The oklahoma delegation

congressional officials …

The Oklahoma congressional delegation is an electorally strong congressional delegation with impressive minority credentials thanks to having three Native Americans and one Iranian-Pakistani representative in their group.

Of the seven 2022-2023 class members, all are Republicans. Six are male, and one is female. None are lawyers, three have Master’s degrees, and one has a doctorate.

The average tenure for the delegation is 4.8 terms, assuming everyone completes their service by the end of 2024. Of course, None of the members has military service. The longest-serving member has been in Congress for 14 terms.

Two of the Oklahoma delegation are freshmen members.  None of the Senators is up for re-election in 2024.

When you look at these profiles, we have given each a letter grade for their effort this Congress, based on various factors, which you will find in What Is Thomas Looking For? These letter grades are probably pretty familiar to you if you have ever been a school student (we hope the answer to that is we all have!)

If you see a meager score for a particular member, it will probably be due to one or two key factors: ethics challenges or anti-democratic behavior.

• Republicans have been hit hard on their lack of pushback on former President Trump and their support of election denying in the 2020 presidential campaign. The unanswered soaring deficit on their watch, the dismantling of allied relationships around the globe, and opposition to funding anti-authoritarian initiatives. The denial of climate change weighs heavily on us as well. We make no secret that transparency and Government in the Sunshine are essential to us, and we further argue that some have been awful stewards of this category. For example, five of the seven (more than a majority) Oklahoma delegation members voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results the same evening as Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol.

• Democrats have been hit hard for their lack of progress on critical matters because they control the United States Senate and have a razor-close margin in the U.S. House of Representatives. They have not been innovative or necessarily insistent on finding rational, reasonable solutions to the problems plaguing the American public today. We want to see more and better.

• Both have been dinged for being too partisan and not collaborative where evident. In our opinion, being too doctrinaire or an obstructionist to good government in the 21st century does not get one a good grade from Thomas.

We also indicate what we believe might be the outcome of these Members’ 2024 elections today. The majority of the delegation members were re-elected in 2022.

Our prospect ratings fall into three categories:

• Safe Bet - which means what it means. These members of Congress are running strong and look to be overwhelming prospects for re-election at this time. However, we reserve the right to re-categorize their chances if necessary.

• It’s A Race - means this race is too close to call, and we can not reasonably predict who will win this seat.

• Nudging - means the seat is leaning one way or another for this candidate. We have just a small number of current members of Congress in this category. Stay tuned!

So, would you like to meet these fascinating Oklahomans? If so, keep reading on!

what is thomas looking for?

There are no vulnerable races in Oklahoma that we are watching for 2024.

the senators

United states senator james lankford (r)

James Lankford is Oklahoma’s senior United States Senator serving in his second term.  A graduate of the University of Texas with a Master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Lankford is a former House member who now serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee; the Finance Committee; the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee; the Indian Affairs Committee; and the Ethics Committee.  He is married and the father of two.

Thomas Take: Not up for re-election in 2024

Thomas Rank: B

Website

United States Senator markwayne mullin (r)

Oklahoma’s junior senator is Markwayne Mullin who was elected in 2022.  A member of the Cherokee Nation, Senator Mullin is a member of the Armed Service Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; and the Indian Affairs Committee.  He was a member of the House before his election to the Senate.  Mullin is married, the father of six, and earned his associate’s degree from Oklahoma State University.

Thomas Take: Not up for re-election in 2024

Thomas Rank: D

Website

the representatives