Hopefuls hope to fill Bice's former seat

Four candidates are vying for the Oklahoma City-area state Senate seat vacated by former Sen. Stephanie Bice, who was elected to Congress.

Two Republicans and two Democrats will be on the ballot Tuesday for a special primary election to represent Senate District 22, a Republicanleaning district that includes parts of northern Oklahoma County, eastern Canadian County, Edmond and Yukon.

One of the Republican candidates has expressed skepticism about the COVID-19 virus that has infected nearly 400,000 Oklahomans and killed more than 3,500 residents. Republican Jake Merrick has also shared disinformation about the integrity of the 2020 presidential election.

His Republican opponent, Keri Ship ley, supported Democrat Drew Edmondson over Republican Kevin Stitt in Oklahoma's 2018 gubernatorial election, citing Edmondson's support for public education.

She told The Oklahoman in 2018 that she supported other Republican candidates on the 2018 general election ballot. Shipley recently said she supported and donated to President Donald Trump and voted for Bice. State campaign finance records show in 2018 she donated $150 to Sen. Carri Hicks, a Democrat and former teacher, and contributed $100 to the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association last year.

Registered Republicans make up 58% of the voters in SD 22. Roughly 24% of the district's registered voters are Democrats and 17% are in de pendents, according to State Election Board data.

The winners of Tuesday's election will advance to the special general election held on April 6. The Senate District 22 seat will be up for election again in 2022.

MEET THE CANDIDATES

Jake Merrick

Age: 39

Party affiliation: Republican

Occupation: A personal trainer, he has owned and operated several fitness studios.

Merrick He coowns the construction, roofing and landscaping company Merrick Brothers LLC

Website: j akeforthestate.com

A licensed minister, Merrick, of Yukon, often tells people he wants to legislate based on a literal reading of the U.S. Constitution and a biblical worldview.

Merrick, who unsuccessful ly sought the GOP nomination in Oklahoma' s 5 th Congressional District, has shared false information about the COVID-19 pandemic and believes there was fraud in the 2020 presidential election even though no evidence of widespread fraud exists.

In a December blog post on his campaign website titled “It's Been The Plan All Along,” Merrick insinuated the COVID-19 virus was created in a lab, of which there is no evidence, to cripple Trump's presidency. He also suggested the mortality rate from COVID-19 is much lower than it actually is.

He also characterized the slew of mail-in ballots cast in the 2020 presidential election as a sign of election fraud. There is no evidence of extensive voter fraud among the mail-in votes. More people requested absentee ballots last year because of the pandemic.

“It is disturbing to see how the media simply rides the liberal wave and refuses to acknowledge the massive fraud—or even the possibility of fraud — to radically alter the election results ,” Mer rick wrote in the post. “And this isn't even a` suddenly' or a new thing! There should have been mass revolting when thousands of unsolicited mail-in ballots were being scattered across the country!

"But the reason it worked was because of the gradual desensitization of the American people. Trace it back and it's easy to see it was a beautifully orchestra ted—albeit evil — plan to subdue an entire country. Develop a virus in a lab. Release it and allow our hated enemy, China, to take the f all. Stir pandemonium via the bought-and-paid-for-media to incite fear of mass graves even in the face of solid stats that said the mortality rate was .02%”

In Oklahoma, nearly 1% of those who contracted COVID- 19 have died. Across t he country, roughly 1.6% of those infected have died from the virus.

In an interview, Merrick acknowledged Democrat Joe Bi denis president, but doubled down on his belief t hat there was election fraud in the presidential election. He also tied his skepticism of the election results to his suspicion of COVID-19 statistics.

“I do believe there was massive fraud in the election, and I' m very disappointed that it wasn't challenged more,” Merrick said. “I think that it's kind of like with the pandemic, with the virus. There's a lot of question marks.”

He questioned the number of reported COVID- 1 9 death sand the number of people infected with the virus, suggesting the number of false positive tests may be higher than reported.

Merrick said both he and his wife contracted COVID- 19, and they've lost family and friends to the virus.

“I understand that it is real and that we need to take it seriously, but I do believe that it has been used further some agendas, to, you know, to get control over people,” he said. Asked who is using C OVID -19 to further their agenda, Mer rick declined to elaborate.

Merrick said he's running for the Senate because he's concerned about what he described as the“liberal, progressive agenda” and the “push for socialism” at the federal level of politics.

He criticized President Joe Bid en for what he characterized as threatening the oil and natural gas industries. Merrick said he opposes mask mandates and business shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There' s some issues here that, I believe, we, as Oklahomans, have to really stand up and defend (ourselves ), or we' re going to see this enormous federal overreach and this government overreach,” he said.

