Taylor Woodrum is hoping the national trend toward electing younger officials applies to 20-year olds in the state of Oklahoma.
The OSU student is running for office for the first time in House District 70 against incumbent Rep. Carol Bush (R-Tulsa). Bush has held the Tulsa seat since 2016 when she defeated incumbent Ken Walker.
Woodrum will turn 21, the age required to be eligible to be elected to the House, on Wednesday, June 10. If he wins, he would be the youngest person in the state Legislature currently and would join the ranks of only a few Oklahomans who were elected in their first year of eligibility.
No Democrats filed to run for the seat, and independent David Hall withdrew his candidacy, so the Republican primary between Bush and Woodrum will decide the next representative for HD 70.
Bush currently serves as the majority caucus secretary and is the chairwoman of the Children, Youth and Family Services Committee. She also sits on the Appropriations and Budget Public Safety Subcommittee, Common Education Committee and Health Services and Long-Term Care Committee.
Oklahoma’s primary election will take place on Tuesday, June 30.
House District 70 at a glance
Officeholder: Rep. Carol Bush
Zipcodes represented: 74105, 74114, 74135, 74136, 74145
Counties represented: Tulsa
Carol Bush (R)
Town: Tulsa
Profession: Former executive director of the Tulsa Crime Prevention Network
Platform: Bush’s website describes her as “a principled leader with a track record of positive results for Oklahoma.” Her website lists her values as accessibility, accountability and authenticity. According to her website, in her time in the House, she has “increased teacher pay, eliminated the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse, reduced the waiting list for developmentally disabled people to receive in-home services and voted for every small businesses bill.” Her complete legislative record can be found here.
Most of the achievements Bush’s website cites are in public education, oversight and public safety. In her next term, she states she would like to pass a health care plan that would bring more federal money for care to the state without expanding Medicaid. She also promises to keep working for children and education, simplify and modernize bureaucracy to increase the state’s fiscal responsibility and enforce public safety. On her Facebook, she has several posts about working with transit offices to improve the efficiency of Oklahoma’s public transportation. She is an avid bicyclist.
Bush has been endorsed by the Tulsa World and the Oklahoma Public Employees Association Political Action Committee.
Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter
Taylor Woodrum (R)
Town: Tulsa
Profession: Political science major at OSU in Tulsa
Platform: Woodrum’s campaign slogan is “Protect and Restore Liberty in Oklahoma,” and his website says he hopes to focus on individual liberties. In this vein, Woodrum says he started an organization called Young Americans for Liberty and currently serves as the Oklahoma recruitment director. His website tells the story of an interaction he had as a student at OU (before he transferred) where a fellow student threw his Trump hat to the ground. Woodrum writes that he asked the other student about freedom of speech but that he “blew it off.” According to his website, “this interaction made me realize that I want to protect and restore liberty in our state.”
Woodrum’s website says he supports the Second Amendment, and has been given an A rating by the Oklahoma 2nd Amendment Association. That is not reflected on the organization’s website, though they say their endorsement list is not final. Woodrum is in support of free markets, lower government spending and improved education systems through fixing “substandard school supplies such as outdated textbooks or broken desks.” His website also advocates for sentencing fewer people to prison for non-violent crimes, especially the possession of marijuana.
He has made posts on Facebook in opposition to the state “bailout” of museums and calling his opponent a “Republican in name only.” In one post, he notes Bush’s appearance at an event for now-Congresswoman Kendra Horn (D-OK5).
Welcome to episode two of #BanBush! Today's episode will be short and sweet. Simply put, Rep. Bush is a…
Posted by Taylor Woodrum for District 70 on Thursday, March 5, 2020
Links: Website | Facebook | Instagram
The election to decide House District 70 will be held on June 30.
