Kevin Hern Wins Oklahoma Senate Seat, Defeating Jasmine Thomas

OKLAHOMA CITY (Orbit Post) Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern won Oklahoma's open U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday, defeating Democrat N'Kiyla "Jasmine" Thomas, according to projections by the Associated Press, ABC News and CNN.

The Oklahoman reported the race called by ABC News and CNN at 9:29 p.m. ET. News 9 reported the Associated Press projection the same night. Hern succeeds appointed Sen. Alan Armstrong in the seat that Markwayne Mullin gave up to become Homeland Security Secretary.

Unlike many election night winners who take office in January, Hern could take office within days, The Oklahoman reported.

From the House to the Senate

Hern has represented Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House since 2018. Before Congress, he worked as an aerospace engineer and owned McDonald's franchises. He won the Republican Senate primary on June 16 and carried President Donald Trump's endorsement into the general election.

His campaign describes an America First agenda and lists priorities that include tax policy, border security, veterans, abortion, Second Amendment rights, school choice, term limits and a balanced budget amendment.

The challenger

Thomas is a nurse, an active-duty military spouse and a Chickasaw citizen who was raised in Ardmore. She was making her first run for public office. She took 45.2 percent in the June Democratic primary, then won the August 25 runoff with 61.2 percent of the vote, according to results compiled from state returns reported by News 9.

Her campaign listed health care access, the nursing shortage, reproductive rights, education and special education, tribal sovereignty, infrastructure and civil rights among its priorities. Libertarian Sevier White and independents Curtis Stinnett and Ron Meinhardt also ran.

The three other candidates filled out the ballot. Sevier White, the Libertarian, had run for the U.S. House as a Libertarian in Oklahoma's 3rd District in 2000 and its 4th District in 2016. Curtis Stinnett, an independent, is a pharmacist and a graduate of Southwestern Oklahoma State University who lives in Tulsa and was running for the first time. Ron Meinhardt, also an independent, is a member of the Oklahoma Republican Party who ran in opposition to his party's pick, Hern. The State Election Board's official candidate list carried all five names, News 9 reported.

The Oklahoma result landed on a night when all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats were on the ballot. Republicans went into the election holding a 219 to 214 House majority and a 53 to 47 Senate majority, News 9 reported.

The win keeps the seat in Republican hands in a state Donald Trump has carried in each of his presidential runs. Results remain unofficial until certified under Oklahoma law.