Taxes, teacher pay on GOP voters’ minds
It appears Oklahoma Republicans punished lawmakers who voted against raising taxes.
If there’s a common thread running through Tuesday’s Republican voter revolt, it’s the intersection of education politics and the budget that perplexed Oklahoma lawmakers over the past year, which led to a $474 million tax package and teacher pay raise.
Even though the pay raise bill passed nearly unanimously after months of negotiation, there were several legislators who weren’t so enthusiastic about paying for it with new revenue.
Nine of the 19 House lawmakers who voted against tax hikes in March were either voted out of office Tuesday or face a runoff election in August.
Another seven won’t be returning because of term limits or an early retirement from the Legislature.
That leaves just three lawmakers who voted against House Bill 1010 in special session and also managed to coast through the primary election cycle. State Reps. Kevin West and Tommy Hardin were the only Republicans who filed for their office, and Tom Gann handily defeated his primary opponent.
“You can’t say you voted for a teacher pay raise but didn’t vote for the revenue,” said state Rep. Chris Kannady, an Oklahoma City Republican who easily won his party’s nomination to keep working at the Capitol.
Like most legislators, Kannady voted for both the tax bill and the pay raise bill.
“Primary voters are very knowledgeable, and they can see through some of the rhetoric. I think that’s what happened,” he said.
State Rep. Josh West, a Republican from Grove who won his nomination against three opponents, said some voters wanted something different.
“When you’re continually cutting, it’s bad for recruiting businesses to your state,” said West. “The voters themselves were looking for people who were pragmatic and willing to look for solutions. They looked at people who didn’t as obstructionists.”
The teacher pay raise issue wasn’t necessarily universal in the Republican primary Tuesday. State Reps. Greg Babinec, R-Cushing; Steve Vaughan, R-Ponca City; and Scooter Park, R-Devol, each lost seats after voting for the tax hikes and pay raise. State Sen. Ervin Yen, R-Oklahoma City, also lost his primary election after supporting both bills.
Babinec lost toJohn Talley, a minister anddirector of Fellowship of Christian Athletes for North Central Oklahoma. Among Talley’s endorsements wasMarilyn Duff, a former mayor of Babinec’s hometown.
Payne County Republican Party Chair Connie Parker said Wednesday that Talley has been a foundation in Payne County for years, and many of his former students can now vote.
“This is kind of a natural progression for him to move into that kind of position,” said Parker.
Vaughan lost to someone who previously held his seat, Ken Luttrell. Luttrell served the northern Oklahoma district as a Democrat, but changed his party registration.
The sitting lawmakers who face a runoff election Aug. 28 will now have to buckle down and earn back votes if they hope to return to the state Capitol. Kannady said it’s important to remind people that this year’s runoff will be pivotal in deciding how the next Legislature looks.
“I think the primary runoff is the most important race. I hope we have the same good voter turnout that we did yesterday,” he said.