Heading into Tuesday, the Oklahoma House of Representatives included 71 Republicans and 30 Democrats. While that constitutes a strong supermajority, Oklahoma Republicans in leadership asked for Democratic support in the 2016 session on a couple of issues, including a proposed cigarette tax increase. Democrats did not ultimately back that effort.
In the Senate, Oklahoma Republicans hold 39 of 48 seats, leaving only nine Democrats, including Sen. J.J. Dossett (D-Owasso), who won a special election in January.
After Tuesday, Oklahoma Republicans’ supermajorities grew even larger. Democrats picked up two OKC-area House seats but lost six eastern Oklahoma seats (District 3, District 8, District 12, District 13, District 16 and District 19).
In the upper chamber, Democrats lost an open race in Senate District 9 where voters selected GOP candidate Dewayne Pemberton over Jack A. Reavis.
Below are some OKC metro legislative race recaps.
House District 82: Kevin Calvey vs. Misty Warfield
Incumbent Kevin Calvey (R-Edmond) won the opportunity to serve out his final two years representing House District 82 after winning more than 60 percent of the vote to beat Democrat Misty Warfield (32.28 percent) and independents Christopher Crawford (5.53 percent) and David Dickerson (1.97 percent). Calvey, who is the chairman of the House Environmental Law Committee, will be term-limited in 2018. House District 82 is in south Edmond and northwest Oklahoma City.
House District 84: Will Hollander vs. Tammy West
House District 84 will remain in Republican hands following Tammy West’s win over Democratic challenger Will Hollander. West, who will replace outgoing Rep. Sally Kern, won with over 61 percent of the vote in the northwest Oklahoma City district.
House District 85: Cindy Munson vs. Matt Jackson
Rep. Cyndi Munson (D-OKC) turned a longtime red district blue last year after winning a special election. Incumbent Munson will retain her seat after defeating Republican Matt Jackson by a margin of about nine points.
House District 87: Bruce Lee Smith vs. Collin Walke vs. Elle Collins
Democrat Collin Walke won a close race in House District 87, beating both Republican Bruce Lee Smith and Libertarian Elle Collins. The margin between Walke and Smith was slim, with Walke getting 47.99 percent and Smith receiving 44.75 percent. Collins finished at 7.26 percent. The northwest Oklahoma City seat was open following the departure of outgoing Rep. Jason Nelson (R-OKC). (Editor’s note: Walke’s wife occasionally publishes commentaries on NonDoc.)
House District 91: Chris Kannady vs. Trey Puckett
Rep. Chris Kannady (R-OKC) won re-election to the Oklahoma House in a landslide Tuesday night after receiving 72.5 percent of the vote against Democratic challenger Trey Puckett in the House District 91 race. Kannady, who serves as vice chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Judiciary, was first elected to the south Oklahoma City/north Cleveland County seat in 2014.
House District 92: Forrest Bennett vs. Joe Griffin
Education candidate and Democrat Forrest Bennett handily defeated Republican candidate Joe Griffin by a margin of about 21 percentage points. Only 5,381 total votes were cast in the district that includes parts of southeast, southwest and northwest OKC, marking the lowest turnout of any district race (House or Senate) in the general election.
House District 93: Mickey Dollens vs. Jay Means
House District 93 will be back in the hands of Democrats after Mickey Dollens defeated Republican Jay Means with nearly 60 percent of the votes. The south Oklahoma City seat became vacant after Rep. Mike Christian (R-OKC) chose to run for Oklahoma County sheriff.
House District 95: James Cook vs. Roger Ford
Roger Ford will take over for fellow Republican Rep. Charlie Joyner (R-Midwest City) after his victory Tuesday night in the House District 95 race. Ford, who received 56.5 percent of the vote, defeated Democrat James J. Cook in the Midwest City district.
Senate District 15: Rob Standridge vs. Shawn Sheehan
State Sen. Rob Standridge (R-Norman) won re-election to the state’s Senate District 15 seat Tuesday night after an easy race against independent Shawn P. Sheehan. Standridge, who was first elected in 2012, won with 62 percent of the vote. Senate District 15 includes parts of Oklahoma and Cleveland Counties.
Senate District 41: Adam Pugh vs. Kevin McDonald vs. Richard Prawdzienski
Adam Pugh will keep Senate District 41 in Republican hands after cruising to a big victory Tuesday night. Pugh, who will be replacing outgoing term-limited Sen. Clark Jolley (R-Edmond), received more than 63 percent of the vote against Kevin McDonald (32.4 percent) and Libertarian Richard Prawdzienski (4.45 percent). Senate District 41 includes Edmond and north Oklahoma City.
