(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 with the incumbent first and then alphabetically by party, use public-facing photos and info to serve as a preliminary resource for voters to conduct their own research.)
The competition appears heated in Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District. Seven of eight candidates have active social media accounts and dedicated websites, indicating each remains committed to their respective causes as election day draws near.
A couple of dark-horse, third-party candidates – Libertarian Richard Castaldo and independent John Foreman – will also seek to shake things up in this historically Democratic-leaning district. That will have to wait, however, until the dust-up from the following four Republicans and four Democrats subsides.
Markwayne Mullin (R), 40, Westville
Republican Markwayne Mullin was first elected to represent CD 2 in 2012. He and his family own and operate several small businesses, with Mullin Plumbing perhaps most well-known among them. On his official website, he posts weekly columns on a page called Mullin It Over. The two most recent entries cite support for President Donald Trump’s wall between the United States and Mexico as well as praise for the recent meeting between Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
In July 2017, Mullin drew pointed criticism from former Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn when he announced he in fact would seek re-election in 2018 after previously setting a self-imposed exit from this office.
Committee memberships:
- House Committee on Energy and Commerce
- Subcommittee on Energy
- Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection
- Subcommittee on Health
In June, Mullin voted in favor of the following bills:
- H.R. 3: Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act
- H.R. 5895: Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019
- H.R.5735: would establish a five-year demonstration program for nonprofit organizations to provide low-income rental-assistance vouchers to individuals recovering from an opioid or other substance-use disorder
Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter
Jarrin Jackson (R), 32, Owasso
Profession:Â Owner of two franchise restaurants and a business designed to help veterans
Experience: Former Army Ranger
Platform:Â Using the slogan “Send Trump Reinforcements” on his website and Facebook page, Jarrin Jackson (like Mullin) states support for Trump’s border wall, asserts a belief that life begins at conception, would abolish the Department of Education and would seek to “legalize suppressors” on his Solutions page.
Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter
Brian Jackson (R), 58, Muskogee
Profession:Â Associate professor of economics and accounting at Northeastern State University
Experience:Â Managing member of Three Rivers Analytics, LLC, an economic analysis firm; former scientist for the U.S. government and Central Intelligence Agency
Platform: Brian Jackson establishes himself as a free-market economist and Christian. He also describes on his website a “3D VISION FOR A FREE AMERICA,” which includes beefing up military might (DEFEND), reducing the size of government (DEFLATE) and abolishing abortion (DE-FUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD).
Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter (protected account)
John McCarthy (R), 48, Afton
Profession: Manages personal investments, primarily in oil and gas
Experience: Former mortgage broker
Platform:Â Because McCarthy lost both his parents to cancer, he states a desire to create a Cancer Task Force to seek cures. He also states favor for ethics reforms to “help President Trump drain the swamp,” imposing term limits at the national level, building a border wall, instituting tax reforms and protecting veterans, among other stances.
Links:Â Website | Facebook | Twitter
Virginia Blue Jeans Jenner (D), 78, Wagoner
Profession:Â Retired dental hygienist
Experience: Has run for various offices since as early as 1986, including governor, Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s CD 1, Labor Commissioner, U.S. Senate and the Oklahoma House.
Platform:Â She dons her Dolly Clown suit to show her sense of humor but also has serious feelings about the financial burdens of the working class. In the previously linked article, she is quoted as supporting an increased minimum wage, forgiving student loans and providing Medicare for all citizens.
Links: Jenner appears to lack a readily accessible online presence.
Elijah McIntosh (D), 38, Tahlequah
Profession: Secretary of the Nation and Commerce for Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Experience:Â Former financial examiner, financial adviser and sergeant in the Marines
Platform:Â Education funding, veterans’ affairs, rural health care and environmental protections consitute the bulk of McIntosh’s platform as stated on his website.
Links:Â Website | Facebook | Twitter
Jason Nichols (D), 43, Tahlequah
Profession:Â Mayor of Tahlequah since 2011
Experience: Six years on Tahlequah city council; former IT manager
Platform:Â Nichols’ past IT experience features prominently in his platform, as the first item on his Issues page cites Net Neutrality as a top priority. Infrastructure, the
special counsel investigation into Russian election meddling, and stronger background checks for gun ownership round out his platform.
Links:Â Website | Facebook | Twitter
Clay Padgett (D), 48, Soper
Profession:Â Educator and rancher
Experience:Â Twenty-two year military career in the U.S. Army
Platform: Padgett includes improved infrastructure, expanding rural economic development and health care, tribal development, national security and solving the opioid crisis among the tenets of his platform.
Links:Â Website | Facebook | Twitter
