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Frank Lucas Democratic challengers
Murray Mark Thibodeaux, and his many mug shots, will square off against Frankie Robbins for the Democratic nomination in Oklahoma's third congressional district. (NonDoc)

(Editor’s note: In this cheat sheet, NonDoc seeks to provide a digest of candidate information that filters publicly available resources. The following candidate profiles, listed alphabetically and using public-facing photos, serve as a preliminary resource for voters to conduct their own research.)

Unchallenged in the primary, incumbent U.S. Rep. Frank D. Lucas (OK-3) will be able to watch from the sidelines as two Democratic challengers compete to face the Republican in the general election later this year.

A vast political territory, Oklahoma’s 3rd Congressional District (highlighted in green below) practically bisects the Oklahoma diagonally from the extreme southwestern corner up to the Kansas border, then extends westward to finally terminate at the tip of the panhandle.

Put another way, the district runs from the Bartlesville airport to Kenton, a town seven hours west of Bartlesville.

He’s from the country (and they like it that way)

As a native of Cheyenne, Oklahoma, and having earned a bachelor’s in agricultural economics from Oklahoma State University, Lucas’ rural upbringing and knowledge of farming operations in particular have suited him to represent the constituents of this largely agricultural district.

Lucas, 58, has held his seat since 1994, back when Oklahoma’s CD 3 was CD 6.

Committee memberships:

  • House Committee on Agriculture (former chairman)
  • House Committee on Financial Services
  • Vice Chairman on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology

In May’s penultimate week, Lucas voted in favor of (among others):

  • S. 2155, also known as Dodd-Frank reform, which passed;
  • a Farm Bill package that failed 198 yeas to 213 nays;
  • two bills to help veterans, which both passed nearly unanimously;
  • a bill authorizing experimental treatments for terminally ill patients, which passed;
  • the FIRST STEP act, which helps rehabilitate ex-convicts, which passed;
  • sanctions against Burma, which also passed.

In November, Lucas will face the winner of a Democratic primary between two men, one of whom has run multiple times before and the other of whom created a Facebook snafu that posted his headshot multiple times over.

Frankie Robbins (D), 72, Medford

(Facebook)

Profession: Retired; formerly a civil engineer with the U.S. Forest Service
Experience: Robbins has run as a Democrat for CD 3 in each election year since 2008.
Platform: Robbins says online that he is running “to restore the unity, trust and confidence in our politics, in our institutions, in our government, in our leadership and in our country.” He critiques the “partisanship” of Washington and emphasizes a need for “unity.”
Links: Website (Hosted as its own page on www.TKVW.com, a marketing company based in Houston) | Facebook

Murray Mark Thibodeaux (D), 61, Tulsa

(Facebook)

Profession: Self-employed (hobbies range from bee keeping to racing cars)
Experience: Twenty years in computer networking and development; Black Dog Fire Department, board member
Platform: On his website, Thibodeaux states an intention to foster constituent-candidate interactions through technological means like mobile devices and social media. In March, he tweeted support for gun reform. In April, he claimed on Facebook that his design team was making progress on an app that would allow constituents to suggest Yes or No votes directly to him as bills are heard in session. In May, Thibodeaux apparently employed some sort of Facebook and Twitter automation that posted the same photo and message about a Sapulpa candidate forum every 15 minutes from 7:40 p.m. May 4 until 5:20 a.m. May 5. On June 10, he tweeted that the phone app “will be released soon.”
Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter