Oklahoma voters narrow candidates for three vacant legislative seats, send some races to runoffs
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma voters picked winners Tuesday for three empty legislative seats.
Bryan Logan defeated fellow Republican David Nelson to win the party's nomination for Senate District 8, which includes Okmulgee, Okfuskee and McIntosh counties and portions of Creek and Muskogee counties.
The vacancy occurred when former Sen. Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, resigned last year.
Logan faces Democrat Nathan Brewer and independent Steve Sandford in the May 13 general election.
The race for House District 74, which represents Tulsa and Rogers Counties, is headed into a May 13 Republican runoff pitting Sheila Vancuren against Kevin Norwood.
The winner faces Democrat Amy Hossain on June 10.
The seat became vacant when Rep. Mark Vancuren, R-Owasso, took a job in Tulsa County government.
The Republican nomination for House District 71 heads to a runoff. Voters will pick May 13 between Beverly Atteberry and Tania Garza.
The winner will face Amanda Clinton on June 10. Clinton won the Democratic nomination.
The seat, which covers Tulsa County, became open when former Rep. Amanda Swope, D-Tulsa, took a job in Tulsa city government.
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Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
In draft congressional map, Texas Republicans bet big that gains with Latino voters will persist
WASHINGTON — In the 2024 election, Hispanic voters fled their traditional Democratic Party roots, casting their ballots for Republican Donald Trump at historic rates in areas long seen as Democratic strongholds, like South Texas. With their plan to flip five blue seats under a new congressional map introduced in the Legislature last week, Texas Republicans are betting Latino voters will stick with them in 2026. In three of the districts Republicans hope to capture — the 9th Congressional District in east Houston, the 35th District southeast of San Antonio and Rep. Henry Cuellar's 28th District in South Texas — the GOP map-drawers crafted new boundaries that make each seat more favorable for Republicans while also adding more Hispanic voters to the district. These three districts would be majority Hispanic, as would the seat held by Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, whose South Texas seat Republicans are also gunning for. If the districts were in place during the 2024 election, Trump would have carried each by at least 10 percentage points, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. Such margins depended, in large part, on Hispanic-majority counties whose voters have been moving rightward since 2016. And in 2024, when the vast majority of U.S. counties shifted right, predominantly Hispanic counties saw even more pronounced movement. Trump carried all four counties in the Rio Grande Valley after failing to crack 30% in the region during his first presidential bid, and he won 14 of the 18 Texas counties within 20 miles of the border. But Trump's coattails extended only so far down the ballot, with Democrats winning numerous local races in the same counties that recorded eye-popping shifts at the top of the ticket. Cuellar and Gonzalez secured reelection even as Trump carried their districts, and even with Cuellar also facing down an indictment for alleged money laundering and bribery. GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, appearing just below Trump on November ballots, ran well behind his party's nominee in a number of South Texas locales, especially those with larger Latino populations. If the new lines proposed for Cuellar's district had been in place, the 28th District would have gone for Trump by 10 points, while Cruz would have eked out a narrow 0.1% win. Without Trump at the top of the ticket in 2026 and three of the five target districts increasing their share of Hispanic voters, the GOP map-drawers are making what could amount to a risky bet that enough Latino voters will turn out again to support GOP candidates across the ballot. Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist who has worked in Texas politics for decades and hosts a podcast about Latino voters, believes Trump has a unique appeal to Hispanic voters that doesn't necessarily trickle down to other Republican candidates. Especially potent was Trump's assertion that the economic system was rigged against Americans and he would be the one to fix it, Rocha said. That sort of messaging transcends partisan affiliation, Rocha said, arguing that Trump in 2024 and progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2020 each overperformed in the Rio Grande Valley and with Latino voters 'because their messages aligned around a rigged system, around failed trade policies and reinvigorating economic populism.' 'The newest swingy electorate in Texas' Trump's freewheeling lack of political correctness also led some Hispanic voters to associate him with 'machismo,' Gilberto Hinojosa, the former Texas Democratic Party chair and Cameron County judge, said. 