Mer rick supports legislation that would criminalize abortion in Oklahoma. He is endorsed by the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association and Oklahomans for Health and Parental Rights.

Oklahoma court records show a Jake Merrick has been sued several times for civil relief in conjunction with the business Jake Mer rick Fencing Company. However, it is not the same Jake Merrick that is running for the state Senate.

Merrick has raised more than $27,000 in campaign cash.

Keri Shipley

Age: 48 Party affiliation:

Republican

Occupation: Legislative assistant f or Oklahoma Republican Rep. Josh West

Website: keri ship ley. com

Ship ley, of Edmond, characterizes herself asa conservative Christian and a Shipley strong believer in the U.S. Constitution.

After years of s erving her community, she said she would regret not trying to serve in the state Senate.

She is a member of the National Rifle Association and Oklahoma Second Amendment Association. She op poses abortion, business shutdowns due to C OVID -19 and tax increases.

In 2013, Ship le yr an for as eaton the Deer Creek School Board. The former Deer Creek Executive PTO President has served as registrar for the Edmond Soccer Club and led the Deer Creek Soccer Booster Club.

If elected, Ship ley said she would prior itize education and communicating with her constituents.

“I want to focus on our kids, focus on our economy and infrastructure,” she said .“I just want Oklahoma to be a place that, not only my kids and grandkids, but other families, can call home for generations to come.”

As Shipley has talked to voters in the district, she' s heard concerns about the 2020 presidential election and politics at the national level. But she tries to focus on what's happening locally.

“I really want everybody to focus on what's going on at their local and state level, so I try to bring the conversation back to Oklahoma,” she said.

The Senate Majority Fund, which is controlled by Republican leaders of the state Senate, has spent more t han $ 2 0, 000 on mailers, texts, phone calls and digital advertising in support of Shipley.

One mailer from the group compares Shipley to Bice.

"Like Stephanie Bice, Keri Ship ley is a wife, mother, Christian, and community leader," the mailer says ." She will preserve Stephanie's conservative legacy and fight for Oklahoma families." Bice has not endorsed a candidate in the SD 22 race.

Ship ley loaned her campaign $ 25, 000 and has raised more than $28,000 from other contributors. She has been endorsed by Rep. Garry Mize,R- Guthrie, and former state Sen. Rob Johnson, who used to represent the district and filed to run in the special election, but was kicked off the ballot.

Dylan Billings

Age: 31 Party affiliation: Democrat

Occupation: Visiting assistant college professor in political science

Website: dylan bill

Billings ings.com

Billings, of Edmond, said his Ph.D. in political science has prepared him to jump right into the job, considering the winner of the special election would begin their term partway through the current legislative session.

“It is my experience that makes me the best candidate, given the situation, because I will be able to step in on Day One ,” he said .“Other candidates might have a learning curve, and it might take them a while to navigate through the system.”

Because of his background in his policy research, Billings said he doesn't come to his political positions just because they may be popular with the Democratic Party. Instead, he says he looks at the evidence and digs into the research to decide where he stands on an issue.

Billings was once a high school drop out who earned minimum wage working at a Taco Bell. He said not having health insurance or other benefits and paying out-of-pocket f or medications was an eye-opening experience that gives him perspective on the struggles some Oklahomans face.

He was motivated to run partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic and because Oklahoma Democrats have some history of winning special elections for legislative seats.

On t he pandemic, he called for state leaders to listen to medical experts in health care and epidemiology. He also said he believes a statewide mask mandate is necessary to reduce transmission of the virus.

“This is a disaster that never had to happen in the first place,” he said. “The reason we got where we are now is because we didn' t have swift and meaningful action taken early on.”

Billings has raised just over $4,000 in campaign funds.

Molly Ooten

Age: 31 Party affiliation: Democrat

Occupation: Speech pathologist

Website: mollyooten. com

After working for years at Oklahoma County Sooner Start, an early intervention program serving local children and families, Ooten Ooten, of

Edmond, said she's seen the struggles Oklahomans face to access government assistance, like food stamps.

But t hat struggle has also hit close to home as she has tried to help her adult brother get assistance for his chronic illness.

“Helping him navigate the system along with helping (other) families, those were the things that made me realize that I needed to be a part of changing the system ,” she said.

Ooten wants juvenile judges to have trauma training to understand the adverse childhood experiences some children face. She also wants the state to reduce the number of intellectually and developmentally disabled Oklahomans on the waiting list for community-based services, some of whom have been on the list for more than a decade.

She also wants to see Oklahomans and local businesses get additional support to make it through the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, Ooten said she wants to find com passionate policy solutions that both Democrats and Republicans can get behind.

“Compassion, connection and collaboration are what we need right now,” she said. “We need a return to kindness."

Ooten has raised more than $17,000.