OKLAHOMA CITY – Southwest Oklahoma Senator Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle) was elected Pro Tem Designee during a special session held at the state Capitol last week.
The vote was necessary after Sen. Greg McCortney (R-Ada), current Senate Majority Leader, lost his seat in a narrow vote to political newcomer Jonathan Wingard in the June 18 Republican Primary. McCortney was set to replace Sen. Pro Tem Greg Treat (R-Oklahoma City) in the top state Senate position after Treat terms out in November.
“None of us expected Sen. McCortney not to get reelected,” Treat said in a July 15 press conference. “It’s kind of a weird feeling to come in and do a Pro Tem Designee race a second time.
This process, for us, is a three-step process anyway. This just adds a fourth step to it.”
Treat said in even-numbered years a designee race is held in the spring and another one in November at the caucus retreat. The official vote is taken in January before the next legislative session begins.
Paxton, who serves portions of Grady and Canadian counties from District 23, was elected and assumed office in November 2016. He currently is the Assistant Majority Floor Leader, a position he has served in since October 2021.
During the last legislative session, he served as Chair of the Energy Committee, Vice Chair of the Senate Rules Committee and served as a committee member on the Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, the Agriculture and Wildlife Committee, the Education Committee and the Committee on Pandemic Relief Funding.
Before winning his legislative seat in 2016, Paxton served his hometown of Tuttle in a variety of areas, including as a small business owner, a volunteer firefighter, a city councilman and mayor. He was raised on his family’s farm and, as a fifth-generation Oklahoman, Paxton still farms and raises cattle.
He graduated from Tuttle High School and the University of Oklahoma.
“First and foremost, I appreciate my Senate Republican colleagues for their confidence in me to assume this role,” he said in a July 15 press release. “I plan to lead from the front and further unify our caucus, while reaching across the aisle, across the rotunda and to the executive branch to enhance our state. I truly believe Oklahoma’s best days are in front of us and we can only reach our full potential by working together.”
Gov. Kevin Stitt described Paxton as a “strong leader who cares deeply about the future of our state.”
In a recent press release Stitt said, “Lonnie is a great Oklahoman.
He believes in our Top Ten agenda - and I look forward to working with him on cutting taxes, shrinking government, making Oklahoma the best state for businesses to thrive, and preserving the Oklahoma way of life.
“He is a proven conservative and will be a terrific leader for the Senate.
I wish him the best as he takes on this new role, and look forward to the Senate’s new chapter under his leadership.”