OKLAHOMA CITY – Six political hopefuls – five Republicans and one Democrat – have filed for the special election to fill the House District 35 seat. The district includes most of Pawnee County along with parts of Osage, Creek, Payne and Noble counties.
The seat was previously held by state Rep. Ty Burns, a Republican from Pawnee. Burns resigned his seat earlier this fall, just days after pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence charges.
“It is in the best interest of the people I serve in House District 35 and, most importantly, my family to step down from my position,” Burns, 46, said in a media statement. “I take full responsibility for my actions and am going to counseling with my family. Although not an excuse for my actions, I am receiving intensive treatment for issues from military service that I have long ignored as a problem.”
Burns pleaded guilty in Pawnee County District Court to one misdemeanor count of domestic abuse and two misdemeanor counts of assault. Court records show that the assault charges were filed after he forced a vehicle off the road. That vehicle that carried his teenage daughter as a passenger.
Burns received a one-year suspended sentence and the court ordered him to complete a 52-week batterer intervention program. Burns was first elected in 2018.
Republicans who filed for the Dec. 9 primary include: Mike Waters, 54, Pawnee, a rancher and former Pawnee County sheriff; Kevin Wright, 58, Jennings, a small-business owner and former mayor; Amber Roberts, 43, Hominy, a former city councilor and the wife of former state Rep. Sean Roberts; Dillon Travis, Maramec, a farmer, rancher and ag business owner; and James Winn, 43, Mannford, a farmer and rancher, former oil and gas worker and former legislative candidate.
Democrat Luke Kruse, 40, a political science professor at Northern Oklahoma College and a volunteer football coach in Morrison, will move directly to the general election, which will be held on either Jan. 13 or Feb. 10, depending on whether a Republican runoff is necessary.
The winner of the contest will be seated at the beginning of the Second Session of the 60th Oklahoma Legislature in February.