Oklahoma Republicans are talking about the removal of the head of the state party.
A member of the state GOP tells The Norman Transcript they are unhappy with Chairman John Bennett’s leadership after he equated the treatment of unvaccinated people to that of Jews in the Holocaust.
Governor Kevin Stitt, Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell and the leaders of the House and Senate blasted Bennett on Saturday for the Facebook post, but Bennett doubled down with a video released on Sunday.
"This is Communist. This is totalitarian," said Bennett. "And, if we don’t do something now, it’s going to end in the same, exact result as when we saw when nobody stood up whenever the Jews were told they had to wear that star."
To be clear, the state is not forcing Oklahomans to get the vaccine, and Stitt has said he will not mandate COVID-19 vaccines.
Apart from the comments, Republicans are complaining of Bennett’s mismanagement of funds, as the state GOP's Political Action Committee currently has only $810 in the bank.
To remove a sitting chairman from office, the vice-chair or one of two national committee members from the state must call for a vote and give him a 10-day notice.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
