A Republican primary in HD 74 features candidates from several different walks of life. A pastor, a real estate professional, a political activist, a dispensary owner and a veterans advocate are in the running to replace Rep. Mark Vancuren (R-Owasso) after he resigned to serve as a Tulsa County deputy commissioner.
Kevin Norwood, Brad Peixotto, Johnathon Shepherd, Maggie Stearman and Sheila Vancuren are all actively campaigning for the Republican nomination in the typically conservative district, which contains parts of Owasso and Tulsa. Each candidate is from Owasso.
Sheila Vancuren is Mark Vancuren’s wife and has been campaigning for the seat since her husband announced his resignation, but she is not the only relative of a former legislator seeking their turn in Oklahoma City. Stearman is the daughter-in-law of former Rep. Wendi Stearman (R-Collinsville) and, like her mother-in-law, married into the Stearman family, which is known for founding Stearman Aircraft in the 1920s. Both Vancuren and Stearman have questioned vaccines during their campaigns.
Norwood, a pastor, has focused his website on cutting taxes and protecting “constitutional freedoms,” while Shepherd has made veterans’ issues the center of his campaign.
Rounding out the candidates, Peixotto is on his fourth campaign for the Legislature and, despite spending more than $30,000 on campaign services, he does not appear to have a campaign website.
If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote on April 1 in the Republican primary, a runoff election will be held May 13. The general election between the Democratic and Republican nominees is scheduled for June 10. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the April 1 Republican primary, the general election will instead be May 13. Amy Hossain is the Democratic nominee for HD 74 and will face the eventual Republican nominee in either the May or June election.
The following cheat sheet was compiled from publicly available sources, including candidate forums, social media, news stories, campaign finance reports and candidate websites. Candidates are presented alphabetically.
Kevin Norwood
Age:Â 57
Profession/background: Kevin Norwood is a longtime pastor and the president of Wiredinc, a nonprofit which helps school districts organize guest speaker assemblies. He started his career as a youth minister at Lakeside Assembly in Oklahoma City in 1987 and moved to Owasso in the early 1990s, according to a 2017 blog post. By 1994, he had founded Xtreme Youth Ministries, and since then he’s ministered in Owasso.
Norwood graduated from Southwestern Christian University, earned a master’s degree from Oral Roberts University and a doctorate from George Fox University. He offers coaching classes to ministers at a cost of $299 for six sessions.
Platform:Â Norwood’s website focuses on promoting small businesses, cutting taxes, reducing “bureaucracy” and protecting “constitutional freedoms.” While his website is light on policy proposals, it does highlight an endorsement from the Oklahoma Faith Leaders and an “A” rating from the Oklahoma 2nd Amendment Association.
“In 30 years of working with all ages and all walks of life, I have learned that success comes from meeting people where they are, and then working alongside them in bringing ideas to life, identifying skills and creating opportunities that foster success,” Norwood said on his website. “I am so proud of Owasso, knowing our community and the people that make it a destination for families to call home, and I intend to champion our community and reflect our conservative Oklahoma values.”
Campaign finance:Â Norwood raised $8,050 and reported spending nothing during the pre-primary filing period. Rep. Denise Crosswhite-Hader (R-Piedmont) is the most familiar name amongst his donors.
Links:Â Personal website | Wired Inc biography | Campaign website | Blog posts
Brad Peixotto
Age:Â 52
Profession/background: Peixotto grew up in Tulsa and enlisted shortly after turning 17, according to a CAIR profile. After leaving the military, he opened a medical marijuana dispensary. He is the author of The Cannabiz Owner’s Bible: Cultivating Leadership in Cannabis Retail. Voters may remember him from his prior campaigns in the district in 2018 and 2020 or from his State Senate campaign in 2022.
Platform:Â Peixotto is the only candidate entirely self-funding his or her primary campaign. Coming from a business background, he told the Tulsa World he supports lowering taxes and improving the economy.
“People keep asking me why am I doing this, and my response has always been the same,” Peixotto wrote on his Facebook page. “The only thing I am addicted to is remaining my children’s [role] model, and I always tell them that when you see something wrong, stand up and do the right thing even when no one is looking. I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t do the same.”
Campaign finance:Â Peixotto, who submitted his report the morning after the deadline with incorrect aggregate totals, loaned his campaign $60,000 and spent $33,500. Of his spending, $31,000 went to HPPC, a campaign firm with a Newalla P.O. Box, for consulting, data and paid door knocking.
