GOP chairman to resign, run for Congress
Bennett seeks District 2 seat, party officials say
The controversial leader of the Oklahoma Republican Party plans to resign to focus on his congressional campaign.
GOP Chairman John Bennett will resign in the coming days, two state party officials said Friday.
Bennett filed this week to run for the Congressional District 2 seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, who is running for the U.S. Senate. He did not respond Friday to a question about his possible resignation.
“We will hear a formal announcement here in the next few days,” said GOP Vice Chairman Shane Jemison. Oklahoma’s Republican National Committeewoman Pam Pollard confirmed Bennett will resign soon.
“Being a former state party chairman, especially in a heavy election year, I know the time it takes, the resources it takes in order to run our state party,” Pollard said. “In speaking with Chairman Bennett, I think he understands that, too.
“He wants to do what’s best for Oklahoma, what’s best for the Republican Party and for our Republican candidates.”
If Bennett resigns, Jemison will serve as acting chairman until the Republican State Committee can elect a new chairman.
The Republican State Committee, which is made up of more than 400 party officials across the state, would likely elect Bennett’s replacement in May, Pollard said.
“As we’re looking forward on chairman or chairwoman candidates, there will be some good options,” said Jemison, who indicated he’s not interested in running.
Bennett has been a divisive figure within the party since he was elected in April 2021.
Many of the party’s top elected officials denounced a social media post Bennett made that compared COVID-19 vaccine mandates to the persecution of Jewish people in Nazi Germany. Bennett later defended the post made on the Oklahoma Republican Party’s Facebook page.
Although it is nearly unheard of for party officials to take sides in primary contests, Bennett has backed a Republican challenger to U.S. James Lankford. He also led the party when the GOP State Committee rejected a censure of Lankford and U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe.
Bennett, who lives in Vian, had a history of making controversial remarks targeting Muslims during his eight-year stint in the Oklahoma House.
More recently, members of Oklahoma’s Muslim community criticized Bennett for statements he made in opposition to Afghan refugees being resettled in the state.