Election results: Vacant House seats in OKC, Tulsa area filled during special election
House lawmakers finished this year's session with empty seats after three members resigned to take other jobs. The seats were filled in special elections held in Oklahoma County and the Tulsa area. The state Senate filled its own vacancy in May with the election of Republican Bryan Logan, who is the new state senator for a district in eastern Oklahoma.
In House District 97, JeKia Harrison and Aletia Haynes Timmons faced off for the Democratic primary to fill a seat that was vacated in April by Jason Lowe after Lowe won election to the Oklahoma County Commission.
Shortly after the polls closed at 7 p.m., Timmons was leading, according to early tabulated results posted by the Oklahoma State Election Board.
This primary was a winner-take-all election. No Republicans or independents filed for the open House of Representatives seat.
District 97 includes portions of far northeast Oklahoma City, plus the metro-area communities of Spencer, Lake Aluma and Forest Park. The district also includes voters in parts of Jones and Midwest City.
Timmons, 64, was an elected Oklahoma County district judge for about a decade before she retired from the position in March. Before joining the bench in 2014, she was an attorney working on civil rights and employment law, and also worked for a time in the Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office.
Timmons is a graduate of OKC's John Marshall High School and earned a bachelor's degree in political science at Oklahoma State University. She obtained her law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
Harrison, 35, has worked at the Oklahoma State Capitol as a legislative assistant for Tulsa state Rep. Meloyde Blancett. Harrison previously worked as child welfare specialist for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services and also owns a political campaign consulting business called Pen 2 Paper Consulting.
She is a graduate of Millwood High School, which is located in House District 97, and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.
House District 71 is a sliver of land along the Arkansas River in south Tulsa. The seat became vacant after the resignation of Democratic state Rep. Amanda Swope, who left state government to work for the city of Tulsa.
In the district's special election, Democrat Amanda Clinton was on track to win a wide victory over Republican attorney Beverly Atteberry. With more than half of the precincts reporting, Clinton had 86% of the votes counted.
Clinton, 46, runs a public relations firm and is an adjunct professor at Oklahoma State University. She also sits on boards for Planned Parenthood and the OSU Foundation Board of Governors. Clinton previously said she's an advocate for reproductive health freedom, access to medical care, clean water and minimizing "state Superintendent Ryan Walters' impact on public schools." She is also active in tribal policy.
"District 71 deserves leadership that shows up, speaks truth, and fights like hell for working people, and that's exactly what I plan to do," Clinton said in a news release celebrating her victory.
Although once a Republican stronghold, District 71 has been held by a Democrat since 2018.
More: One election may have reshaped Oklahoma Senate GOP's politics. Could it shift even further right?
Democrat Amy Hossain faced off against Republican nominee Kevin Wayne Norwood in Owasso's House District 74.
As precincts began reporting votes after 7 p.m., Norwood took a strong lead in the count.
The district straddles Tulsa and Rogers counties in northeastern Oklahoma. Voters have elected a Republican in that district for 25 years. The seat became vacant in December when Mark Vancuren took a job in Tulsa County government.
Norwood, 58, is a pastor and works with community initiatives like Keep Owasso Beautiful and Owasso Cares. Norwood has said he wants to build a vibrant economy, safer communities and strong infrastructure and to give Oklahomans tax relief. His priorities also include revitalizing community main streets, and he criticized the "green energy grift" on his website.
Hossain, 50, is the chief human resources officer Tulsa's Domestic Violence Intervention Services. She is also the president of the nonprofit Khan Ohana, which works to "break the cycle of poverty among college students."
Her priorities include raising the minimum wage, better funding for public schools, access to affordable and accessible health care and housing, according to her website.
(This is a developing story and has been updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma election results for House Districts 97, 74, 71
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