Lucas favored in Jackson, Kiowa counties
Two Republicans breezed to victory Tuesday in key legislative races involving Kiowa County.
In House District 55, incumbent state Rep. Todd Russ, R-Cordell, swept past challenger Austin Gipson-Black, D-Texola, to win his sixth and final two-year term.
Russ, who is term limited in 2022, received almost 80% of the total vote in a legislative district that involves five counties: Kiowa, Beckham, Greer, Washita and Roger Mills.
Russ, who was first elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2011, received 11,260 votes compared to 2,855 for Gipson-Black, according to unofficial vote tallies from the Oklahoma State Election Board. The election results will be declared official at 5 p.m. Friday unless there is a legal challenge.
Meanwhile, Amber Republican Dick Lowe outlasted Amber Democrat Craig Parham to win the House District 56 seat with more than 67% of the vote. Lowe, a political newcomer, received 8,656 votes compared to 4,256 for Parham. House District 56 covers Kiowa, Caddo and Grady counties. Incumbent Rep. David Perryman, D-Chickasha, decided not to seek another term.
On the congressional level, longtime U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, won handily, claiming more than 78% of the total vote over challenger Zoe Midyett, D-Oklahoma City. In Kiowa County, more than 83% of the voters cast their ballots for Lucas. Jackson County voters mirrored those results by favoring Lucas with 81% of the total vote.
Lucas was elected to Congress during a special election in 1994. He has been re-elected 13 times since then, never dropping below 59% of the total vote.
Oklahoma voters also turned down two state questions, including the controversial proposed constitutional amendment that would have prevented judges from using a defendant’s past criminal convictions to enhance prison sentences for offenses deemed to be nonviolent.
Again, Kiowa County and Jackson County voters mirrored the overall state results by rejecting State Question 805 by large margins. Kiowa County residents cast 2,286 ballots against the proposal while 1,046 voters favored SQ 805. Jackson County voters opposed SQ 805 by a margin of 68% to 32%.
State Question 814 was defeated statewide by more than 250,000 votes. SQ 814 would have allowed the state Legislature to reallocate money from Oklaho- ma’s Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust to the state’s general fund to help pay for the expanded Medicaid program voters approved in June.
Oklahoma is one of several states that receive annual payments from tobacco companies that settled lawsuits instead of going to court. In November 2000, state voters approved a measure that allows only interest earnings on investments from the TSET to be spent, and only for tobacco prevention, cancer research and other health-related programs.
Jackson and Kiowa County voters helped propel Todd Hiett, R-Kellyville, to another six-year term on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, and voted to give U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe another six-year term. Inhofe defeated Democrat Abby Broyles by garnering more than 62% of the total votes cast in the statewide race.
Inhofe, 86, told KWTV-9 News during its election coverage Tuesday night that this would likely be his last U.S. Senate race.