2017 Special Election Elected 60 – 40
A funny thing happened in Oklahoma on July 11. Two Democrats won the two special elections. Karen Gaddis was elected to represent House District 75 east of Tulsa. Michael Brooks was elected in Senate District 44 south of Oklahoma City.
Jacob Rosencrants https://www.jacobrosecrants.com/ is attempting the same for Oklahoma HD 46 on September 12. HD 46 is in Norman, the home of the University of Oklahoma. House districts in Oklahoma are pretty small. HD 46 has fewer than 50,000 people.
Even a university town in Oklahoma is not fertile territory for Democrats. Jacob Rosencrants ran for this same seat in 2016, but lost (round numbers) 11,000 to 7,200 Statewide, after the elections in November, 2016, Republicans controlled the state Senate 42-6, the House 71-30. There are some special elections in the South or West where Republicans dominate that are important because they may prevent an easy override of a governor’s veto on the chance that the Democrats could elect a Democrat as Governor.
Not in Oklahoma. These special elections are important because Oklahoma, like Kansas, following radical Republican policies, is a mess. The budget has a hole of nearly a billion dollars. Jacob Rosencrants denounces the lack of foresight and outright ignorance of Oklahoma’s elected leaders and regrets disastrous cuts in hospitals, nursing homes, and public education. He particularly opposes the influence of the corporate-sponsored organization ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) in the state legislature. ALEC has sponsored legislation to block environmental laws, privatize public schools, and eliminate worker’s rights. Jacob Rosencrants‘ focus is to restore funds to support public education and to reform the criminal justice system. He particularly targets the privatization of prisons and jailing drug users instead of providing rehabilitation.
Jacob Rosencrants https://www.jacobrosecrants.com/ has spent his life in Oklahoma. He was born in Oklahoma City and grew up in Norman. His is a graduate of Norman High School and the University of Oklahoma in Norman. His children attend Norman Public Schools and he is a middle school and high school history and social studies teacher in the Norman Public Schools. His effort is in the best traditions of American democracy — a local guy speaking up for and running on what he believes. Give him some support for the effort in this special election A little bit of money will go a long way in a small district. A little money could go a long way toward making a couple of Democratic victories in Oklahoma into a trend.