'In some parts of our community, they could relate to that.' Campaign operatives from both parties pinpointed two issues that drove Latino voters to the right last November: immigration and the economy. During the campaign, those operatives told the Tribune, President Joe Biden and Democrats struggled to convince voters they were doing enough to secure the southern border, while inflation hit the electorate's pocketbooks and proved an especially damaging issue for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris among Hispanic voters. 'Four years of open borders and 12 million illegal immigrants coming into this country did real damage across Texas, but in the Hispanic community in particular,' Cruz told The Texas Tribune last week. 'I think that was a big part of the reason why both President Trump and I won Hispanics statewide, and why the two of us flipped the Rio Grande Valley.' But Rocha doesn't think this means Trump and other Republicans are sure to hold onto those gains with Latino voters, who he labeled 'the newest swingy electorate in Texas.' Trump's approval rating is underwater among Hispanic voters. A July national poll by Equis Research found that one-third of Hispanic voters who backed Biden in 2020 then Trump in 2024 are planning to vote for a Democratic congressional candidate. Another one-third of these voters are undecided. Democrats are gearing up to court Latino voters in next year's midterms by homing in on the economy, already deploying messaging that highlights Trump's tariff strategy — which many economists have said will worsen inflation — to paint Republicans as unconcerned with the day-to-day lives of Americans. 'Throughout this cycle Democrats will be laser focused on making sure Latino voters know the harm that has come from the Republican trifecta and highlighting how Republicans broke their promise to lower costs and instead gave billionaires a tax cut at their communities' expense,' said Madison Andrus, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, House Democrats' campaign arm. Republicans largely believe they can outflank Democrats by simply reminding voters of the record-high inflation under Biden's presidency. Prices for some common goods have fallen since Trump returned to the White House, a fact that GOP operative Wayne Hamilton sees as a bulwark against a Democratic resurgence among Latinos. 'Long term, that's good for South Texas,' said Hamilton, who leads a group, Project Red TX, that focuses on recruiting and supporting Republican candidates in South Texas. 'That's good for the border. That's good for America.' Jobs are also likely to be central to any messaging to Latino voters. In South Texas, many Hispanic voters work in the fracking industry — a sector some Democrats want to phase out in favor of clean energy alternatives. That plan, Hinojosa said, is viewed by Latinos as an existential threat to their jobs and way of life, despite the employment opportunities also generated by renewable energy. 'What's important to Hispanics in South Texas is quality jobs that provide good wages and working conditions and benefits,' Hinojosa said. Rocha agreed, arguing that Democrats should run ads centered on the 'sanctity of work.' On the other side of the aisle, Republicans are looking to do the same. To win Hispanic voters, Cruz said Republicans need to 'remain the party of jobs,' calling it his 'No. 1 priority in the Senate.' The National Republican Campaign Committee is also recruiting Latino candidates to run in districts that could tilt in their favor if new Texas maps are approved. Gonzalez has drawn a challenge from Eric Flores, a Republican Army veteran and lawyer from Mission, while Cuellar may face Democrat-turned-Republican Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, who is mulling a race. 'Hispanic communities in South Texas are sick and tired of out of touch Democrats Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez turning their backs on them time and again,' NRCC spokesperson Zach Bannon said in a statement. Mayra Flores, a Republican who briefly represented the 34th District after winning a 2022 special election for part of 2022, has already announced a bid against Cuellar. The lineup for The Texas Tribune Festival continues to grow! Be there when all-star leaders, innovators and newsmakers take the stage in downtown Austin, Nov. 13–15. The newest additions include comedian, actor and writer John Mulaney; Dallas mayor Eric Johnson; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota; New York Media Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher; and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso. Get your tickets today! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Chicago Tribune
37 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Seth David Radwell: The emerging schism within the Democratic Party
