By Canadian Press

Mullin wins US Senate GOP runoff in deep-red Oklahoma

Aug 23, 2022 | 6:49 PM

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin won Tuesday’s GOP primary runoff for Oklahoma’s unexpired U.S. Senate seat, making him a likely favorite to win the seat U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe is leaving after nearly 30 years in office.

Mullin, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, defeated former Speaker of the Oklahoma House and banking executive T.W. Shannon after the two advanced from a 13-candidate Republican primary field in June. Because Inhofe is retiring early, Mullin will serve the remaining four years left on Inhofe’s term.

Mullin, who topped the field with nearly 44% of the vote, earned former President Donald Trump’s endorsement shortly after the primary.

Mullin and Shannon were both seeking to replace Inhofe, a fixture in Republican politics in Oklahoma since the 1960s who has held the U.S. Senate seat since being elected in 1994.

Mullin will be heavily favored in November’s general election against former Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, along with an independent and a Libertarian. Oklahoma hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in more than 30 years.

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In a state where nearly 10% of the population identifies as American Indian, both Mullin and Shannon are members of Native American tribes — Mullin a Cherokee citizen and Shannon, who is also African American, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.

Campaign finance reports show that Mullin raised about $3.6 million, which is nearly three times the $1.3 million that Shannon reported he raised.

In campaign ads and on the stump, both men touted their positions on hot-button issues and vowed to fight President Joe Biden’s policy agenda. Shannon launched an anti-abortion ad in which he labeled Planned Parenthood the “true face of white supremacy,” while Mullin in an ad featuring two of his own children and a montage of transgender collegiate swimmer Lia Thomas, said: “Democrats can’t even tell us what a woman is.”

Also on Tuesday, Democrats Jason Bollinger, an Oklahoma City attorney, and Madison Horn, a cybersecurity expert, will face off in the primary runoff in the race for Oklahoma’s other U.S. Senate seat. The winner will face incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. James Lankford, who will be the heavy favorite in November, along with a Republican and an independent.

In the race for an open U.S. House seat in eastern Oklahoma, Republicans Josh Brecheen, a former state senator from Coalgate, and state Rep. Avery Frix, of Muskogee, face off in the GOP runoff after emerging as the top two candidates in June’s 14-candidate primary. The winner will face Democrat Naomi Andrews, of Tulsa, and independent Ben Robinson, of Muskogee, in November.

Also on the ballot Tuesday will be Republican primary runoffs for several statewide offices, including state superintendent of public instruction, state treasurer, labor commissioner and corporation commissioner.

Sean Murphy, The Associated Press