OKLAHOMA CITY – Former state Senate P resident Brian Bingman has some company in his attempt to win e lection to the Okl ahoma Corporation Commission and succeed veteran Commissioner Bob Anthony who is term-limited.
Bingman previously was the only announced candidate and already had endorsements from Gov. Kevin Stitt and Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell. By Friday’s end of the thr ee-day candidate filing period, Bingman had four opponents.
Two of them w ere, like Bingman, candidates for the Republican nomination. It means there will be a prima ry election for the GOP nomination as former Journal Record editor and writer Russell Ray, who also used to cov er energy news for the Tulsa World, became a candidate along with Justin Hornback.
Ray, 55, issued a statement regarding his candidacy and described himself as a conser vative Republican.
“As Oklahomans struggle to pay skyrocketing costs for food, shelter and healthcare, many questions surrounding the fairness of ener gy costs being passed on to consumer s have been raised,” he said. “ Rate- and- fuel-cost cases are complicated and require a lot of expert vetting and scrutiny. I have the background and knowledge to strike the right balance between consumer concerns and business concerns.”
Ray currently is the comm unications director for the Oklahoma CareerTech system.
If Hornback’s name sounds familiar, it should, because he f iled for the 2022 corpor ation commission race that was eventually won by former Senator Kim David. Hornback has experience as an organizer for Local Union 798. He is also a certified welding inspector and a specialist in safety and health.
The GOP primary election will be he ld June 18.
Chad Williams of Choctaw is a ca ndidate for the Libertarian Party nomination. He is a f ormer chairman of the Okl ahoma Libertarian Party and also served on the Chocta w City Council.
Harold Spradling, 89, is the onl y candidate for the Democrat nomination.
Anthony began his service on the Corpor ation Commission 36 years ago, in 1989.