shannon's answer is misleading: McGirt's sentence in state court was 500 years; now he's serving life without parole. Either way, McGirt would have spent the remainder of his life in prison, but Shannon's way was to require McGirt's victim, now an adult, to relive the abuse she suffered at Jimcy McGirt's hands so that he could be convicted a second time.

Congressman Markwayne Mullin, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, skipped the debate, but a statement Mullin made jointly with four tribal governments when the ruling was announced makes clear where he stands, with the "sovereign nations" and against Oklahoma citizens who need legal clarity and stability.

Indeed, any candidate that talks about the importance of respecting the "sovereign nations" (which went out of the sovereignty business after negotiating the sale of their territory in the run-up to statehood) has already demonstrated that he or she isn't going to be working assertively to protect the rights of ordinary Oklahomans.

The quarrel here is not with the hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans who also have citizenship in a tribe and enjoy the benefits that citizenship confers. The argument is with the tribal government leaders who have suddenly become much more important despite the tiny numbers of voters involved in electing them. In a recent column, OCPA President Jonathan Small wrote:

David Hill was elected Muscogee principal chief with 3,399 votes. Kevin Stitt was elected Oklahoma governor with 644,579 votes....

Few Cherokees are directly involved in tribal government. The tribe reports over 400,000 individuals are Cherokee citizens, but less than 14,000 voted in the last election for tribal chief. (Similar trends are also notable for the Muscogee Nation, which claims 86,100 citizens.)

Tribal governments, despite the low level of voter accountability, were already gaining influence and power thanks to tribal gambling revenues and special carveouts for tribally owned businesses. Now that court rulings may give them control over land use regulation and oil and gas exploration in half of the state, expect tribal governments to become favor factories, as businesses go through tribal officials to get the favors they want if the decisions of city or state authorities don't go their way.

Pro-abortion forces are already discussing ways to subvert the expected ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, such as a Biden executive order to make military bases sanctuaries for legal abortion, regardless of the laws of the state where a base is located. It's not a stretch to imagine a tribal government being financially induced by Planned Parenthood and abortionists to allow killing centers to open under tribal protection, even if it ran counter to the moral convictions of their tribal citizens.

In that same column, Jonathan Small commented on Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr's executive order to ban the Oklahoma flag from flying over Cherokee property. The chief quickly reversed course when a majority of the response from Cherokee citizens opposed the band.

If reservations remain established in SCOTUS's view and courts build on the McGirt precedent, these officials will have substantial and growing control over the everyday lives of Oklahomans, but only a small percentage of Oklahomans will have any say in their election. People can come to Oklahoma from Burma and Cuba and Ghana and Iraq and, in due time, follow the process to become citizens of Oklahoma and the U. S. A. with full rights. But even though my children were born here in Tulsa and have lived here their whole lives, because they don't have the right ancestry, they can never, ever be accepted as citizens of the Muscogee Nation. When South Africa allowed only a small minority ethnic group to participate in the democratic process, there was a global outcry and decades of pressure to overthrow that apartheid regime. We recognize the injustice of the situation in wealthy oil sheikdoms where the vast majority of residents are guest workers with no rights and no say in who rules them and how. Why would we want to replicate those injustices here?

The historical record makes it clear that Congress was intent on fully integrating Indian Territory and its residents into the United States of America as full citizens of a state like all the others. Tribal citizens in Indian Territory were granted U. S. citizenship in 1901. The U. S. reached negotiated settlements with each of the tribes to allot communal lands to individual Indians and to distribute the proceeds of the sale of any surplus lands for the benefit of tribal members. As of 1907, tribal governments no longer had any territory to govern.

The uncertainty and lack of accountability generated by the McGirt ruling is a problem for all Oklahomans, tribal citizens or not. At the 2022 primary, Oklahomans need to reject candidates who want to play footsie with tribal governments and elect candidates who will restore Oklahoma's sovereignty and protect the rights of all Oklahomans, not just the minority with special ancestry.

The three-day filing period for the 2022 City of Tulsa election for City Council and City Auditor has concluded. All nine council seats are contested, but City Auditor Cathy Champion Carter has been reelected without opposition.

