CD 2: The line to succeed 2nd District Congressman Markwayne Mullin is forming on the right.
With Mullin campaigning for U.S. Senate, it appears that only Republicans need apply in what is arguably the state’s most Trump-friendly congressional district.
Two more announced last week — state Rep. Dustin Roberts, R-Durant, and Muskogee pharmacist Chris Schiller — joining state Sen. Marty Quinn, R-Claremore, and state GOP Chairman John Bennett.
At least two more Republicans are said to be considering the race, but no non-Republicans have stepped forward.
Red Rooter: Mullin and Gov. Kevin Stitt launched their television advertising campaigns last week — although Mullin has actually been on television for some time, plugging his plumbing company.
Periodically, people ask why these ads — and Mullin Plumbing’s signature red panel trucks — aren’t considered political advertising, especially since technically he no longer owns the company.
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Those questions began 10 years ago when Mullin first ran for Congress. Several people complained to the Federal Election Commission about what they said appeared to be an intentional conflation of campaign and business advertising. Mullin himself asked the FEC for an advisory opinion.
The FEC considered three draft opinions, two of which said the Mullin Plumbing ads were electioneering and had to be reported as such and one that said they were not as long as they did not plug Mullin as a candidate or attack his opponents. The commission ultimately could not agree on any of the three and so issued no opinion.
In any event, the federal electioneering laws apply only within 30 days of a primary and 60 days of a general election. Oklahoma’s 2022 primaries are June 28.
Legislative notes: House Republicans voted to retain Rep. Charles McCall, R-Atoka, as speaker for the 59th Legislature, which begins Feb. 6, 2023.
The House passed HB 3316, by Rep. Nicole Miller, R-Edmond, which sets up a framework of automatic expungement of criminal records under certain circumstances.
The House and Senate have each approved measures setting up a framework for the operation of driverless autonomous vehicles on the state’s roadways.
“With approximately 300,000 completely autonomous commercial deliveries that have already been made without incident, we know this is safe,” said Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City. “This legislation will make sure we know who is operating AVs and make sure they have proper insurance and safety protocols.”
COVID-19 played havoc with schools, but it also created an appreciation for the access provided by virtual public meetings.
The Senate last week passed legislation requiring that most meetings subject to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act be live-streamed and archived online if the body has the means to do so. The House seems likely to act on the measure, since it has McCall’s support.
A new voice piped in last week on the dispute over school vouchers.
American Farmers and Ranchers, formerly the Oklahoma Farmers Union, weighed in against Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat’s Oklahoma Empowerment Act, which would essentially give every family of school children in the state a check to spend however they want on education services.
“School vouchers put Oklahoma’s public schools directly in the bull’s eye,” said AFR Cooperative President Scott Blubaugh. “This bill encourages families to remove their students — and state funding — from public schools and instead deliver those dollars to a private entity that is not held to transparency or state education standards.
“Public schools are crucial to the health and vitality of any community,” said Blubaugh. “When a rural public school dies, the small town dies with it. Many of our rural communities are struggling just to survive. God forbid this bill further deprive our rural communities of a pillar of their very existence.”
One of Rep. Jeff Boatman’s priorities, creation of a Human Trafficking Response Unit within the state Attorney General’s Office, won House approval.
HB 3504, by Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa, which would require insurers to cover mammograms ordered by a physician, passed the House on International Women’s Day.
Meetings and events: U.S. Senate candidate Madison Horn will speak to the Creek County Democratic Party at 6 p.m. Thursday at Joseph’s, 54580 W. Oklahoma 16, Drumright.
An April Fool’s Day in absentia (presumably) roast of Gov. Kevin Stitt is planned by the Tulsa County Democratic Party at 7 p.m. April 1 at the Tulsa Spotlight Theater, 1381 Riverside Drive. Reservations for the sketch comedy fundraiser are required. See secure.actblue.com/donate/roaststitt.
Campaigns and events: Retired astronaut Thomas Stafford hosted an event for U.S. Sen. James Lankford in Stafford’s hometown of Weatherford on Saturday. Inhofe sponsored the event but did not attend because of COVID-19. Third District Congressman Frank Lucas also hosted.
Bottom lines: Oklahomans’ personal income grew 1.6% from the third quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2021, according to a Pew analysis. … Lucas and Southwestern Oklahoma State University announced a $1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to provide telemedicine equipment to rural western Oklahoma public schools.
— Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World
