Candidates line up as Senator Inhofe prepares for retirement

Candidates are already lining up in the race to replace Oklahoma’s longest-serving senator, who announced his retirement Friday.

Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, will retire from his lengthy political career in January 2023 after his successor is elected. Inhofe was reelected to the Senate in 2020, meaning his successor will serve the majority of the term.

Inhofe’s retirement kicks off what some political pollsters and pundits have already called a political whirlwind. Inhofe has served in the Senate since 1994.

He has endorsed his chief of staff, Bartlesville native Luke Holland, in the race. But Holland won’t be the only candidate. Oklahoma U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin and Oklahoma State Senator Nathan Dahm have also thrown their hats in the ring.

Holland, who has never before held public office, was endorsed by Inhofe during interviews and a press conference announcing his candidacy on Friday.

“As your next senator, I will continue the Inhofe legacy of defending our Christian values, fighting socialism, rebuilding our military and standing up to China,” Holland said in a news release.

Several other Oklahoma politicians have hinted at running or been mentioned as possible candidates. Among them is T.W. Shannon, a former state legislator who served as speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. In a lengthy announcement about Inhofe’s retirement, Shannon said America has “been far too good to me to sit back and become the generation that allows our republic to retreat from its proper role in history.”

ABOUT INHOFE’S RETIREMENT

Inhofe’s retirement will take effect Jan. 3, 2023, giving him enough time to shepherd another defense budget through Congress as a ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

In his resignation letter, Inhofe said he and his wife, Kay, made the retirement decision with a “clear heart,” though the move is “bittersweet.”

“When our journey of service to Oklahoma started with my first political campaign in 1967, we never expected that the road the Lord would lead us down would take us from the Oklahoma legislature, to being Mayor of Tulsa, to the House of Representatives, and, finally, to the United States Senate where I was privileged to lead the committees that best serve Oklahomans,” Inhofe said.

“Throughout our years there has been one constant – making the world safer and better for our 20 kids and grandkids and the next generation of Oklahomans. It is now time for that next generation of Oklahomans to have the opportunity to serve the state in the U.S. Senate.”

NEXT ELECTION

Under state law, voters will get to choose Inhofe’s successor, unlike other states where political powers-that-be would appoint someone to ride out the remainder of the term.

A state law passed in 2021 will allow a special election for his seat to take place at the time of this year’s general election in November. Candidates for Inhofe’s seat will file in mid-April.

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

Holland describes himself as a fourth-generation Oklahoman who, at the U.S. Capitol, “joined Senator Inhofe working hand-in-glove fighting socialists in Washington, standing up for our freedoms, and working to pass and defend the Trump agenda,” his campaign said.

Mullin, representing Oklahoma’s second congressional district, owns a plumbing company and has served in Congress since 2013. He in a Twitter video announcing his run that he would “not back away from a fight. I believe 100% if you’re going to get in a fight, you win it.”

Dahm said he is a “proven conservative fighter” who “will double down on protecting the lives of the unborn, expanding our Second Amendment rights, pushing back on federal government overreach,” among other goals.