As Dr. Julie McIntosh tries to unseat incumbent Sen. Blake “Cowboy” Stephens, mudslinging mailers have landed in mailboxes for the Senate District 3 that both candidates discredit.
A website paid for and operated by McIntosh’s campaign, called FakeCowboy.com, attempts to reframe Stephens’ political origin story from the 2018 teacher walkout as a basis for labeling him as liberal.
“There’s been a lot of lies and half-truths told in this campaign,” said Stephens, a 57-year-old rancher and former school counselor who was elected to eastern Oklahoma’s since-redistricted SD 3 in 2020.
McIntosh, a 53-year-old family physician, said mailers have been sent out claiming she is anti-Trump and that she voted for a tax increase.
“There have been a lot of accusations and lies from my opponent through the mail put out by dark-money groups,” McIntosh said.
Stephens (R-Tahlequah) discredited the “FakeCowboy” site.
“I am known to be real, to live by real principles. The word ‘real’ should be my middle name instead of ‘Cowboy.’ It’s ‘Cowboy,’ right? But they twisted that up and made me to sound like a fake cowboy,” Stephens said. “I’m a third-generation rodeo cowboy, very proud of that, and very humbled that God has allowed me to use rodeo in my life. It’s part of our heritage in the state of Oklahoma.”
McIntosh also refuted claims that she is anti-Trump or supportive of tax increases.
“His campaign alleged that I am anti-Trump and that I voted for tax increases and such,” McIntosh said. “I would just counter that by saying that I voted for Trump previously, and I am voting for him again. I have not ever been elected, so I could not have voted for the biggest tax increase in history.”
Stephens said he has been irritated by false accusations against him.
“It’s very frustrating. [In politics,] people can say whatever they want about you and then not look over their shoulder,” Stephens said.
Both candidates have lengthy lists of endorsements, with McIntosh backed by Gov. Kevin Stitt, U.S. Rep. John Brecheen (R-OK2) and Oklahoma Corporation Commission Chairwoman Kim David, a former state senator and friend who represented much of SD 3’s new western portion.
Stephens’ supporters include Attorney General Gentner Drummond, multiple law enforcement organizations, firefighting organizations, farm bureaus and education entities.
Covering northern Cherokee County, the bulk of Senate District 3 moved significantly to the west following the Oklahoma Legislature’s most recent constitutionally required redistricting effort. While the district formerly spanned much of northeast Oklahoma’s boundary with Arkansas, it now runs west from north Tahlequah to Wagoner, Porter, Choteau and Coweta. The winner of the Aug. 27 runoff will go on to face independent candidate Margaret Cook in the Nov. 5 general election.
Lowering taxes and immigration
Both candidates say they prioritize lowering taxes. Stephens discussed his work to eliminate the state portion of sales tax on groceries.
“I supported and co-authored the biggest tax cut in Oklahoma state history with the grocery tax,” Stephens said. “Reducing the state portion of the grocery tax is something I’m very proud of. Trying to get relief to our taxpayers and to our families, and inflation is out of control.”
McIntosh said lowering taxes is the biggest thing she hears about when knocking doors.
“Over the last few years, the Senate has been unwilling to do anything about lowering the income tax or trying to simplify or give the people the opportunity to keep more of their money. They don’t want to simplify the tax code, and they haven’t been very aggressive about letting people keep their money,” McIntosh said. “I very much believe that the best way to get the most for your dollar is to let the people who earn it spend it, and that’s the taxpayer. When we keep taxes low, people will invest in our economy. Businesses will grow. Families will become more prosperous. In the end, that increases revenue for the state.”
To continue a priority project he has pushed, Stephens said he is now talking to federal delegates to “lock the clock” by making daylight saving time observed year-round. Earlier this year, Stephens successfully authored SB 1200, which would have Oklahoma observe daylight saving time all year if such a change is authorized by Congress.
“That’s a very popular bill, it’s something that’s very near and dear to Oklahomans’ hearts. They want the clock to stop,” Stephens said. “It is an important piece of legislation because of all the benefits that surround it for our economy, for our health, mental health, for crime (prevention) — there’s so many benefits on locking the clock.”