Here is the complete list of candidates who filed. Names, ages, and addresses are from the official county election board filing list, which has not yet been posted to the website. I've added party registration, incumbent status, other affiliations, and the candidate's name in the voter rolls in parentheses where it differs from the name that will be on the ballot. (UPDATE: Here is the official list of City of Tulsa 2022 election filings.)

The 31 candidates by party registration: 17 Democrats, 10 Republicans, 2 Libertarians, 2 independents.

Councilmember - Council District 1

• Vanessa Hall-Harper (Vanessa Dee Hall-Harper), incumbent Dem, 50, 2020 W. Newton St., Tulsa, OK 74127


• David Harris (David Jeremy Harris), Dem, 48, 1780 E 51st St N, Tulsa, OK 74130


• Francetta L. Mays (Francetta Lajuana Mays), Dem, 58, 1740 W. Haskell Pl., Tulsa, OK 74127

Councilmember - Council District 2

• Aaron L Bisogno (Aaron Louis Bisogno), Rep, 35, 7722 South Saint Louis Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74136


• Jeannie Cue, incumbent Rep, 68, 5313 S 32 Pl W, Tulsa, OK 74107

Councilmember - Council District 3

• Daniel Joseph Grove, Lib, 22, 1407 N. Evanston Ave., Tulsa, OK 74110


• Crista Patrick (Crista Caye Patrick), incumbent Dem, 48, 1918 N. Joplin Ave., Tulsa, OK 74115

Councilmember - Council District 4

• Laura Bellis (Laura Simon Bellis), Dem, 33, 224 N. Rosedale Ave., Tulsa, OK 74127


• Michael Birkes (Michael Bruce Birkes), Ind, 72, 1021 E 7th St., Tulsa, OK 74120 (registration address is 702 S Owasso Ave)


• Scott Carter (Martin Scott Carter), Dem, 56, 208 East 19th St, Tulsa, OK 74119 WITHDRAWN


• Michael Feamster (Michael James Feamster), Bynum-Chamber-Rep, 39, 2259 South Rockford Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74114


• Weydan Flax (Weydan Shawn Flax), Dem, 60, 1234 S Birmingham Ave, Tulsa, OK 74104


• Matthew Fransein (Matthew James Fransein), Dem, 34, 727 S. Louisville Ave, Tulsa, OK 74112


• Bobby Dean Orcutt (Robert Dean Orcutt), Dem, 39, 1630 S. St Louis Ave, Tulsa, OK 74120

Councilmember - Council District 5

• Mykey Arthrell (Michael William Arthrell-Knezek), incumbent Dem, 37, 1747 S Erie Pl, Tulsa, OK 74112


• Latasha Jim (Latasha Earlene Jim), Ind, 29, 11035 E 16th St, Tulsa, OK 74128


• Adil Khan (Adil Khalid Khan), Dem, 38, 9815 E. 21st Pl Apt C, Tulsa, OK 74129


• Grant Miller (Adam Grant Miller), Lib, 35, 1139 S. Canton Ave., Tulsa, OK 74112


• Ty Walker (Tyron Vincent Walker), Rep, 56, 8538 E. 24th St., Tulsa, OK 74129

Councilmember - Council District 6

• Christian Bengel (Christian D. Bengel), Rep, 54, 13173 E 29th St., Tulsa, OK 74134


• Connie Dodson (Connie L Dodson), Dem, 55, 13302 E. 28th St., Tulsa, OK 74134


• Lewana Harris (Lewana Michelle Harris), Dem, 45, 1505 S. 117th E. Ave, Tulsa, OK 74128

Councilmember - Council District 7

• Jerry Griffin (Gerald Ray Griffin), Rep, 78, 6552 E. 60th, Tulsa, OK 74145


• Ken Reddick (Kenneth Andrew Reddick), Rep, 39, 5008 S 85th East Ave, Tulsa, OK 74133


• Lori Decter Wright (Lori Marie Decter-Wright), Dem, 47, 8706 East 86th Street, Tulsa, OK 74133

Councilmember - Council District 8

• Scott Houston (Jon Scott Houston), Rep, 66, 8534 S. 70th E Ave, Tulsa, OK 74133


• Phil Lakin (Phillip Lawrence Lakin, Jr.), incumbent GKFF-Rep, 54, 9808 S. Knoxville Ave, Tulsa, OK 74137

