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House District 69
Angela Strohm, the wife of former Rep. Chuck Strohm, will challenge Rep. Sheila Dills, who unseated her husband from House District 69 in 2018. (NonDoc)

When Chuck Strohm lost his re-election bid for House District 69 in 2018, residents of the Tulsa-area district may have thought they were done with the Strohm family.

Angela Strohm, Chuck’s wife, hopes they are just getting started.

She will challenge incumbent Rep. Sheila Dills (R-Tulsa) for the seat in the Republican primary on June 30. A third candidate, bestselling author Jamie McGuire, was removed from the ballot following a contestation of candidacy from Dills saying McGuire had not been a registered voter in HD 69 for the required amount of time. McGuire endorsed Strohm in a Facebook post.

Dills beat Chuck Strohm in 2018 by just over 2,000 votes in the Republican primary. He had served two terms before his defeat.

Dills currently serves on the Appropriations and Budget Human Services, Common Education, Health Services and Long-Term Care, and Tourism committees. She is also the assistant majority floor leader.

No other candidates are seeking House District 69, meaning the June 30 primary will decide the race. The following overview of the candidates was derived from publicly available information.


House District 69 at a glance

Officeholder: Rep. Sheila Dills
ZIP codes represented: 74008, 74037, 74132, 74136, 74137
Counties represented: Tulsa
Cities/municipalities represented: Bixby, Jenks, Tulsa


Candidates

Rep. Sheila Dills (R, incumbent)

Sheila Dills

Town: Tulsa
Profession: Real estate, founder of non-profit
Platform: Dills’ website describes her as a “leader and servant representative” who wants to give Oklahoma “a vision for our future,” something she feels the government is currently failing to do. The three main visions listed on her website are to place public service over self-service, improve the education system and develop economic opportunities.

In a letter to the residents of her district posted on her website, Dills writes that she fulfilled her 2018 campaign promises of listening, communicating and upholding conservative values.

The letter lists her priorities as “protecting traditional family values, the unborn and your constitutional right to keep and bear arms, promoting a diverse and prosperous economy, improving efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency in core governmental functions including public education health care, public safety and our transportation infrastructure, and finally in supporting our Veterans.”

According to her letter, Dills sponsored five bills that were signed into law in her first session and passed four in her second. These included a major reform bill on virtual charter schools. A complete legislative record for Dills can be found here.

Specific policy proposals on Dills’ website include bringing businesses to the district, limiting the reach of the state government and investing in mental health care to prevent crime.

Dills has been endorsed by the Tulsa World, Gov. Kevin Stitt, the NRA and the Tulsa Fraternal Order of Police.
Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Angela Strohm (R)

Angela Strohm

Town: Jenks
Profession: Small business owner, former educator
Platform: Strohm’s website asserts she is more conservative than Dills and the only true conservative in the race. She highlights her experience as a public and private school teacher, saying it gives her a “diverse perspective on public education that I believe make me uniquely qualified to serve in the Oklahoma Legislature.”

Strohm believes the state is facing an identity crisis and must choose traditional values over “the dark road of moral relativism.” She wants to uphold Biblical truth, which her website says “has resulted in the greatest peace and prosperity of any nation in the world.”

Strohm’s website offers 11 core values, most of which align with a traditional Republican platform. She believes Oklahoma has too many state agencies, she supports school choice and vouchers, she aims to reduce the number of statewide standards in education, she wants to raise the cap on Oklahoma’s Rainy Day Fund, and she wants to eliminate the state income tax.

Strohm is in support of banning abortion and protecting the Second Amendment.

Her website features a tab titled “Quality Circle Blog,” where pastors and religious leaders can leave statements in support of Strohm.

Strohm has been endorsed by Oklahomans for Health and Parental Rights and the Tulsa Beacon.
Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Youtube