Democrats picked up six Oklahoma House seats on Nov. 3, their biggest gain in the Oklahoma House in more than 20 years.
Five Republican incumbents lost to Democratic challengers, and Democrats won an open seat in Comanche County, according to KJRH. The results do not change which party controls state government. Republicans will keep their supermajorities in both legislative chambers.
The closest-to-home upset: Democrat Joe Watkins defeated Rep. T.J. Marti in House District 75, which covers parts of Tulsa and Broken Arrow. Watkins, a woodworker and co-founder of a Tulsa homelessness outreach effort, won 53% of the vote, a margin of 542 votes, according to the Tulsa Flyer.
Marti, a pharmacist who chaired the House Insurance and Alcohol, Tobacco and Controlled Substances committees, had faced scrutiny over his interactions with law enforcement tied to the arrests of former Rep. Dean Davis, NonDoc reported. His text messages with Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready also surfaced in news coverage connected to an ethics complaint against Mulready, according to NonDoc.
Provenzano eyes expanded caucus
Incoming House Minority Leader Melissa Provenzano, a Tulsa Democrat who won a fifth term representing House District 79 with 63% of the vote, said the results followed more than a year of candidate recruitment and voter outreach, according to KJRH.
Provenzano said conversations while knocking on doors centered on everyday expenses facing Oklahoma families. She listed the price of beef, gas, electric bills and access to doctors as recurring concerns, KJRH reported.
She said the caucus's priorities include public education, health care, mental health services and state employee pay. Democratic leaders plan to meet to determine how six additional seats could shape their strategy for the upcoming legislative session, according to KJRH.
Provenzano acknowledged Democrats will still need Republican support to advance legislation.
GOP holds supermajority
Republicans are projected to hold 75 of the Oklahoma House's 101 seats, according to a Frontier analysis. That leaves them one vote short of the three-fourths majority needed to approve revenue-raising legislation without sending it to a statewide vote.
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said in a statement that the election reaffirmed Republican leadership in Oklahoma, pointing to statewide victories and the continued supermajority, according to KJRH.
The other four Republican incumbents who lost their seats were Reps. Eric Roberts in House District 83, Tammy West in House District 84, Max Wolfley in House District 95 and Marilyn Stark in House District 100, according to KGOU. All four districts are in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
Democrat Kathy Suttles won the open House District 64 seat in Comanche County, defeating Republican Louis Jackson 50% to 49%. That result was delayed by technical issues with vote reporting on election night and reported the following morning, according to NonDoc.
The Democratic gains were concentrated in metropolitan areas and surrounding suburbs, The Frontier reported. When lawmakers return to the Capitol in February, Republicans will remain in control of the House while Democrats begin the session with a larger caucus.