Councilmember - Council District 9

• Lee Ann Crosby (Bobbie Leeann Crosby), Dem, 38, 3845 South Madison Ave, Tulsa, OK 74105


• Jayme Fowler (Jayme Don Fowler), incumbent Rep, 63, 5601 S. Gary Ave, Tulsa, OK 74105


• Chad Hotvedt (Chad Edward Hotvedt), Dem, 38, 1515 E 60th St, Tulsa, OK 74105

City Auditor

• Cathy Champion Carter, Dem, 67, 4120 E 22nd Pl, Tulsa, OK 74114

CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this entry, I had erroneously transcribed Ken Reddick's date of birth and the address on his declaration, and I incorrectly identified the full registration name for Christian Bengel in District 6 as Riley Christian Bengel (his son).

UPDATE 2022/06/17: Scott Carter withdrew his candidacy for District 4 by the Friday deadline.

At the end of the second day (June 14, 2022) of the three-day filing period for the 2022 City of Tulsa election for City Council and City Auditor, only two incumbents remain unopposed: District 3 Councilor Crista Patrick (D) and City Auditor Cathy Champion Carter (D).

All nine City Council seats and the City Auditor position will be on the ballot. The filing period continues through 5 p.m. Wednesday. The City of Tulsa filing packet is here. A candidate must turn in a notarized declaration of candidacy to the Tulsa County Election Board at 555 N. Denver, along with a $50 cashier's check as a deposit or a nominating petition signed by at least 300 registered voters in the district in lieu of a deposit.

In Tuesday's filings, incumbent District 8/GKFF Councilor Phil Lakin now has a challenger in Republican Scott Houston, an insurance company VP who is also an author and motivational speaker. On his campaign website, Houston emphasizes conservative values, limiting government overreach (specifically mentioning mask mandates and business shutdowns), and roads and infrastructure. Houston's filing means there are now conservatives running in four of the nine council races.

Incumbents Vanessa Hall-Harper (D, District 1) and Mykey Arthrell (D, District 5) filed for re-election, along with two more candidates in District 5, Latasha Jim (I) and Grant Miller (D). Lee Ann Crosby (D) filed in District 9; incumbent Jayme Fowler has yet to file for re-election.

The race for the open seat in District 4 added two candidates, Scott Carter (D) and Bobby Dean Orcutt (D). Carter is registered to vote as Martin Scott Carter; the publications list on the webpage of Scott Carter, Professor of Economics at the University of Tulsa, has Martin Carter listed as author for most of the articles listed.

Bobby Dean Orcutt is owner of the Mercury Lounge. He was planning a run for District 4, held off with the intention of backing Emeka Nnaka, but now that the district boundary modification in April has moved Nnaka into District 1, Orcutt has evidently decided to jump back in.

Party registration of the 24 candidates who have filed thus far: 14 Democrats, 8 Republicans, 1 Libertarians, and 1 independent.

Here is the complete list of candidates who filed as of Tuesday evening Names, ages, and addresses are from the official county election board filing list. I've added party registration, incumbent status, other affiliations, and the candidate's name in the voter rolls in parentheses where it differs from the name that will be on the ballot.

Today (June 13, 2022) was the first day of the three-day filing period for the 2022 City of Tulsa election for City Council and City Auditor. All nine City Council races will be on the ballot. The filing period continues through 5 p.m. Wednesday. The City of Tulsa filing packet is here. A candidate must turn in a notarized declaration of candidacy to the Tulsa County Election Board at 555 N. Denver, along with a $50 cashier's check as a deposit or a nominating petition signed by at least 300 registered voters in the district in lieu of a deposit.

This will be the first election using the Tulsa city council district lines drawn after the 2020 census. Precinct boundaries and numbers have changed as well. On April 6, 2022, the council adopted significant changes to the final redistricting plan produced by the Election District Commission in December 2021. The map below (click to see the full size version) shows the originally adopted 2021 plan in blue-and-white lines and the current districts as colored areas. A consequence of that change is that Emeka Nnaka, who came to the election board today to file for the open District 4 seat, learned that his Kendall-Whittier home was now in District 1. He left without filing.

As of the end of the first day, incumbents have filed for re-election in the auditor's race and five of the nine council districts. District 4 Councilor Kara Joy McKee announced earlier this year that she would not seek re-election. All other incumbent councilors are reported to be running for re-election, but incumbents in Districts 1, 5, and 9 have yet to file.