McIntosh said she wants to make changes to the health insurance industry to promote and prioritize the heath of patients.
“We definitely need to work on the problem of insurance. Since [the Affordable Care Act], we have seen a shrinking pool of options for physicians,” McIntosh said. “We have also seen a trend toward less and less time with patients and physicians face to face. I think all of that is bad for health, the health of our community and the health of patients. It is really interfering with the physician-patient relationship.”
Stephens said he wants to continue working on legislation that prioritizes highway safety.
“I still believe in my heart, and know that other states have seen success with slowing down 10 miles an hour under the posted speed limit. We ran that bill last year. It got stalled in the Senate, (…) it did not get a floor hearing,” Stephens said. “So that’s something else that I’ll be working on. (It) is to protect our first responders, and actually also that would help our utility workers on the side of the highway when they’re out there serving our communities and keeping them safe as well.”
McIntosh said she would like to reduce unfunded mandates for businesses.
“I hear a lot from other business owners that they spend a large percentage of their time on what I would call the administrative burden of trying to deal with rules and laws and government mandates,” McIntosh said. “That keeps them from growing their business, meeting customers’ needs, taking care of patients. And I feel like we have too much government interference in our business and medical communities.”
Stephens talked about his first four-year term representing Senate District 3. He won the 2020 election after finishing seventh in the 2018 GOP primary for governor, a post for which he was motivated to run after attending the teacher walkout with a homemade sign attached to a pitchfork.
“I want to continue to run and continue to serve the people of the state of Oklahoma and my constituency. I’m excited about what the future holds. (…) I’ve not missed a day of work since I’ve been elected at the State Capitol for four years — very proud of that fact,” Stephens said. “I’ve never walked a vote since I’ve been elected on the Senate floor or in committee meetings. I’m the guy that’s passionate about serving and casting votes on very difficult deals.”
McIntosh discussed how her experience as a physician can carry into the Legislature, which has largely been devoid of medical professionals in recent years.
“As a physician, when someone comes in with a sickness or a problem, we look for the root cause of the problem and try to diagnose what illness is causing the symptoms. We don’t just treat the symptoms,” McIntosh said. “I think our government and our state, we have a lot of symptoms right now, and we need people who are willing to try to get to the root cause of that and diagnose what the real illness is and try to fix that, rather than just passing law after law trying to deal with symptoms. We need to fix problems that are like true diseases in our society.”
On immigration issues, Stephens disputed the claim on the “FakeCowboy” website that he supported giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
“As for the illegal immigrants having driver’s licenses, that was for documented immigrants that were here and had five years of proof of W2s, that they’re already paying taxes, and they’re already part of our society, and so law enforcement was behind that,” Stephens said. “As a matter of fact, I understand that the governor himself was behind that. I voted on that in 2022, that is a fact. It would give them the ability to get motor insurance.”
Stephens said when a mirror bill ran the next year, he asked if the IDs could be used to vote. He said that once he found there was a chance the IDs could be used to vote, he no longer supported the measure.
McIntosh shared how her personal experience influenced her views on securing the border.
“I was in Israel when the Hamas attack happened. I was there doing a service project, and I saw the effects of that and lived through some of that, with the rockets and hearing the explosions and seeing how the country was affected,” McIntosh said. “Because of that, I do have a strong desire to try to do everything we can to protect Oklahoma from what’s coming across the open border. We know that there are many illegal, undocumented people crossing the border from countries who are known enemies. After seeing what I saw in Israel, I fully recognize the danger of that situation, and I think we need to be addressing that nationally.”
Stephens said he is looking forward to serving at the State Capitol for another four years.
“I’m here to tell you that I’m a very conservative, Christian cowboy. I’ll always be that guy, and no lies and half-truths will ever change me,” Stephens said.
McIntosh said she is running to be a real voice for the people.
“Since I have started doing this, I have been out knocking doors — over 7,000 of them. My goal is to represent the people I’ve met here in this district,” McIntosh said. “If you want someone who will represent you and your values — and not special interest groups or their own election and reelection campaign — then I think you should vote for me.”
