House District 43 race features man deployed to Middle East
Staff Writer ccasteel@oklahoman.com
Sometimes when Jay Steagall’s wife is out knocking doors for his state House campaign in Yukon, a person has a question she can’t answer. So she will call her husband on FaceTime and he will respond. From somewhere in the Middle East.
Steagall, a major in the Air Force Reserves, was deployed shortly after filing for House District 43.
He is a KC-135 pilot on his ninth deployment, though he said he could not give his location.
He is expecting to return to Oklahoma in early July, shortly after the June 26 primaries.
In the meantime, his wife, Kim, and friends are running the campaign.
“We have a truly tremendous volunteer team,” Steagall said in an interview last week. “My wife is leading the charge there and she is working her tail off.”
Steagall, 41, who owns a gun shop in Yukon, is a Republican and has three primary opponents, all from Yukon: Crystal Duncan, 28; Michael Oglesby, 30; and Max Martin, 70.
Two Democrats, both from Yukon, are facing off in the primary: Chantelle Cory, 48, and Jacque Pearsall, 61.
The seat is being vacated by state Rep. John Paul Jordan, a Republican.
The district has about 14,500 registered Republicans and about 5,800 Democrats.
Duncan, a third-grade teacher in Mustang, said she’s running because education has been a low priority in Oklahoma because of career politicians and “special interests who have too many special tax advantages.”
Duncan said, “I’m also frustrated by the teacher union, which used the walkout for the purpose of the Democratic Party.”
Regarding Steagall, she said, “His contribution to our democracy and to our freedom while deployed far exceeds what any of us can do in the state House of Representatives. I’m running because I too want to fight for freedom. He and I are probably not much different in our viewpoints.”
Oglesby, a Canadian County prosecutor whose cases involve abused and neglected children, said, “Our focus needs to be on funding for public education and other core services, while fighting for an audit of every state agency to ensure our tax dollars are being well managed.”
Oglesby said he appreciated Steagall’s service “but that issue has not come up on the doorstep as I speak with voters.”
Martin, the other GOP candidate in the race, did not respond to emailed questions.
Steagall said he’s pushing for budget accountability and responsible spending.
“We need to reform and modernize government operations so we can stop operating in crisis mode,” he said. “We really need to diversify our economy as well.”
Steagall said he knew when he filed for office in April that a short-term deployment might be looming but that he felt compelled to run.
“I got this deployment, and the team went to work,” he said. “Hopefully this will be the last one.”
He said he has talked to his commanders about retiring from the Reserves if he is elected.
Brian Filippone, a church friend of Steagall, has been out campaigning and said he tells people that Steagall plans to serve the state House term if elected, even if it means retiring from the Reserves.
Filippone said he sees Steagall’s deployment “more as an advantage now (in the race). Early on, I might not have seen it that way.”
Kim Steagall tells people when she’s out campaigning that “Jay would be standing here right now but he’s serving his country so we can be free,” Filippone said.
Steagall’s uncle, Red Steagall, a country music artist and radio and television personality, is hosting a fundraiser on Saturday in Yukon.
Jay Steagall is planning to make an appearance via FaceTime.