Stephanie Bice Announces Campaign for Congress
Conservative State Senator to reclaim seat for GOP

(Oklahoma City) – Stephanie Bice, an Oklahoma City native who has earned a reputation as one of Oklahoma’s most effective conservative leaders, announced today that she will run for the United States House of Representatives in 2020.

A fourth generation Oklahoman, Bice was elected to the state senate in 2014 and serves as the Assistant Majority Floor Leader and Chair of Senate Finance Committee.

“Washington is seized by gridlock and runaway spending and a Democratic House majority that has embraced socialist policies and big government solutions,” Bice said. “In Congress, I’ll do what I’ve done in Oklahoma, tackle big problems head-on and work to deliver conservative solutions that grow our economy for hard-working Oklahoma taxpayers.”

A champion of the free-market, Bice modernized Oklahoma’s liquor laws by engineering the first overhaul since 1959 when prohibition was repealed in Oklahoma. Hailed as a victory for consumers and for economic development, Stephanie’s efforts have expanded opportunities in Oklahoma for locally owned businesses resulting in dozens of new breweries, wineries and distilleries opening across the state and creating approximately 5000 new jobs. These common-sense changes have increased options for consumers allowing for the sale of wine and beer in grocery stores for the first time.
 
To control state spending, as chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Bice led the effort to require legislative approval of line-item budgets for Oklahoma’s largest state agencies.

“Conservative polices and bold leadership are turning Oklahoma around, but Washington’s ineptitude threatens Oklahoma’s economic growth,” Bice said. “We can’t have a representative who answers to Nancy Pelosi and a far-left socialist agenda.”

Bice’s leadership skills and abilities garnered state and national attention. She received the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce Rising Star award and was selected a member of the Governing Institute Women in Government Leadership Class of 2016.

A pro-life conservative, Stephanie has been endorsed by Oklahoma Right to Life and has maintained an 93% rating from the National Rifle Association.

After graduating from Oklahoma State with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and a minor in International Business, Bice worked for eight years in financial oversight, business strategy and marketing for her family’s technology company. She later helped lead a boutique digital marketing company in Oklahoma City as Vice President of Business Development.

Bice is a graduate of Putnam City High School in Oklahoma City. She and her husband Geoffrey have two daughters. They are members of St. Eugene Catholic Church in Oklahoma City.

A Democratic “blue wave” that would upend Republican dominance over Oklahoma failed to materialize Tuesday as the state’s political makeup – with a few exceptions – saw little change after the highly anticipated midterm elections.

Kevin Stitt’s defeat of Drew Edmondson in the governor’s race clenched a Republican sweep of statewide offices, making it the third straight election cycle in which GOP candidates shut Democrats out of the executive branch.

Republicans lawmakers, meanwhile, extended their decades-long streak of picking up legislative seats as the GOP added a Senate seat and four House seats to their already substantial control over the two chambers.

“This election seems to be one of reaffirming the redness of the Oklahoma electorate,” said James Davenport, a professor of political science at Rose State College. “You’re not seeing any kind of Democratic wave. The race for governor turned into a rout, and you’re not seeing the Democrats make the kind of gains in the Legislature that they were hoping to make.”

Read the complete story on oklahomawatch.org

State’s Largest Coalition Of Businesses Encourages Oklahomans To Vote ‘Yes’
On State Question 793 On Election Day

OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 30, 2018) — The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, the state’s largest coalition of businesses, announced today its endorsement of State Question 793, which will increase competition in the state’s vision care marketplace and allow Oklahomans to access affordable, convenient and high-quality vision care and eyewear at retail locations such as Walmart and Target.

“The Oklahoma City Chamber supports SQ 793 as it enhances accessibility for consumers and will enable businesses to grow within our community,” Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Vice President of Government Relations and Policy Mark VanLandingham said.

For more than a century, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber has been the voice of business and the visionary organization in Oklahoma City. The Chamber represents thousands of businesses of all sizes and all industries in Oklahoma City’s 10-county region through economic and community development, government relations, education and workforce development initiatives and tourism growth.

“The support of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber is crucial to making sure we are able to bring the benefits of expanded vision care to businesses in Oklahoma City and across the state,” Yes on 793 Chairman Tim Tippit said. “Passing 793 will allow more optometrists to practice where their patients are, which will increase competition, create jobs and provide more affordable vision care options. We’re proud to have the Chamber’s support on such an important initiative that will benefit all Oklahomans.”

Current state optometry laws prevent Oklahomans from receiving eye exams or purchasing eyewear at retail settings in their neighborhoods — one of just three states nationwide with these types of restrictions. SQ 793 would expand access to affordable, convenient vision care by allowing optometrists to practice in retail settings such as Walmart or Target.

