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Trump’s pick for DHS secretary leaves US Senate vacancy in deep-red Oklahoma
Gov. Kevin Stitt will appoint a temporary senator who cannot run in the November election, aiming to maintain GOP control in deep-red Oklahoma.
- On Thursday, March 5, 2026, President Donald Trump plans to nominate U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., as Homeland Security secretary, creating an unexpected Senate vacancy in deep-red Oklahoma.
- Under a new Oklahoma law, Gov. Kevin Stitt will appoint Mullin's replacement if he leaves his Senate seat, and Stitt said Thursday he wants `a strong, small government conservative voice to support President Trump`.
- Lawmakers said the law bars the governor's appointee from running in the November election, to protect the seat from incumbency advantage.
- The vacancy is likely to set off political dominoes, with U.S. Reps. Kevin Hern of Tulsa, Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma City, and former Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon considering the race, while Republicans remain heavily favored.
- Oklahoma's three-day filing period begins on April 1, accelerating the scramble as Mullin, first elected in 2022 to fill Jim Inhofe's unexpired term, leaves the Senate vacancy.
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Associated Press News+4 Reposted by 4 other sources
Trump's pick for DHS secretary leaves US Senate vacancy in deep-red Oklahoma
President Trump's plan to nominate U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma as Homeland Security secretary will leave an unexpected Senate vacancy in deep-red Oklahoma.
·United States
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Total News Sources7
Leaning Left4Leaning Right0Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution57% Left
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources lean Left
57% Left
L 57%
C 43%
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