Oklahoma Political News

Oklahoma's delegates to the 2024 Democratic National Convention released the following statement, in part:

As Oklahoma’s delegation to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, we proudly and unanimously pledge that, in accordance with the support and endorsement of President Joe Biden and upon our own judgement, each of our 41 delegates will vote for Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

As Vice President Harris said, “This election will present a clear choice between two different visions. Donald Trump wants to take our country back to a time before many of us had full freedoms and equal rights. I believe in a future that strengthens our democracy, protects reproductive freedom and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead.”

If we wish to protect our Constitution, our Democracy, and the future of our country by defeating Donald Trump and his MAGA movement at the ballot box on November 5th, we must close ranks around Vice President Harris as a united Democratic Party.

Click here to read the full statement

Local leaders are reacting to the news that President Biden has stepped down from running for a second term.

NewsChannel 8 spoke with Representative Monroe Nichols, and Bruce Niemi, the Chairman of the Tulsa County Democratic Party before attending a meeting today where the Oklahoma Democratic Party responded to the news of President Biden stepping down, and then endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

Read the full story from Tulsa's KTUL

A national organization, charged with electing Democratic lawmakers to state legislatures, announced it was spotlighting two Oklahoma races this year.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said it was targeting Erin Brewer in Senate District 47 and Chaunté Gilmore in House District 100. "These strong Democratic candidates provide opportunities to flip competitive seats and combat the GOP majorities in the House and Senate," the organization said in a media statement.

Read the rest of the story at The Oklahoman...

When Oklahoma’s primary election concluded this evening, Edmond voters increased the city’s lodging tax from 4 percent to 6 percent, reelected Rep. Preston Stinson and sent the Senate District 47 Republican primary to an August runoff.

After no Republican candidate received more than 50 percent of vote in SD 47, Kelly Hines and Jenny Schmitt will face off in the Aug. 27 runoff election to decide who will be the GOP candidate in the November general election.

Hines received 37.5 percent of the vote while Schmitt received 31.4 percent of the vote — an 11 vote difference that could spur a formal recount effort.

The Edmond lodging tax increase passed with 62.7 percent of the 7,086 ballots cast, while Stinson (R-Edmond) won reelection with 58.7 percent of the 2,574 votes cast in House District 96.<</p>

Read the entire story on NonDoc...

With all justices concurring, the Oklahoma Supreme Court issued a narrow ruling Tuesday siding with Edmond Public Schools over State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, the Department of Education and State Board of Education regarding what body has authority to regulate books in a school district’s library. The opinion called the respondents’ arguments “not persuasive.”

Read the rest of the article at NonDoc...

Oklahoma ranks in the top half of all states in only two of sixteen diverse indicators measured in the 2024 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, a 50-state report of recent data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation analyzing child well-being in post-pandemic America. The data show Oklahoma leaders must do more to position Oklahoma children and families for success.

For the 2024 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, Oklahoma ranked 46th overall for child well-being, with only Nevada, Mississippi, Louisiana, and New Mexico ranking lower. Oklahoma’s individual rankings on major categories were:

• 39th in economic well-being
• 40th in family and community context,
• 45th in health, and
• 49th in education (ahead of only New Mexico).

Read the rest of the article at Oklahoma Policy Institute

Three Republicans seeking to succeed outgoing President Pro Tempore Greg Treat in the open Senate District 47 seat all proposed placing Oklahoma on a path to eliminate the state’s personal income tax at a forum Tuesday — something the long-time Senate leader has opposed owing to unanswered questions about how core government services would otherwise be funded.

Aaron Curry, Kelly Hines and Jenny Schmitt are seeking the Republican nomination for the open seat June 18. If a candidate receives a simple majority of the vote, they will advance to a Nov. 5 general election against Erin Brewer, the lone Democrat to file candidacy for the district.

Read the rest of the article at NonDoc

Oklahoma’s teen birth rate drops to #5 in the nation. 2022 data on the number of teen births is in, and it’s good news for the Sooner State. The birth rate for females ages 15-19 fell from 24.1 births per 1,000 to 21.1, knocking us down from last year's fourth-place ranking.

Teen pregnancy is linked to poorer pregnancy outcomes, as well as lower high school and college graduation rates for both mom and baby. So it's super exciting to see that the state’s teen birth rate has decreased a whopping 28% between 2018 and 2022.

Tulsa County has seen even larger declines. Why? According to Tulsa World’s coverage, local orgs that support sex-ed and contraception access are helping youth make healthy decisions in partnership with their parents.

Heather Duvall, executive director at Amplify Youth Health Collective, said the data represents a “huge accomplishment.” She believes the trend will continue as long as young people have “access to education, information and resources, health care services like (family planning) clinics, and free or low-cost contraception and condoms.” Dig deeper.

From Metriarch's Instagram

Thousands of bills were filed this legislative session and hundreds were signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt. KOSU and StateImpact reporters followed some of those measures until they either became law or died somewhere in the process. Here is what they learned:

Read the entire article at KOSU.org

University of Oklahoma to end NEW Leadership program over governor’s executive order

The closure of a popular women’s leadership program has caused uproar among female officials at the state Capitol and across Oklahoma, who say the governor’s executive order against diversity, equity and inclusion is striking down initiatives meant to improve representation.

The University of Oklahoma announced last week the National Education for Women’s Leadership program, which encourages young women to engage in politics and public policy, will end because of an anti-DEI executive order Gov. Kevin Stitt signed in December. The program has graduated more than 650 female students from 42 colleges since it was founded in 2002.

NEW Leadership’s closure heightened concerns about the fate of state-funded programs meant to empower women and minorities.

Read the rest of the story on Oklahoma Voice.