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About Yes on 793
Yes on 793 is a coalition of retailers, patients, health professionals and free-market advocates who believe in common sense reform to Oklahoma’s eye care laws. Patients in Oklahoma deserve greater access to vision care while opportunities increase for small businesses and communities.

IN this year’s gubernatorial race, the major parties have nominated two very different, but accomplished, men.

Republican Kevin Stitt is a political outsider who has achieved impressive private-sector success. He promises to apply business expertise to management of government, free from the pressures of status-quo affiliation.

Democratic candidate Drew Edmondson has had a long and successful career as a public servant, most notably 16 years as attorney general. He promises to bring a steady hand to government and touts his knowledge and expertise as a political plus.

Both are serious men and credible candidates. Deciding between the two therefore requires weighing which man has the greatest potential upside and appears most likely to lead Oklahoma in a new and better direction. On that basis, The Oklahoman believes Stitt is the better candidate.

Read the complete story on NewsOK.com

OKLAHOMA SILVER HAIRED LEGISLATURE ENDORSES STATE QUESTION 793
Leading Senior Advocacy Group Endorses Ballot Initiative That Would Allow Retailers To Provide Vision Care Services In Oklahoma At Affordable Costs

OKLAHOMA – The Oklahoma Silver Haired Legislature (OSHL) voted to endorse State Question 793 to offer affordable and more accessible eye care to Oklahomans.

“The Oklahoma Silver Haired Legislature is pleased to endorse State Question 793,” former president of the OSHL John Kusel said. “Vision loss is a fact of life for many of us as we get older. State Question 793 would allow Oklahomans to receive eye care in more convenient locations that offer the same care for a much more affordable price. This is especially beneficial to one of the state’s most vulnerable populations – the elderly.”

Yes on 793 coalition members include Oklahomans for Consumer Freedom, Oklahoma Silver Haired Legislature, Oklahoma Retail Merchants Association, Energeyes, Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Costco, Walmart, DaVinci Equity Group and National Vision.

“Oklahoma’s outdated optical laws have long prevented elderly consumers in the state from seeing better selection and variety of prices when shopping for eye wear and we tried to change those laws for years, going up against the powerful special-interests lobby for what we know is best for Oklahoma seniors and families,” Kusel said. “We are endorsing Yes on 793 to help provide high-quality vision care to elderly patients to improve their quality of life.”

SQ 793 would expand consumer choice for vision care by allowing patients to receive eye exams and purchase eye wear at affordable prices in convenient retail locations, such as Walmart and Costco. Oklahoma is one of only three states in the U.S. that does not currently allow patients to receive optical care in retail locations.

For more information about Yes on 793, please visit YesOn793.com or on Facebook at Yes on 793.

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About Oklahoma Silver Haired Legislature
The Oklahoma Silver Haired Legislature was officially established by the Oklahoma State Legislature in 1981 as an official state legislature for senior citizens. Its purpose is to fight for the rights and needs for Oklahoma’s 800,000 senior citizens. OSHL annually creates new bills that help seniors and forwards them to the Oklahoma Legislature for action. It is most recognized for passing the Silver Alert legislation and the passage of legislation requiring cameras in nursing homes.

About Yes on 793
Yes on 793 is a coalition of retailers, patients, health professionals and free-market advocates that believe in common sense reform to Oklahoma’s eye care laws. Patients in Oklahoma deserve greater access to vision care while opportunities increase for small businesses and communities.

Glen Mulready Endorsed by Senate Democratic Leader

NORMAN, OK – Senate Democratic Leader, John Sparks (D-Norman), today announced his endorsement of Republican candidate Glen Mulready to be the state’s next Insurance Commissioner.

“Glen Mulready puts Oklahoma and our families above partisan politics,” stated Sparks. “That is why it is easy for a Democrat like me to support a Republican like him. With 35 years of insurance experience, Glen Mulready is ready to work for all Oklahomans. I have personally worked with him on many issues important to Oklahoma and want my fellow Democrats to know Glen Mulready deserves our vote.”

“Insurance should never be a partisan issue,” Glen Mulready said in response to Senator Sparks’ endorsement. “In my campaign, I am focused on putting consumers first, ensuring Oklahoma’s insurance industry is stable, and providing more options at a cost competitive with the rest of the nation. Senator Sparks and I have worked across the aisle many times during our time in the legislature because we both believe in doing what’s best for the state of Oklahoma. I am honored to receive his endorsement.”

Mulready has led numerous efforts to reform the state’s insurance laws in his capacity as a state legislator. He was first elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2010 to represent House District 68. Mulready is the former chairman of the Insurance Committee. He was also previously named Underwriter of the Year by the Oklahoma State Association of Health Underwriters.

