ALTUS – Two Republican challengers stepped forward to try and unseat U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas in the Third Congressional District race. A landslide ensued for the incumbent.
The June 18 Republican primary determined the winner, as no Democrats filed for the seat. Unofficial results from the Oklahoma State Election Board show Lucas received 73.01% of the statewide vote; Darren Hamilton, from Fort Supply, received 13.92%; and Robin Lynn Carder, from Sand Springs, received 13.07%.
District Three is the largest congressional district in the state, encompassing 32 counties in northern and western Oklahoma and stretches from the Oklahoma Panhandle to the suburbs of Tulsa to the Red River outside of Altus. Lucas has held the seat for more than 20 years, beginning in 2003.
Jackson County voters reflected the state totals. With only 767 total votes in the race, Lucas received 577 of them - 75.23%. Hamilton collected 12.78% and Carder 11.99% of the votes.
Hamilton’s career is in satellite technology, according to his website hamiltonforoklahoma.com. For more than 23 years, he has designed, built, launched and operated communication satellites. Carder has spent more than 30 years working in the “managed-care industry,” according to online documents. Her LinkedIn account shows she is a consultant.
Lucas is currently the Chairman on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology and is the longest- serving Republican on both the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Financial Services.
Before he was elected to Congress, Lucas served for 5.5 years in the Oklahoma State House of Representatives. His website, lucas.house.gov, states his focus during that time centered on defending the rights of private property owners and promoting agriculture issues. Oklahoma Corporation Commission Jackson County voters also participated in the Corporation Commission race that Brian Bingman decisively won. Unofficial state results show Bingman with 53.42% of the vote and county voters gave him 64% of their vote.