OKLAHOMA CITY — A term-limited Republican state legislator from Washita County announced Tuesday that he plans to run for state treasurer.
Rep. Todd Russ, 60, of Cordell, is a longtime banker who is finishing his sixth and final two-year term in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, where he represents parts of five western Oklahoma counties (Beckham, Greer, Kiowa, Roger Mills, and Washita). Lawmakers constitutionally “term out” after 12 years in the Legislature.
Russ said he intends to seek the post that’s being vacated by Republican Randy McDaniel of Nichols Hills, who announced June 1 that he will not seek re-election in 2022 to a second four-year term as state treasurer.
Oklahoma County Clerk David Hooten also announced last month that he plans to seek the Republican nomination for state treasurer.
Russ, in a news release, said he has more than 35 years of banking experience.
He served as president and CEO of Washita State Bank in Burns Flat for five years; in that time he took one of the smallest banks in the state and doubled its assets, according to the news release. He sold the majority of his bank stock and began management consulting with banks and businesses in 2008.
He started his banking career in 1983 and worked his way up at Washita State Bank with stints at a bank in Oklahoma City and at First National Bank & Trust Co. in Chickasha, where he was vice president over commercial loans.
Russ is a fourth-generation resident of western Oklahoma. He graduated in 1979 from Sentinel High School, where he was active in Future Farmers of America, receiving the State Farmer degree his senior year.
He worked as a welder to help fund his college education. He then attended Southwestern Oklahoma State University, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Finance. Russ also is a graduate of the University of Colorado Graduate School of Banking. He has specialized training in asset/ liability management and interest rate risk analysis.
Russ was defeated in 2006 in his bid for the state Senate District 26 seat. He was first elected to the House in 2011.
Russ was named the 2019 Legislator of the Year by the Oklahoma Childcare Association. He has a 100% Farm Bureau voting record and in 2020 was endorsed by the National Rifle Association.
Russ and his wife, Khristy, have been married for 37 years and are members of New Beginnings Assembly of God in Cordell. Khristy is a 20-year veteran public school teacher and owns/ operates Atlas Title and Closing. The couple has three grown children.
Oklahoma’s treasurer is the state’s chief elected financial officer and oversees state investment and cash management.