When the election season began in April, Oklahoma’s 101 House districts and 26 of the state’s Senate districts were up for grabs.
Nearly 40% of the races were won automatically by uncontested candidates. Others were settled in the primaries and runoffs. 37 remain to be decided by voters in November.
Voters replaced incumbents in top Republican leadership positions in both chambers during the primary elections, sometimes with candidates touting more right-leaning platforms than their established party members.
The November 5 general election could mean more new faces and ideas coming to the statehouse next year.
There are 12 races left in the Senate and 25 in the House. Here are two maps, one for each chamber in the Oklahoma State Legislature, showing the districts with active races and the candidates running for them. Additionally, there is some additional context for some of the upcoming races in both Chambers.
Senate District 15: Lisa Standridge (R) v. Elizabeth Foreman (D)
Lisa Standridge hopes to replace her husband, Rob Standridge, who was first elected in 2012 and is termed out. In his 12 years of office serving Norman, Rob Standridge authored 48 measures for consideration by fellow lawmakers; five were signed into law.
Rob Standridge passed measures related mostly to health care and the regulation of certain medicines. His wife's election could likely mean a continuation of the status quo in some places, but Lisa Standridge’s platform, according to posts on her Campaign’s Facebook profile, is more centered around talking points like immigration, lowering taxes, and “parental rights.”
Standridge's description at the top of her Facebook page reads, “Mom. Entrepreneur. Conservative warrior for children and families.”
Elizabeth Foreman aims to jump from representing Oklahomans at the city level as a council member in Norman’s Ward 6 to the state level in SD 15. She is a finance professional and mom, according to her campaign website. Her Democratic platform includes fighting the proposed turnpike projects in Cleveland County, ensuring easier health care access and funding for public schools.
Senate District 46: Charles Barton (R) v. Mark Mann (D) v. David Pilchman (I)
This Senate District would not be up for grabs at all, if the incumbent Democrat, Kay Floyd, hadn’t announced her retirement from office earlier this year.
As the most diverse Senate District in the state, it’s likely to stay blue, meaning Mark Mann would take the race. But it’s also the only three-way race in the Senate this November.
Often, third-party candidates, while unlikely to win, can make those who are likely suffer the opposite fate by pulling votes away from them. If that were to happen here, a district that has been blue for more than a decade would flip to the opposing party.
Senate District 47: Kelly E. Hines (R) v. Erin Brewer (D)
The winner of this race would replace the Senate’s top leader, Greg Treat, R- Oklahoma City, as the representative for Senate District 47. Treat is also termed limited.
This race is interesting because Hines is markedly more conservative than Treat and has taken the angle that Oklahoma’s aerospace sector is ready to explode.
His Democratic opponent, Erin Brewer, is pushing a message of “partnership, not division” on her website. She also prioritizes government transparency, dealing with the negative effects on the state caused by illegal immigration, and supporting public schools.
House District 39: Erick Harris (R) v. Richard Prawdzienski (L)
Erick Harris, an Edmond Republican, is the incumbent serving this district, but he hasn’t been there for the entirety of his term limit like many of the others. He won his seat in a special election in February held to replace former state representative Ryan Martinez.
Harris is facing a former opponent in Richard Prawdzienski, a Libertarian also from Edmond.
House District 63: Trey Caldwell (R) v. Shykira Smith (D)
This is an interesting race because of its stakes. The current chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston, has already been voted out of office this year. If Rep. Trey Caldwell, R-Lawton, were to lose to Smith, that would mean the House would be without the committee’s vice-chair too.
Caldwell’s time in office has been defined by work to increase access to health care in rural parts of the state, criminal justice reform and education funding. Smith is pushing for accountability and representation of marginalized Oklahomans.