Much has been written of late about the fate of the Democratic Party after its poor performance last November and with its damaged brand and lack of a coherent strategy. Over the last several years, the party's primary unifying focus has been assailing President Donald Trump and MAGA, while lacking an articulate compelling message or prescriptive platform. Not only has this left the party adrift, but also, Trump has been all too eager to fill the resulting vacuum, imprinting his 'evil' characterization of the party. While myriad efforts within and adjacent to the party are scrambling to advance a winning strategy for 2026, we can already detect competing agendas. The left flank of the party has a resolute hold on the identity issues it keeps front and center, despite persuasive evidence that this strategy alienates working-class voters. In contrast, the center of the party has been coalescing around what some call the 'abundance agenda' — following the launch of the bestselling book 'Abundance' by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. The agenda centers on an insightful reckoning: How can the Democratic Party represent itself as the problem-solving party of the working class when its track record exhibits innumerable failures in major cities? Accordingly, the abundance strategy focuses on enabling government to undertake the 'big things' it accomplished yesteryear by liberating it from a maze of bureaucratic obstacles. Perhaps the most credible advocate of this revitalized spirit is Josh Shapiro, the charismatic governor of Pennsylvania. His 'get stuff done' approach has resulted in some tangible wins such as the rapid reopening of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia and the expansion of school breakfast programs. In fact, many Democratic leaders in the center recognize that their rapprochement with the progressive wing in recent cycles has resulted in the party estranging its working-class base. But, the Democratic Party has a more fundamental conundrum based on a contradiction that lies at the heart of progressivism itself. As described in detail in Marc Dunkelman's recent book 'Why Nothing Works,' the reason why our government today cannot build the big things it did in past eras (e.g., the interstate highway system and the Social Security system) is because of this very conflict: On one hand, many progressives deliver a clarion call for government to undertake large-scale solutions to the most pressing current policy problems, such as building green energy infrastructure and affordable housing. But at the same time, these same advocates demand controls that often stymie government from getting anything done. Ever since the Vietnam War, a distrust of the establishment has taken root and grown deep, manifested in a fear of yielding broad powers without adequate controls and limitations. Nonetheless, these two instincts underlying progressivism are at cross purposes: It is hard to have it both ways. How can government solve big problems if it is intentionally designed with diffuse power, easily and frequently obstructed or contested? What is remarkable is that these two opposing impulses frequently operate simultaneously. Millions of young people today call for administrative solutions to the climate crisis, while demanding bodily autonomy free from government intervention. As I describe in my book 'American Schism,' the pendulum has vacillated throughout our entire history between eras characterized by these opposing impulses. At times, centrally designed Hamiltonian solutions (designed by elites) dominated, such as after our founding, in the New Deal and post-World War II periods, and again through Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society programs. In other epochs, such as when the Federalist party lost influence in the early 19th century, when Reconstruction failed and during the dawning of the Gilded Age, the Jeffersonian demand for curtailed central power reigned supreme. Since the Ronald Reagan era, the wariness of big government has taken hold on the right. But often overlooked is that progressive reformers in recent decades, fearful of the sins of power-hungry leaders such as New York's Robert Moses, have demanded controls on government, which often lead to unwieldy processes and boxed-in government action. Many of these checkpoints, such as mandated constituent input in the policy development process, are warranted. But as a result, government today at all levels feels more like a vetocracy in which citizens or corporate-sponsored interest groups stifle progress at every turn, often via the slow legal system. Even when a major project does get completed, the number of involved commissions and the lawsuits brought by opposing constituents result in skyrocketing costs and years of delay. Perhaps, most ironically, the consequent gridlock has over time eroded faith in public institutions and created the opening for MAGA-style populism. It is this dynamic that is already clashing within the Democratic Party; the centrists' call to tackle big problems may find itself at loggerheads with the fear of elite-designed solutions within the progressive wing. Moreover, such clashes could impede a cohesive and compelling party revival. Dunkleman argues for an adjustment in the belief that we have leaned too far in hamstringing government. However, our history demonstrates that attempts at moderate 'adjustments' usually overcorrect and result in pendulum swings. How any possible Democratic revival manages this underlying contradiction in its road map may determine whether the party can once again attract the populist voters it used to carry. Seth David Radwell is the author of 'American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing our Nation' and winner of an International Book Award for Best General Nonfiction. He is a political analyst and speaker in the business community and on college campuses in the U.S. and abroad.