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — When voters booted a dozen Oklahoma Republican legislators from office in the primary, the common thinking was that educators angry about classroom funding were behind the ousters.

But there were forces at work beyond just agitated teachers.

A top GOP House leader actively participated in a plan to take down several hardline members of his own caucus, a move that went far beyond what former President Ronald Reagan once called the 11th Commandment: never to speak ill of a fellow Republican.

Meanwhile, a dark-money federal super PAC based in Alexandria, Virginia, spent nearly $750,000 launching a parallel attack against several of the same Republicans. The Conservative Alliance PAC, which can raise and spend unlimited sums of money without disclosing its individual donors, targeted several House Republicans with mailers, radio ads and other attack ads.

“They’ve gotten rid of us troublemakers who were holding the Republican principle line,” said Rep. George Faught, a 10-year Muskogee Republican targeted with a mailer that featured him with a long Pinocchio nose.

Conservative Alliance PAC also targeted Republican state legislators in primary elections in Ohio, where the PAC is being sued for defamation for some of its attacks.

In Oklahoma, Republicans have been steamrolling Democrats in elections for a decade, racking up super majorities in both legislative chambers and laying claim to the entire congressional delegation and every statewide elected office.

As a result, much of the state’s political wrangling takes place within the GOP, evident earlier this year when hardline conservatives like Faught in the state House thwarted GOP leadership’s plan for tax hikes to help fund teacher pay increases.

With a teacher walkout looming, Republican House leaders were forced to broker a compromise with Democrats to get the necessary votes, further exacerbating the rift within the GOP. Several anti-tax conservatives even joined an effort to roll back the tax hike that ultimately fell short.

But the last straw came when some of the Republican hardliners called publicly for more conservative challengers to run for office, said Rep. Chris Kannady, a House floor leader and chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee who acknowledged helping launch the attack on his own colleagues.

“All I did was have conversations with people and set things in motion to say that, this situation has to be addressed. We cannot let members of our own caucus actively be against the rest of us because we disagree on policy decisions,” said Kannady, R-Oklahoma City.

“Sometimes you have to take leadership whenever it might be uncomfortable to do so, especially once we were provoked, and start having conversations with stakeholders in the community.”

Kannady declined to name individuals with whom he met but said there was a broad coalition interested in taking out the caucus’ more conservative members, a group that referred to itself as the “Platform Caucus.”

“You can name any sector in the community, and I can tell you every one was frustrated,” Kannady said. “That’s indicative of the amount of money that was infused into the process.”

Kannady said he acted separately from House leaders and did not discuss his plans with his fellow colleagues. He also said he did not know who was behind the Conservative Alliance PAC or who its donors were.

Campaign finance records show Kannady gave $500 to Tulsa Republican Jeff Boatman, who was running against state Rep. Scott McEachin, and $2,000 to Stan May, a Broken Arrow Republican running against Rep. Mike Ritze.

Both Ritze and McEachin were defeated, along with six other GOP incumbents who had voted against leadership’s plan to raise taxes on cigarettes, motor fuel and oil and gas production to help pay for a pay raise for teachers.

Ritze, a five-term incumbent best known for his anti-immigration rhetoric and personally financing a Ten Commandments monument at the Capitol, was among those targeted by Conservative Alliance PAC.

In one of the mailers, state Rep. Josh West, an Army combat veteran, accused Ritze, a fellow GOP colleague, of wearing military medals he did not earn.

West, a Grove Republican, said he was approached by someone working with the PAC and agreed to let them use his picture in the mailer.

“It was no secret that I was unhappy with Ritze and the way he carried himself,” West said. “I had no issue allowing them to use my picture.”

West also said he doesn’t know who is behind the Conservative Alliance PAC or how it is funded.

West and Kannady both use the same Oklahoma-based consultant, Campaign Advocacy Management Professionals, LLC, that was used by the super PAC to produce mailers and other campaign attacks on GOP incumbents.

Fount Holland, a longtime GOP political consultant in Oklahoma, acknowledged he did some work on mailers for the super PAC, but downplayed the suggestion that House leadership was behind the effort.

“The only thing I can say is that I worked against two incumbents for an organization,” Holland said, “and I was happy to do it.”

Holland’s former partner, Republican consultant Trebor Worthen whose clients include House Speaker Charles McCall, also acknowledged doing some campaign work for the super PAC against GOP incumbents. But Worthen said he didn’t know who was behind the attacks.

“Look, the way the campaign finance rules are, we may never know that,” Worthen said bluntly.

Worthen said the hardliners who were targeted in GOP primaries made a lot of enemies by opposing efforts by business and political leaders to pass the tax hike to help fund teacher raises.

