Republican Erick Harris and Democrat Regan Raff each won their respective party’s nomination in the House District 39 special primary election Tuesday and will advance to the Feb. 13 general election, according to unofficial election results.
Libertarian candidate Richard Prawdzienski will also be on the February ballot.
A small business owner and accounting professional, Raff garnered about 82 percent of the electorate in a landslide vote Tuesday, totaling 958 votes. Paul Timmons, chief of investigations at the Oklahoma County Detention Center, earned 205 votes, equal to about 18 percent of the electorate.
Harris, a former assistant attorney general, topped the other six Republican candidates on the ballot with about 27 percent of the electorate, totaling 896 votes. Ronda Peterson, an Edmond Public Schools bus driver, finished in second place with 869 votes — 27 fewer than Harris. In Oklahoma, there are no runoffs for special primary elections.
In terms of votes, Harris and Peterson separated themselves from the pack. Cris Price came in third with 506 votes, Tim Hale came in fourth with 459 votes, and Dr. Ross Vanhooser placed fifth with 429 votes. Kristen Ferate and William Gaige Jr. came in sixth and seventh, with 122 and 18 votes, respectively.
According to his candidate contribution and expenditure reports filed with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, Harris outraised and outspent each of his opponents leading up to Tuesday’s election. Prior to Tuesday’s primary election, he had received $98,865 in contributions and had spent at least $60,375.
In a press release, Raff thanked her supporters for showing up to the polls and Timmons for filing for office.
“I’m humbled by the support shown by the voters of House District 39 and can’t thank everyone enough for showing up today at the polls,” Raff said. “I’d like to also thank Paul Timmons for the campaign he ran and for stepping up to run for office.”
Raff said she wants people to “have hope again.”
“I decided to run because Oklahoma faces many challenges,” Raff said. “I want us to have hope again, and I know we can bring people in our community together to have real conversations with each other. I truly feel we have more in common with each other than what divides us. I’m ready to keep bringing our message of hope and positive change to the general election.”
Raff said she wants to support public schools and improve health care access.
“Our public schools are underfunded and under attack. Families have to look out of state to get the health care they need. Extreme partisanship keeps our government from working to move our state forward. These are the challenges I will face head-on,” Raff said.
In a Facebook post Tuesday night, Harris thanked the other Republican candidates “for running a race that shows the Republican Party is the party of life, liberty and freedom.”
“Words cannot express my sincerest thanks to everyone that voted today. I am honored to be your Republican nominee and look forward to advocating for conservative principles,” Harris wrote. “To all of my fellow Republican candidates, thank you for running a race that shows the Republican Party is the party of life, liberty and freedom. On to the general election!”
Owing to the timing of the special election, the winner of the February general election will be seated shortly after the legislative session begins Feb. 5. For the 2024 election cycle, candidate filing is set to begin April 3, less than two months after the special election.
All results posted by the Oklahoma State Election Board online are unofficial until they are certified by the board.
HD 39 vacated after felony DUI plea
Gov. Kevin Stitt called a special election for House District 39 in September after former Rep. Ryan Martinez pleaded guilty to a felony count of actual physical control, in relation to his October 2022 arrest outside an Edmond bar.
After Martinez entered his plea Aug. 2, Stitt’s general counsel, Trevor Pemberton, said in an Aug. 16 response filing with the Oklahoma Supreme Court that Martinez’s guilty plea required Stitt to call a special election — a legal opinion which the office of Attorney General Gentner Drummond disagreed with.
Ultimately, Martinez announced his resignation just two days after the filing, with an effective date of Sept. 1.
HD 39 contributions, expenditures
Particularly in such a crowded election, it can be difficult to follow where campaign contributions are coming from and who is receiving them.
Below are contribution and expenditure amounts for the GOP and Democratic HD 39 candidates as reported ahead of Election Day. Click a candidate’s name to visit their page on the Oklahoma Ethics Commission Electronic Reporting System.
Republicans:
- Kristen Ferate
- Contributions: $26,350 ($1,500 from PACs)
- Expenditures: $18,091.80
- Tim Hale
- Contributions: $27,985
- Loans: $20,000
- Expenditures: $44,134.57
- Erick Harris
- Contributions: $98,865.03 ($3,500 from PACs; $3,300 from a tribal nation)
- Expenditures: $60,375.84
- Ronda Peterson
- Contributions: $33,944.93
- Expenditures: $19,387.83
- Cris Price
- Contributions: $20,435.81
- Loans: $10,500.00
- Expenditures: $9,055.59
- Ross Vanhooser
- Contributions: $56,551.58 ($27,750 from PACs)
- Loans: $35,386.92
- Expenditures: $44,098.39
Democrats:
- Regan Raff
- Contributions: $24,392.50 ($5,000 from PACs)
- Expenditures: $13,515.20
- Paul Timmons
- Contributions: $700
- Expenditures: $0
(Update: This story was updated at 12:23 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13, to include a statement from Erick Harris.)
