Oklahoma Voters Set to Decide Key Races in Tuesday's Runoff Primaries
Oklahoma voters will head to the polls Tuesday for the runoff primary elections.
In the state legislature, the primary races for seats in both the House and the Senate are in their final stages before November’s general election.
House Budget leader Kevin Wallace, a Republican, faces a challenge from a member of his party in Jim Shaw of Chandler.
In the Senate, retired Colonel Kelly Hines and former ICU Nurse Jenny Schmitt, both Republicans, are vying to replace termed-out Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat.
In Oklahoma City, voters will have the chance to decide on a potential hotel tax increase. Three quarters of the funds generated from the increase would be used for tourism promotion.
In Tulsa, residents are set to select a new mayor, as current mayor G.T. Bynum is not seeking re-election.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. To find your voting location, visit the Oklahoma State Election Board website.
Oklahoma Sees Rise in COVID-19 Cases
The new “FLiRT” COVID-19 variants are on the rise. Oklahoma is among the states that have the highest test positivity rates in the country.
Dr. Douglas Drevets is Chief of Infectious Diseases at OU Health. He says the symptoms are typical of what we’ve seen with past COVID variants.
"You feel sick, fever, cough, shortness of breath and chest pain when you breathe. Often people have a sore throat and can lose their sense of smell," said Drevets.
Drevents encourages Oklahomans to get the recently FDA-approved COVID shot. He says if you got a COVID vaccine last year, it won't have the strain of the virus that is similar to this FLiRT variant.
"If you’ve had COVID within the last six months or so, more than likely that was a FLiRT variant and so you will have a high degree of protection, at least for now," Drevets said.
And with kids back in school Drevents says it’s possible we could see another peak within the next two to four weeks.
Oklahoma City Council To Consider Name Change For Will Rogers World Airport
Will Rogers World Airport could be getting a new name.
Airport officials announced the new name would be Will Rogers International Airport.
The anticipated name change comes as the airport is set to offer international flights in the spring.
The Oklahoma City Council is expected to consider the name change during their meeting today. If approved, the airport says the new name and branding will likely roll out as soon as next month.
Gov. Stitt Discusses Housing Shortage Solutions
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt answered questions about the Republican party platform on national television Sunday.
CBS’ Face the Nation Anchor Margaret Brennan questioned Stitt about former President Trump’s plan to tackle the housing shortage across the country, including here in Oklahoma, asking if Trump’s plan to release federal lands to build homes is sufficient.
Stitt did not answer with a concrete ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but did talk about cutting housing regulations to build more homes.
“Permitting reform, make it easier [for] developers, make it easier for people to develop and build houses, get rid of regulations, that’s the free-market principles that we believe in," Stitt said.
According to the non-profit National Low Income Housing Coalition, there’s a shortage of homes for low-income families across Oklahoma.
In Tulsa, according to a 2023 report from the non-profit Housing Solutions, just under 13,000 housing units are needed in the next ten years to meet demand in the metro area.
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