The House District 59 Republican primary will feature two small-town conservatives hoping to replace legislative veteran who is terming out of office: House Majority Leader Mike Sanders (R-Kingfisher).
HD 59 stretches from just northwest of Oklahoma City almost to the panhandle. Vying to replace Sanders are two Republicans: Mike Dobrinski and Adam Masters. Both hail from towns in the district, and both campaigns lean heavily on the candidates’ conservative credentials, particularly their support for President Donald Trump’s policies.
Sanders has represented House District 59 since 2008 and mostly ran unopposed during his time in office. He is currently the chairman of the House Utilities Committee and previously worked under President George W. Bush, including a stint as the director of interns at the White House. The Oklahoma native was also the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s deputy chief of staff for rural development.
No other party has a candidate running for the seat, so the next representative of HD 59 will decided by the June 30 primary. The following information is derived from publicly available sources.
HD 59 at a glance
Outgoing office holder: Rep. Mike Sanders
Zip codes represented: 73014, 73036, 73040, 73043, 73078, 73099, 73646, 73654, 73658, 73659, 73663, 73667, 73724, 73734, 73742, 73744, 73750, 73755, 73756, 73762, 73763, 73764, 73772, 73801, 73835, 73838, 73840, 73841, 73852, 73853, 73857, 73859
Counties represented: Blaine, Canadian, Dewey, Kingfisher, Woodward
Cities/Townships represented: Camargo, Canton, Dover, El Reno, Greenfield, Hennessey, Hitchcock, Kingfisher, Leedey, Longdale, Loyal, Mutual, Oakwood, Okarche, Okeene, Oklahoma City, Piedmont, Putnam, Seiling, Sharon, Taloga, Vici, Watonga, Woodward
Republican candidates
Mike Dobrinski (R)
Profession: Farmer, businessman
Platform: On his campaign website, Dobrinski describes himself as “100 percent pro-life, an NRA member and a supporter of President Trump.” His website gives little information on specific policy stances, but Dobrinski has stated his support of parental choice in health care, law enforcement agencies and small business owners in various Facebook posts. Dobrinski also writes that he believes rural Oklahoma has a growing opportunity to promote “agri-tourism” on its many farms and ranches.
Dobrinski is a native of Okeene, a small town in HD 59 with a population of just over 1,000. He and his late brother, Jim Dobrinski, owned and operated a Chevrolet dealership, a restaurant and a self-storage business in Okeene and Kingfisher for more than three decades. Dobrinski recently sold his business ventures and now focuses on agriculture, according to his campaign website.
Dobrinski is endorsed by the Association of Oklahoma General Contractors “because he supports small businesses and our state’s infrastructure,” according to a Facebook post from the group.
More Info: Website | Facebook
Adam Masters (R)
Profession: Farm hand, former political campaign worker
Platform: The self-described “Pride of Kingfisher,” according to his Twitter bio, Masters has accrued political experience as a campaign worker, including on U.S. Sen. James Lankford’s 2016 campaign and Mick Cornett’s 2018 gubernatorial effort. On his campaign website, Masters writes that he is pro-life, a Second Amendment supporter and a “Trump Republican” whose religious beliefs guide his “every decision.”
Masters says his top priorities are improving rural Oklahoma’s infrastructure and keeping taxes low statewide. He aims to improve rural Oklahoma by encouraging college-educated natives to return home and “bring the skills (they) learned at college to our businesses and industries,” according to a Facebook post. Masters criticized Rep. Kendra Horn (D-OK5) for supporting the impeachment of President Donald Trump in December 2019, issuing a video response from his campaign Facebook page.
An OU alumnus, Masters graduated in 2017 with a political science degree.
More Info: Website | Facebook | Twitter
(Correction: This article was updated at 8:30 a.m. Monday, June 15, to correct a direction in it’s headline.)