Links:Â Personal Facebook
Johnathon Shepherd
Age:Â 47
Profession/background:Â Shepherd served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1997 to 2002. After leaving the military, he founded Eagle OPS, a nonprofit focused on helping veterans transition back to civilian life, according to his website.
Platform:Â Shepherd’s platform includes advocating for veterans, law enforcement and first responders. His website also advocates for “traditional values,” protecting parental rights, reducing regulations on small businesses and improving infrastructure. He told the Tulsa World that veterans’ issues are his “whole purpose” in running.
“I’ve got no aspirations of being a politician, by any means, but when the seat came open, I got calls — multiple calls — because of what we do (with Eagle OPS),” Shepherd told the Tulsa World. “I got multiple calls from the veterans, specifically the Veteran Caucus in House of Representatives, who said, ‘Hey, Shep, we need more veterans like you down here.’”
Campaign finance:Â Shepherd reported raising about $6,727 and spent $650. Of that fundraising total, $1,041.02 was donated by himself to his campaign. The Oklahoma GOP Veterans and Public Safety PAC is his largest donor at $2,500. His only campaign expense is to Owassoisms, a media consulting company.
Links:Â Website | Campaign Facebook
Maggie Stearman
Age:Â 26
Profession/background: Maggie Stearman is from Skiatook and was homeschooled before attending the University of Tulsa. She was a competitive rower in college and graduated in 2020. According to her website, she married Dakota Stearman, the son of former Rep. Wendi Stearman, and worked as a Republican field organizer in Pennsylvania during the 2022 election season.
Stearman is a former teacher and mother of two children. She has also fostered 12 children with her husband.
Platform:Â Stearman has promised to take no money from lobbyists during the HD 74 campaign. Her website promises to defend girls’ sports, protect children from “woke ideologies” and safeguard “Oklahoma’s world-class election system.”
On her website, she called herself a “proven advocate” for “Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda” and cited her time in Pennsylvania as proof of her values. She also raised concerns about vaccine transparency and advocated for fewer regulations on the sale of raw milk, according to the Tulsa World.
“I knew of a couple people that were going to run, and I knew [they] would be taking lobbyist money, and so I didn’t think I could count on them to be my conservative voice. So that’s why I wanted to run, really, just so I can have somebody to vote for,” Stearman told the Tulsa World.
Campaign finance:Â Stearman reported raising about $7,284 and spending about $3,997 during the primary filing period. Her largest individual donor is her mother-in-law, who transferred $3,296 from her prior campaign committee. Her largest expenditure was $1,628.14 to DPM Group for mailers.
Links:Â Website | Campaign Facebook
Sheila Vancuren
Age:Â 57
Profession/background: According to her website, Sheila Vancuren graduated from Bishop Kelley, a Catholic high school in Tulsa, before earning degrees from Oklahoma State University and East Central University. She started her career as a teacher, but she joined Keller Williams Realty in Owasso in 2007. She has three children and is the wife of the outgoing HD 74 representative.
Platform:Â Vancuren’s website makes several references in favor of President Donald Trump and his administration, with the second line of the main page emphasizing that she is “standing with President Trump.” Her website also references the “Make America Healthy Again” slogan associated with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as promising to fight inflation and end “radical social engineering.”
In addition to listing typical conservative stances — such as decreasing illegal immigration and increasing abortion regulations — her campaign also references support for infrastructure investment and the Second Amendment. She also promises to “eliminate harmful additives and vaccine mandates to improve health.” She opposes trans women participating in women’s sports and gender affirming health care for minors.
“I’m running to defend our values, protect our families, and ensure a brighter future for Oklahoma. Together, we can strengthen our schools, promote healthier lives, and fight for the freedoms that make our state great,” Vancuren states on her website.
Campaign finance:Â Vancuren raised $20,040 while spending about $8,576. While not formal endorsements, several politicians have signaled their preference for familiarity in the HD 74 GOP primary. Campaign committees for Reps. Ronny Johns (R-Ada), Danny Sterling (R-Tecumseh), Chris Sneed (R-Fort Gibson), Stan May (R-Broken Arrow) and Tulsa County Commissioner Lonnie Sims all transferred funds to Vancuren’s campaign committee. Her largest expenditure has been a total of about $6,155 to Ideal Management Company.
Links:Â Website | Campaign Facebook
(Correction: This article was updated at 1:20 p.m. Friday, March 28, to correct reference to the cost of Kevin Norwood’s coaching sessions.)
