Pae secures GOP nomination in landslide victory

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  • Oklahoma Votes
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Rep. Daniel Pae
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Incumbent Lawton state Representative Daniel Pae swept to landslide victory in Tuesday’s primary election, winning 74% of the votes, against fellow Republican Robert Johns in the House District 62 race.

Pae will face Democratic candidate Larry Bush in the November 3 general election.

Going into the election, Pae said he liked to think of himself as the underdog.

“I think like I’m 20 points down,” he said. “I worked aggressively hard and tried to talk to as many voters as I could.”

Johns remained critical of Pae after the results came in, saying the race was the first he could recall where an incumbent representative won a campaign by do- ing absolutely nothing.

“He needs to learn how to pay attention to his voters, or his constituents rather, and less to his colleagues,” Johns said. “Because I will be there when he steps out of line and strays away from the Constitution.”

Johns said the outcome of the election can’t be changed, but during his time campaigning he learned constituents don’t like politicians who play around with their rights. He said Pae was doing just that.

“One thing I’ve learned from all of this is that people don’t like it when politicians start messing with their rights,” Johns said. “You know, things that Pae tried to vote away.”

Johns said it is difficult to beat an incumbent with a lot of money, but regardless of last night’s outcome he doesn’t plan on giving up. “We’ll go after him again in a couple of years when he thinks he’s going to run for Senate,” he said.

Going forward, Pae said he will be prioritizing economic development and will continue building a strong relationship with Fort Sill.

“PSO (Public Service Company of Oklahoma) is going to partner with Fort Sill in providing them energy and that’s going to help in the long-run when it comes to any rash decisions from Congress,” Pae said. “That’s going to solidify our standing and bode well for community growth.”

Pae said the next session will be a catch-up term for many lawmakers because the current pandemic slowed down the process of moving bills through the legislature.

He will be advocating for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples bill to help locate missing Native American women. He also plans to continue working closely with Rep. Carol Bush (R-Tulsa) on the Needle Exchange Program to help curb drug addiction.

State Question 802, which expands Oklahoma’s Medicaid system was also on Tuesday’s ballot.

More than 6,000 Comanche County residents voted in favor of the state question while about 5,000 voted against the measure.

“It’s (expanding Medicaid) going to help over 200,000 people who need quality health insurance,” Pae said.

However, Pae said he is concerned about finding the funding to meet the state’s portion of the cost to implement SQ 802.

Pae said there are only two options when it comes to finding funding for Medicaid expansion – either increase revenue or reduce spending in order to meet the financial obligations.

He said, given the economic uncertainty Oklahoma is facing, he believes uncovering the funding needed will be challenging.

Though Pae expects to face many challenges during the upcoming general election, he said it is his job to make the tough decisions.

“I think people are tired of the bitter partisan nature of our country’s politics,” he said. “They want to see people in elected offices working together and set- ting aside their political differences.”

Pae promised the energy of his campaign will be the same for the general election as it was for the primary.

“I was encouraged and humbled by the large victory margin,” he said. “I do think it is a mandate for my type of leadership style which emphasizes collaboration and bringing people together.”

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