The Hill
37 minutes ago
- The Hill
Democrats contemplate walkout in Texas
Democratic legislators in Texas could flee the state to prevent the GOP from approving new maps that could expand Republicans' congressional majority. Texas and national Democrats have vowed to fight back while blasting the GOP plans, which could give Republicans five more seats, as discriminatory. Visiting with Democratic state lawmakers in Austin, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) vowed Thursday that 'all options' should be on the table to stop the GOP plan. But because Democrats are a minority in the state Legislature, they have few options to stop the GOP and face an uphill battle legally and politically. One very real option would be to seek to deny the quorum necessary to keep the Texas state House and Senate functioning, something Democrats might have the numbers to accomplish. 'Democrats don't have many arrows left in their quiver. There simply aren't a lot of things they can do to be able to challenge these maps in the near term,' said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. A quorum break could be the 'nuclear option,' Rottinghaus said, 'because most members don't want to do it that way. They want to stay and fight.' 'But the problem is that they simply don't have a lot of tools legislatively, or in terms of their total numbers to stop or slow things here in Austin.' The map proposal, filed this past week during a special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott (R), comes after President Trump pressed Texas Republicans to draw new maps to protect the party's narrow 219-212 House majority. A public hearing before the state House's Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting was held Friday. Republican state Rep. Cody Vasut, chair of the redistricting panel, said he expects committee action in the coming days, followed by a full state House debate early next week. Specifics of the proposed lines could change as the plan works its way through the state chambers. But it's unlikely that Democrats have enough leverage in the state Legislature — where Republicans are 88-62 in the House and 19-11 in the Senate — to significantly change things in their favor. Faced with similar dynamics in 2003 and 2021, Democrats walked out to stall the Legislature on redistricting efforts and voting restrictions. 'Breaking quorum is a big task, and there's a lot of problems that come with it,' said Lana Hansen, executive director of Texas Blue Action, an Austin-based Democratic advocacy group. 'And I think this situation is particularly volatile because … this [redistricting] is a call from the president of the United States.' Fleeing would likely draw more attention to the brewing redistricting battle, but Abbott could continue to call sessions and the Democrats' absence would stall other business. A quorum break would also be expensive, due to new rules that impose fines for each day a lawmaker has fled, as well as the threat of arrest. Democrats are reportedly fundraising to help pay up if that happens, according to The Texas Tribune. 'In the past, it worked to sort of pause the conversation and start over,' Hansen said of the previous quorum breaks, but she noted that Republicans still got their way. 'At the end of it, it wasn't as successful as we had hoped.' Asked about a potential walkout, U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas) told reporters Thursday that 'there are a lot of ways to fight.' Jeffries, asked whether he's urging Texas Democrats to break quorum, said ' all options should be on the table ' but deferred to Texas Democrats. If Democrats can't block the GOP efforts within the Legislature, they'll likely pursue legal action as leaders in and out of the state decry the proposal as discriminatory. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas), one of the lawmakers whose district would be impacted, called the moves 'part of a long, ugly tradition of trying to keep Black and brown [Texans] from having a voice.' Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) called it 'a power grab to silence voters and suppress votes.' Democrats' chances of success with potential legal challenges likely relies on the fate of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), said Mark McKenzie, an Texas Tech associate professor of political science who has practiced law in the state. A major Louisiana redistricting battle is set to be reheard by the Supreme Court next term, and Republicans are increasingly bullish on chipping away at the VRA. 'I think the Democrats, assuming the Supreme Court doesn't eviscerate the Voting Rights Act … would have a good case, in terms of African American majority districts in Texas and how they'll be impacted,' McKenzie said, noting that they might be harder pressed to argue the same of Latino voters, who have increasingly leaned toward the GOP in Texas. 'Legally speaking, the Democrats are not in a great position,' McKenzie added. The party appears to be gearing up for a political battle either way. 'The current map violates the law, and this congressional map will double and triple down on the extreme racial gerrymandering that is silencing the voices of millions of Texans,' Jeffries said Thursday in Austin. 'We will fight them politically. We will fight them governmentally. We will fight them in court. We will fight them in terms of winning the hearts and minds of the people of Texas and beyond.' House Majority PAC, a House Democratic super PAC, announced a new Lone Star Fund this week. It is hoping to raise millions for 2026 challengers if the lines are redrawn. 'If the GOP and the Trump administration think that Texas is the first state that they should look at doing this in, the place that he's most concerned with losing ground in, then we are in play, and my hope is that national investment will come this way,' Hansen said. 'There's still an opportunity for Democrats in Texas. We just might not be able to help flip to the congressional majority that we would like.' And Democrats may have avenues for offsetting GOP gains in Texas with redistricting efforts in other states. 'There's a phrase in Texas: 'what happens here sometimes changes the world.' Well, this is the case where what's happening here is setting off a cascade effect across the country,' said Jon Taylor, the University of Texas at San Antonio's department chair of political science. The developments in Texas have sparked congressional map conversations in several other states, including in California — where Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has said the Golden State might make its own midcycle changes if Texas moves forward. There's also a chance that Lone Star State redistricting backfires on Republicans. For one, the party may appear more focused on redistricting than on deadly Independence Day floods, another special session agenda item. It may also be hard to predict midterm voting patterns. 'Just because Trump won in 2024 in certain parts and certain areas that are currently held by Democrats doesn't mean that's going to translate to success in a midterm election of '26, particularly a midterm election that, nationally, is expected to be potentially a wave election for Democrats,' Taylor said. 'So you could end up with a situation where you've drawn districts that are supposedly for, you know, friendly for Republicans, and all of a sudden, in a year where the economy is going south, Trump's opinion poll numbers continue to decline, you end up with Democrats winning in districts that were designed for Republicans.'
