2020 General Election
No bigger upset
No Democrat victory was a bigger surprise than Kendra Horn’s. She is the only Democrat in the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation. It had been eight years since a Democrat represented any Oklahoma district; 44 years since a Democrat had represented OK 05.
Kendra Horn https://www.kendrahornforcongress.com/ was not a conventional candidate. Not a local pol. Not a local businesswoman. Born and raised in Chickasha. Went to the University of Tulsa. Got her law degree from SMU. She’s a local who returned to Oklahoma after being away.
She practiced law briefly in a small firm in Dallas, even more briefly as a sole practitioner in Dallas. She was the press secretary for Brad Carson (D) OK 02. For a year.A Washington job.Then she worked for the Space Foundation – in Washington; then in their headquarters in Colorado. She stayed in Colorado. Even after she left the Space Foundation. Ran a yoga studio for three years.
When she returned to Oklahoma, she ran a political campaign. She worked on women’s political issues. She created Sally’s List to support women candidates – sort of an Oklahoma version of Emily’s List. Kendra Horn was its Director for two and a half years. She helped found Women Lead Oklahoma. To encourage and help women to run for office in Oklahoma. Women Lead Oklahoma endorsed Kendra Horn’s campaign for Congress. …
She had been peripatetic. Kendra Horn made the most of her return to Oklahoma. She put together a campaign for Congress. She focused on health care and on women’s issues. Her website on those topics create a sense that she is progressive, but doesn’t say anything about abortion. She does discuss the importance of gun safety. Her other issues include education and job training (many Oklahoma jobs go unfilled, she says, because of a lack of qualified candidates) and infrastructure.
Her transition to being a Member of Congress is going pretty well. Kendra Horn voted for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker, explaining the only other choice was Republican Kevin McCarthy. She got appointed to the Armed Services Committee, explaining the appointment will allow her to look out for Oklahoma’s military installations. She has been looking out for other Oklahomans. With two Oklahoma Republican Congressmen, she introduced a bill to fund the Indian Health Service, notwithstanding the government shutdown. Involving other Oklahoma Congressmen, Republican Members of Congress, is a small triumph of her transition.
Kendra Horn’s first speech to Congress was about the shutdown. She focused on the economic and national security impact of Oklahoma City’s FAA Mike Moroney Aeronautical Center being closed. Almost all of Oklahoma City is Kendra Horn’s Fifth District. The Aeronautical Center is the tenth largest employer in Oklahoma. She explains the Aeronautical Center supports 45,000 Air Traffic Controllers around the world.
It may be have easier to involve the Republican Congressmen because Kendra Horn has made it clear. She is not a liberal. She joined the New Democratic Coalition – one of the major policy-oriented Democratic caucuses. The NDC describes itself as “pro-economic growth, pro-innovation, and fiscally responsible policies. …..[a solutions oriented coalition seeking to bridge the gap between left and right by challenging outmoded partisan approaches to governing.”
Kendra Horn https://www.kendrahornforcongress.com/ is positioning herself to stay a while in the House of Representatives. Let’s help her do that. She won a very close race. Her victory wasn’t in the hundreds of votes, but any Congressional victory by less than 15,000 is a close call. She is already a Republican target for 2020. Keep her in Washington with a monthly donation.
People who need our help now for 2020.
Doug Jones AL Senator won by 21,924 of 1,348,720 votes
Ben McAdams UT 04 won by 694 votes of 269,271 votes
TJ Cox CA 21 won by 862 votes of 113,616 votes
Lucy McBath GA 06 won by 3,264 votes of 317, 032 votes
Kendra Horn OK 05 won by 3,298 votes of 238,738 votes
A special election.Minnesota SD 11. Republican hold a 34-32 majority in the Minnesota State Senate. If Democrats are going to gain a MN Senate majority in 2020, they can’t fall further behind. Stu Lourey, previously an aide to US Senator Tina Smith, won the Democratic Primary. The election is on February 5. If Lourey wins, he would extend a family tradition. His grandmother, Becky Lourey, held this seat. She was succeeded by her son, who was appointed by the new Democratic Governor as Human Services Commissioner. If he wins, Stu Lourey will succeed his dad. Do you want to help maintain national Democratic momentum? Help Stu Lourey https://www.stulourey.com/ win a local election.