“There’s widespread dissatisfaction with that element of the Legislature,” Worthen said. “My guess is it was a whole bunch of people from the more mainstream, pro-business type of element that said: ‘We need to get together and get rid of some of these people.’”

A pair of Ohio lawmakers are waging legal battles against a secretive super PAC pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars in dark money into a handful of statehouse contests around the country. Documentation obtained exclusively by PAY DIRT sheds new light on how the group’s sole funder has attempted to navigate federal tax and election laws in an effort to keep the sources of that money secret.

The Conservative Alliance PAC (CAPAC) is currently facing lawsuits from Ohio state representative Larry Householder, the statehouse’s former speaker, and Jim Trakas, a candidate for the state’s sixth house district. Both say they were defamed by CAPAC, charges the group denies. Householder’s lawsuit remains in Perry County, Ohio, while Trakas’s has been moved to a federal court in the state.

Both lawsuits also name a number John Does as defendants, since it’s not entirely clear who is behind the group. CAPAC’s address is a P.O. box in Alexandria, Virginia, and its treasurer is Chris Marston, a Virginia election compliance attorney who is popular among conservative dark money-backed political groups. Marston has signed all of the group’s Federal Communications Commission paperwork for its broadcast advertisements, and received court summonses for the Householder and Trakas lawsuits.

According to Federal Election Commission filings, CAPAC has received all of its money—more than $750,000—from a single source: a dark money group called Prosperity Alliance Inc. It’s used that money to buy attack ads and mailers in statehouse contests in Ohio and Oklahoma. Prosperity Alliance was incorporated in Virginia in May, and lists its address as a P.O. box in Washington. Its sole listed employee, Tyler Conner, is also the treasurer of a South Carolina-focused super PAC that’s received about 87% of its money this cycle from a pair of dark money groups. Conner did not respond to multiple messages left at the Google Voice number he lists in IRS documentation.

Read the complete story on thedailybeast.com

Kevin Stitt ran a great winning campaign against a very tough opponent in Oklahoma. Kevin is a very successful businessman who will be a fantastic Governor. He is strong on Crime & Borders, the 2nd Amendment, & loves our Military & Vets. He has my complete and total Endorsement!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2018

Matt Pinnell, a longtime Republican Party politico, beat Corporation Commissioner Dana Murphy in the runoff election on Tuesday for lieutenant governor.

Pinnell received 171,575 votes, 58 percent, while Murphy got 123,557 votes, 42 percent, according to complete but unofficial results.

Pinnell will face Democrat Anastasia Pittman, a state senator from Oklahoma City, in the Nov. 6 general election.

Incumbent Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb could not run for the post again because of term limits.

Read the complete story on NewsOK.com

Kevin Stitt, a Tulsa businessman who has never run for political office, claimed the Republican nomination for governor on Tuesday with a lopsided victory in the runoff primary over former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett.

Stitt received 164,816 votes, 54.6 percent of the vote, while Cornett got 137,261 votes, 45.4 percent, according to complete but unofficial results. Stitt won counties all over the state, from the Panhandle to the southeastern corner.

Stitt, 45, will face Democrat Drew Edmondson and Libertarian Chris Powell in the Nov. 6 general election.

“I think I won because people are ready for a change,” Stitt said in an interview. “They are tired of the status quo and they want a new leader.”

Read the complete story on NewsOK.com

ON Aug. 28, Oklahoma Republicans will select nominees in several statewide races. One race that hasn’t received much attention, but shouldn’t be overlooked, is for lieutenant governor between Corporation Commissioner Dana Murphy and former Oklahoma GOP Chairman Matt Pinnell.

The Oklahoman endorses Pinnell, who has the political experience and vision to take the relatively weak office and maximize its value to citizens.

Pinnell understands the lieutenant governor’s specific responsibilities primarily involve tourism and promotion of Oklahoma. His vision is focused on those areas. Pinnell vows to be a salesman for Oklahoma and has tracked how lieutenant governors in other states handle that task. That he has already done his homework inspires confidence. So does his track record in other positions.

Read the complete story at NewsOK.com

Oklahoma Secretary of State Completes Counting of Signatures for Proposed State Question 796

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Secretary of State James Williamson today announced his office has completed the counting of signatures for a state question that would ask voters to put the right to medical marijuana in the state constitution.

The secretary of state’s office counted a total of 95,176 for proposed State Question 796.

As has been previously reported, the initiative required 123,725 signatures to be put on the ballot. That equates to 15 percent of 824,831, the total number of ballots cast in the 2014 gubernatorial election.

As required by law, the secretary of state’s office sent a report on its findings to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court will review the information and officially determine whether there are sufficient signatures to place the proposal on a ballot.

For further details on the state’s initiative and referendum petition process, click here.

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