House District 91 incumbent Rep. Chris Kannady (R-Oklahoma City) has once again drawn a challenger in the Republican primary, setting up a rematch of the district’s 2018 primary race.
Kannady’s most notable 2020 legislation included work to restore the notary requirement for absentee ballots amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, he led efforts that resulted in a compromise on the topic of workers’ compensation. That same year, he authored a controversial bill on alcohol distribution that was ultimately overturned by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
Kannady is currently the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, a powerful position that deals with a variety of proposals in the Legislature.
Challenging Kannady once again is Republican Bruce Fleming, who also ran against Kannady in 2018 and drew only 25 percent of the vote.
The following information is derived from publicly available sources. The primary election will take place on June 30, and no general election will be held, as no candidate from another party is running.
HD 91 at a glance
Current office holder: Rep. Chris Kannady
Zip codes represented: 73139, 73159, 73170
Counties represented: Cleveland
Cities/Townships represented: Oklahoma City, Moore
Republican candidates
Rep. Chris Kannady (R, incumbent)
Town: Oklahoma City
Profession: State representative, attorney at Foshee & Yaffe
Platform: On his campaign website, Kannady describes himself as a conservative Republican who is “100 percent pro-life.” Kannady also writes that he has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association and sports an “A” rating from the organization.
Kannady touts accomplishments in government oversight on his campaign website, including assisting in the creation of a “watchdog budget office” to oversee state agencies, funding more audits of state agencies, and allowing the governor the power to “hire and fire key state agency directors.”
During the 2018 campaign cycle, Kannady orchestrated the efforts of a controversial political action committee that opposed some of the House Republican Caucus’ most conservative members amid a “Civil War” spurred on by criticism of Republicans like Kannady who had voted to raise revenue for historic teacher pay raises.
In 2019, Kannady was one of two House members accused of acting inappropriately toward a former female lawmaker in 2017. The former lawmaker told conservative activist Al Gerhart that Kannady had touched her leg inappropriately. Kannady denied the anonymous allegation, saying the attack was politically motivated by Gerhart, who had previously been convicted of blackmailing a separate legislator. (That conviction was overturned on appeal.) An internal House investigation into the 2019 allegation was unable to substantiate the claims through interviews with the accused men and witnesses.
Still an officer in the Air National Guard, Kannady was recently activated as part of the Guard’s effort to expand COVID-19 testing capabilities. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and deployed to Iraq as part of the Legal Service Support Team.
More Info: Website | Facebook | Twitter
Bruce Fleming (R)
Profession: Hobby Lobby employee
Platform: Harkening back to the congressional campaigns of former Gov. Mary Fallin, Fleming’s campaign slogan “Faith, family, freedom” is indicative of his “complete faith in Jesus Christ” and his “fiscal and moral” concerns for Oklahoma, according to his campaign website.
Fleming writes on his campaign website that he is a Second Amendment supporter and pro-life. He states he will return governmental authority to the states by pushing back “federal government within its constitutional bounds,” adding that the federal government “has not made good use of the money it’s already taken” in opposition to tax increases.
Fleming opposes same-sex marriage, writing on his campaign website that “marriage is to be between one man and one woman.” He is also a supporter of giving greater control of education and curriculum to local authorities and allowing religious teachings in the classroom, writing that he aims to “bring back permission to teach The Truth” in schools.
Fleming grew up in Seminole and attended Seminole State College. A link, supposedly to Fleming’s campaign Facebook, indicates the page has since been deleted or is only shared privately.
More info: Website