So far incumbents Crista Patrick and Phil Lakin (District 8) are unchallenged. Patrick is the latest member of the family dynasty to sit in the District 3 seat. Lakin is chairman of the George Kaiser Family Foundation and CEO of the Tulsa Community Foundation, and as such represents the stranglehold that billionaire George Kaiser has on Tulsa city government and the non-profit sector, pushing the city leftward. Challenging and defeating Lakin would be a good start on making Tulsa where community organizations once again represent the city's diversity.

Conservatives have filed for only three of the seats. Ty Walker, a restaurateur who ran for Mayor in 2020, has filed in District 5, a seat he sought in 2018 when no incumbent was running. In District 7, Tulsa school board member Jerry Griffin has filed to challenge incumbent Democrat Lori Decter Wright. In District 6, Christian Bengel is seeking a rematch with incumbent Democrat Connie Dodson -- two years ago, he advanced to a runoff but lost in November.

The open seat in District 4 has so far drawn only two candidates. Michael Feamster, an executive at Nabholz Construction Corporation, and Laura Bellis, a Planned Parenthood Great Plains advisory board member. Bellis has pronouns in her LinkedIn bio. In April 2020, Bellis made news for urging Gov. Stitt to lock down Oklahoma. Feamster's LinkedIn feed is full of cheerleading for the Chamber and G. T. Bynum, and raised over $28,000 as of March 31, from many of the usual establishment funders, including $5,000 from QuikTrip PAC and a maximum $2,900 donation from the Osage Nation. Michael Junk, Bynum's former deputy mayor and campaign manager, hosted a fundraiser for Feamster last fall, prompting questions about Bynum's support for Feamster's candidacy. Clearly, conservative voters and supporters of midtown neighborhood preservation don't yet have a candidate to vote for in the District 4 race; hopefully one will emerge by Wednesday.

While city elections have been officially non-partisan since 2016, all of the 16 candidates who have filed thus far are registered to vote with a political party: 9 Democrats and 7 Republicans. Republicans are a plurality of registered voters in Tulsa, at 86,796, compared to 84,320 registered Democrats, 43,460 independent voters, and 2,063 registered Libertarians. While party registration doesn't say everything that needs to be said about a candidate's views, particularly on city issues, and while RINOs abound, it is one more piece of information that a voter may find useful.

Here is the complete list of candidates who filed on Monday. Names, ages, and addresses are from the official county election board filing list. I've added party registration, incumbent status, other affiliations, and the candidate's name in the voter rolls in parentheses where it differs from the name that will be on the ballot.

The last surviving Howard Johnson's restaurant, located in Lake George, New York, was recently found to have closed, evidently for good. An enthusiast, Alyssa Kelly, reported on Facebook over Memorial Day weekend that there were cobwebs on the door, a for-lease sign out front, and all the furnishings and memorabilia gone. This followed years of inconsistent schedules and poor management. One commenter on Kelly's post stated that the Lake George location didn't deserve the title of last HoJo's; but that honor belonged to the stores in Lake Placid, NY, Waterbury, CT, and Bangor, ME. Atlas Obscura profiled the Lake George HoJo's in 2019, noting that it had opened in 1953.

HoJo was once the largest restaurant chain in America, famous for fried clam rolls and 28 ice cream flavors (33 if you counted their five flavors of sherbet). The Bangor, Maine, HoJo's, which closed in 2016, was the last survivor in New England, where the chain got its start. This Yankee magazine feature story from 2015 outlines the history that began when Howard Johnson opened an ice cream parlor in the Wollaston neighborhood of Quincy, Mass., and describes the diner's mid-century atmosphere: "The deep red vinyl booths, wood paneling, patterned carpet, and the unmistakable whiff of restaurant/lounge mixed with fried food is a powerful combination."

Some HoJo fans mark as the beginning of the end the 2005 closure of the Times Square restaurant, with its spectacular neon depiction of the Simple Simon and the Pie Man logo.

The news got me thinking about the days when HoJo was dominant on Oklahoma's turnpikes. HighwayHost.org documents long-lost or much-changed chains that served the motoring public, thriving in the 1960s and 1970s, including Howard Johnson's, Horne's, Stuckey's, Holiday Inn, Alamo Plaza, Wigwam, Nickerson Farms. This page documents Howard Johnson's in Oklahoma, including motels in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Norman, standalone restaurants, and the many locations on Oklahoma turnpikes.

