Oklahoma’s House District 14 Republican primary will feature a rematch of the district’s 2018 GOP primary as two men square off again for control of the Muskogee seat.
George Faught, who represented HD 14 from 2007 to 2012, originally left office to run for Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District in 2012. After failing to capture the congressional seat, Faught reclaimed HD 14 in 2014 before losing to challenger and current incumbent Rep. Chris Sneed (R-Fort Gibson) in the 2018 Republican primary runoff.
Sneed is currently the vice chairman of the House Insurance Committee. He has been involved in the creation of a bill aimed to end the “surprise billings” that patients sometimes receive after medical care. During his House tenure, Faught was one of the chamber’s most conservative lawmakers. He was one of a half-dozen “Platform Caucus” incumbents ousted in the 2018 GOP primary runoff, which featured intra-party battles and a proclaimed “Civil War” for the House Republican Caucus.
The following information was retrieved from publicly available sources. Since there is no candidate from another party running in the election, the June 30 Republican primary will decide who will hold the seat moving forward.
In the 2018 GOP runoff, Sneed received 1,185 votes (51.8 percent) to Faught’s 1,102 votes (48.2 percent).
HD 14 at a glance
Current office holder: Rep. Chris Sneed
Zip codes represented: 74352, 74401, 74403, 74423, 74434, 74435, 74441, 74470
Cities/Townships represented: Braggs, Fort Gibson, Hulbert, Lost City, Muskogee, River Bottom, Sand Hill, Sour John, Webbers Falls
Candidates
Chris Sneed (R, incumbent)
Profession: State representative, independent insurance agent
Platform: On his campaign website, Sneed says that despite his values aligning with traditional conservative ideals, he likes to “make (his) own decisions based on research,” and that his Democratic peers “are capable of having great, viable ideas and solutions to problems.”
Sneed writes that he is a supporter of minimizing the role of government in citizens’ lives, keeping health care decisions “between you and your doctor,” improving mental health and other benefits for veterans and reforming social programs to help welfare recipients “get out of poverty” instead of “continuing in the same cycle.”
To know whether taxes should be raised or cut, Sneed writes, “spending needs to be reevaluated from the top down.” Sneed was among the many representatives who called for an appeal following the United States Sixth District Court ruling against a temporary statewide abortion ban in April.
George Faught (R)
Profession: Former state representative, owner of Clean Pro
Platform: Formerly vice chairman of the House Economic Development and Financial Services Committee and six-year chairman of the Administrative Rules and Government Oversight Committee, Faught writes on his website that Oklahoma is in need of experienced lawmakers to handle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, touting his “proven track record.”
An opponent of abortion, Faught was previously criticized during a debate on an abortion bill which lacked an exception for incest and rape. When pressed on whether these acts were considered “the will of God” and why there was no exception in the bill, Faught said there were “a couple instances where [rape/incest] happens” in the Bible, before adding that “God can bring beauty out of ashes.”
While Faught does not appear to have a website or social media used for his current campaign, he has promoted the campaign through his personal Facebook and Twitter accounts. Faught was the first Republican in state history elected to House District 14, and he voted against the revenue-raising measure to fund teacher pay increases in 2018. He said he opposed the bill because he wanted “to keep taxes low.”
One of Faught’s three children is Jamison Faught, who runs the prolific blog MuskogeePolitico.com.
More Info: Facebook | Twitter
(Correction: This post was updated at 8:20 a.m. Tuesday, June 16, to spell a name correctly.)
