OKPOLICY.ORG
The loss of seven incumbent legislators — Rep. Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston, Chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee; Rep. Dean Davis, R-Broken Arrow; and Sen. Blake Cowboy Stephens, R-Tahlequah, in the August 27 runoff election, together with Senate Majority Leader/President Pro Tempore Designate Greg McCortney, R-Ada; Sen. Jessica Garvin, R-Duncan; Sen. Cody Rogers, R-Tulsa; and Rep. John Talley, R-Stillwater, in the June 18 primary — is unusual for the typically non-volatile Oklahoma legislative electoral scene.
The power of incumbency usually prevails here as in most elections throughout the country. Incumbents enjoy the advantage of name recognition, fundraising ability, and lack of well-established opponents. In addition, people tend to leave a person doing the job in the job unless there is a good reason to “fire” them. During a normal election season, rumors will abound about certain incumbents who may be vulnerable, but in the end all except perhaps two or three prevail.
Still within memory, a blood bath occurred in 2018 when an unheard of 12 Republican incumbents were defeated in the primary and runoff elections, and three Democratic incumbents were defeated in the general election. But 2018 was the year of the huge battle over new revenue for education funding, the education walkout, and demonstrations at the Capitol, and a fierce battle within the House Republican caucus over the tax debate and other divisive issues.
Nothing like that seemed to be on the horizon this election year. With federal COVID funds and the upturn in Oklahoma’s oil and gas economy producing huge surpluses, the legislature in the past few years was able to increase infrastructure funding, add money for public schools, cut taxes, privatize the state’s $2 billion Medicaid system, and pass private school vouchers demanded by some in legislative leadership and Gov. Kevin Stitt — and leave money on the table to be stashed away in various treasury accounts. Hardly the makings of a tough election year, one would think.
The dramatic results of the election are more the result of who was defeated rather than how many. It’s rare that the leader of the Senate or House is defeated. Sen. McCortney, as it turns out, was the victim of a late breaking six-figure dark-money campaign poured in by some outside his district who were angered by his initial opposition to a new Department of Public Safety training academy that would replace some of the training being done in his district in Ada.
The debate produced public back and forth between McCortney and the Commissioner of Public Safety, angering some law enforcement supporters. There was also negative fallout from the heated President Pro Tempore race in which the governor got involved. With a virtually unknown opponent who had raised very little money, the senator likely didn’t see the threat until it was too late.
Rep. Kevin Wallace is another matter. One of the most diligent and respected members of the House, Wallace had presided over writing of the state budget for the past seven years. He was appointed Appropriations and Budget Committee chairman midway through his second term when Rep. Leslie Osborn was removed as chair over a funding dispute with Speaker Charles McCall. Had he been re-elected, it was expected Wallace would have continued serving as Appropriations and Budget chair for his final two-year term.
Although it was known that Wallace had a self-funding opponent challenging from the right, it was a surprise to most when he came in second in the primary. Apparently, his opponent found an opening with local issues such as proposed wind farm projects in Lincoln County and past use by Wallace of biosolids, a regulated fertilizer using human waste from the wastewater treatment process on his ranch near Wellston. Meanwhile, Wallace was busy late into the session negotiating the state budget. As the old political saw goes, he got the usual reward for a job well done.
The remaining five incumbent losses had logical explanations, depending on your point of view. Sen. Blake Cowboy Stephens, first elected in 2020, lost most of his original district in redistricting, which somewhat changed the character of his district. He was defeated by a well-known and well-funded opponent from the new part of his district. Rep. Dean Davis had some legal and behavioral issues due to alcohol use during his legislative service. Although the legal issues had been resolved, and he apologized for his mistakes, they likely contributed to a close runoff loss.
Sen. Cody Rogers first announced he was going to run for Tulsa County Commissioner rather than seek re-election to his Senate seat, but then changed his mind. In the meantime, a well-established opponent surfaced, gaining support and momentum that Rogers was never able to overcome. Sen. Jessica Garvin defeated a right-leaning incumbent senator in 2020 and could not survive a counterattack from the right this year in the person of an opponent who is a county officer in one of the counties she represents. Finally, Rep. Talley had a difficult race for re-election every year, and finally it caught up with him.
Between incumbent losses, term limits, retirements, and the complete change in leadership in both chambers, the next session will surely be interesting.
