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Showing 1 to 20 of 36 article results for “836”
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Culture & the Family, Good Government
Mullin’s move to Homeland Security highlights years of public and private service
Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation as U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary marks a moment to acknowledge the breadth of his service to Oklahoma—from growing a family business into a major employer, to representing the state in the U.S. House of Representatives and later the U.S. Senate.Jonathan Small | March 30, 2026
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Law & Principles
‘Top two’ turnout claim falls flat in OKC election
Supporters of State Question 836, which would replace Oklahoma’s party-primary system with a California-style “top two” model, have argued the change will increase voter turnout and say Oklahoma City’s nonpartisan mayoral elections offer a proof of concept. But Tuesday’s results tell a different story.Ray Carter | February 12, 2026
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Budget & Tax, Education
Munson’s claims of education cuts rebutted by revenue reports
House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson claims that recent school-funding increases are simply a recovery from “massive cuts” a decade ago—but state revenue records don’t support her story. It’s not the first time her claims have been contradicted by data.Ray Carter | February 5, 2026
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Law & Principles
OCPA statement on SQ 836 signature submission
OCPA President Jonathan Small issued a statement regarding news that proponents of State Question 836 have submitted signatures to place the measure on Oklahoma's statewide ballot.Staff | January 26, 2026
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Law & Principles
Pro-SQ 836 group says nearly all Republican lawmakers ‘should be voted out’
After 114 Republican lawmakers warned voters about SQ 836, the Kirkpatrick Policy Group responded by thanking OCPA “for providing a list of the first politicians who should be voted out once SQ 836 passes.”Ray Carter | January 26, 2026
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Law & Principles
Nearly all Oklahoma Republican state lawmakers oppose SQ 836, warn of California-style elections
More than 90 percent of Oklahoma House Republicans and 97 percent of Senate Republicans are urging voters to reject State Question 836, warning that the proposal would dismantle Oklahoma’s primary system and replicate California’s “top two” model.Ray Carter | January 22, 2026
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Law & Principles
State lawmakers urge Oklahomans: Be wary of signing SQ 836 petition
Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton and Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, along with 112 of their fellow members of the Oklahoma Legislature, issued an open letter to the people of Oklahoma, urging them to be wary of signing the initiative petition to place State Question 836 on the statewide ballot.Staff | January 22, 2026
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Law & Principles
OKC mayor urges ‘top two’ primaries, but California’s track record undercuts the pitch
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt is urging Oklahomans to adopt a California-style “top two” election system, arguing it produces more pragmatic officeholders. But California’s real-world results tell a different story.Jonathan Small | December 29, 2025
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Law & Principles
‘Top Two’ jungle primaries would be death knell for Independent, alternative-party candidates in Oklahoma
Independent and alternative-party candidates have played a meaningful role in Oklahoma statewide elections for decades. State Question 836, with its California-style “Top Two” primary, would make it nearly impossible for alternative parties to survive, reducing voter choice and silencing non-establishment voices.Chris Powell | December 22, 2025
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Law & Principles
Holt calls state leaders ‘bitterly unpopular’—but they outpoll him
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, who promotes “Pride Month” celebrating transgenderism and other sexual identities, recently dismissed Oklahoma statewide elected officials as “bitterly unpopular.” Holt says a California-style election system will produce superior governance.Ray Carter | December 17, 2025
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Law & Principles
With California election system, no Governors Bellmon, Bartlett, Keating, or Stitt
A review of Oklahoma’s past elections shows that the California-style “top two” system proposed in State Question 836 would have kept nearly every Republican governor in Oklahoma history off the November ballot the year they were first elected.Ray Carter | December 10, 2025
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Law & Principles
New York group seeks to overhaul Oklahoma election system
Supporters of State Question 836 portray their push for a California-style “top two” election system as a local, grassroots movement. But one of its drivers is a New York–based activist group that boasts of “10 years of conversations and organizing in the Sooner State.”Ray Carter | December 9, 2025
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Law & Principles
Eric Swalwell touted as open-primary success
Activists pushing State Question 836 claim a California-style “top two” primary will give Oklahoma more moderate candidates, yet their own flagship report praising that system held up one of Congress’s most aggressively partisan Democrats—Eric Swalwell—as a model success.Ray Carter | December 2, 2025
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Law & Principles
A flawed election system, or flawed ideas?
SQ 836 isn’t real reform—it’s a scheme that would limit voter choice, favor liberal outcomes, and let activists rig the system when their ideas can’t win.Michael Wright | November 20, 2025
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Law & Principles
Top-two primary proposal draws criticism—from California’s own elections chief
State Question 836 would replace Oklahoma’s party primaries with a California-style “top two” system. But even California’s own secretary of state says this flawed system disenfranchises smaller parties and limits voter choice.Ray Carter | November 19, 2025
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Law & Principles
Clinton, Biden donors call for ‘open primaries’ in Oklahoma
Many leading advocates of State Question 836—a proposal to replace Oklahoma’s traditional party-primary system with a California-style “open primary”—are donors to left-wing candidates and causes.Ray Carter | November 11, 2025
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Law & Principles, Culture & the Family
Backers of Oklahoma open-primary plan tout California as model, success story
Supporters of State Question 836, which would replace Oklahoma’s party primaries with a single “open primary” where all candidates appear on one ballot, tout California’s system as a model.Ray Carter | November 7, 2025
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Law & Principles
‘Open primaries’ backers supported Marxist candidate for president
After “10 years of conversations and organizing in the Sooner State,” out-of-state activists with a history of radical-left politics—including ties to a Marxist presidential candidate—are trying to bring California’s election system to Oklahoma.Ray Carter | November 3, 2025
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Law & Principles
Ten years in the making: Out-of-state group with left-wing ties pushes California model for Oklahoma elections
After a decade of “conversations and organizing,” a national group with deep Democratic and left-wing ties is backing an effort to replace Oklahoma’s current election system with one modeled after California’s “top two” primary process.Ray Carter | October 27, 2025
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Good Government
Brecheen: ‘Open primary’ designed to help left-wing politicians
U.S. Rep. Josh Brecheen is warning Oklahomans that a proposed “open primary” system—modeled after California’s “top two” elections—would tilt Oklahoma politics sharply to the left.Ray Carter | October 21, 2025