In 1953, Howard Johnson's won the restaurant concession for the newly opened Turner Turnpike, with the big restaurant on the eastbound side near Stroud (linked with the other direction of travel by a pedestrian overpass), counter-service cafes linked with Phillips 66 gas stations at Heyburn (first-stop westbound) and Chandler (first stop east-bound). Howard Johnson himself traveled to Oklahoma for the dedication. The Highway Host website says that HoJo also had a sit-down restaurant at Wellston and counter service at Bristow, but I never knew those sites as anything other than Stuckey's. The service areas were built by Phillips, who then sublet the restaurant spaces to HoJo.

Postcard of the Turner Turnpike midway and toll gate.Courtesy of Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma County

U. S. Senator Jim Inhofe is retiring after a long political career that includes service in the Oklahoma State Senate, 6 years as Mayor of Tulsa, 8 years in the U. S. House, and 28 years in the Senate. 13 Republican candidates have filed for the seat.

This article is an overview of the field, with links to candidate websites, social media profiles, and campaign finance information. The candidate's name will be hyperlinked to his or her campaign website, if it exists. The Wagoner County Republican Party asked each of the candidates to complete a lengthy questionnaire, but only four candidates responded. These are linked in the list below as WCRP.

The winner of the primary (after a likely August runoff) will face former Democrat congresswoman Kendra Horn, Libertarian perennial candidate Robert Murphy, and 86-year-old independent candidate Ray Woods on the general election ballot.

Only five candidates reported receiving campaign contributions to the Federal Election Commission as of March 31, 2022. Former Attorney General and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt entered the race during the filing period and has presumably raised money. The next FEC filing deadline is June 16, which will cover pre-primary contributions through June 8. Additionally, the final filer in the race, Dr. Randy Grellner, has announced an expenditure of $786,000 to produce and run a TV commercial, so I've included him in the tier of candidates making a serious run.

Because only two candidates can advance to the August runoff, conservative voters will need to consolidate around a single champion in the primary to have any hope of having someone worth voting for in the runoff. Polling and spending will be important factors for casting a strategic vote in June. I've been encouraging absentee voters to hold off voting until we have a clearer picture of the battlefield. The pre-election FEC reports will be telling. Sooner Poll polled this race and other statewide and congressional races, but they only managed a sample of 306 voters over a 17-day period, and 31.4% of voters were undecided.

Nathan Dahm, Broken Arrow, 39, State Senator, District 33. FEC, campaign FB page, personal FB profile, @NathanDahm on Twitter.

Alex Gray, Nichols Hills, 32, former National Security Council Chief of Staff in the Trump administration: FEC, campaign FB page, @AlexGrayForOK on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube channel.

Randy J. Grellner, Cushing, 56, family practice physician: FEC, campaign FB page, medical practice website.

Luke Holland, Tulsa, 35, former chief of staff to Sen. Jim Inhofe: FEC, personal FB profile, @LukeHollandOK on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube channel.

Markwayne Mullin, Westville, 44, U. S. Representative, 2nd District: FEC, @MarkwayneMullin on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube channel.

Scott Pruitt, Tulsa, 54, former Oklahoma Attorney General, former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator: FEC, campaign FB page, @ScottPruitt_OK on Twitter, YouTube channel, WCRP.

T.W. Shannon, Oklahoma City, 44, CEO of Chickasaw Community Bank, former Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives: FEC, campaign FB page, @TWShannon on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube channel.

There are six more candidates who filed for the unexpired four-year Senate term:

Michael Coibion, Bartlesville, 67: personal FB profile, WCRP.

Jessica Jean Garrison, Owasso, 47: FEC, personal FB page, campaign FB page, WCRP.

Adam Holley, Bixby, 41: FEC, personal FB page, @adamforoklahoma on Twitter, YouTube channel, WCRP.

Laura Moreno, Edmond, 37, nurse practitioner: personal FB profile, medical practice website.

Paul Royse, Tulsa, 52, : campaign FB page, personal FB profile.

John F. Tompkins, Oklahoma City, 65, orthopedic surgeon: FEC, personal FB profile, book page.