The battle for control of the U.S. Senate is heating up.
Polling shows close races in neighboring Texas and Kansas, which haven’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in the 21st century. Races in Michigan, Maine, Ohio, Alaska and Iowa are also toss-ups, according to the Cook Political Report.
Oklahoma’s U.S. Senate race has received little national attention. Name recognition, voter registration numbers and fundraising all favor Kevin Hern, the Republican congressman from Tulsa who entered the race after Markwayne Mullin departed to become Secretary of Homeland Security. N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas, a nurse from Ardmore, is running a progressive campaign with hopes of pulling off an upset. If elected, she would become the first Oklahoma Democrat elected to the Senate since David Boren in 1990.
Here are the candidates and their platforms: The Candidates:
• Republican Kevin Hern, a 64-year-old businessman and incumbent congressman from Tulsa. He was first elected to represent Oklahoma’s 1st congressional district in 2018.
• Democrat N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas, a 31-year-old registered nurse, active-duty military spouse and Chickasaw Nation citizen from Ardmore.
Their Platforms:
• Hern says he would work to improve border security, reduce the national debt and loosen federal gun restrictions if elected. He’s a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, saying on his campaign website that he has fought “Democrat obstructionists who want to do our President harm and take away all that he has accomplished in his first term.” While in Congress, he has worked on healthcare reform and tribal issues.
• A self-identified Democratic socialist, Thomas says she would work to establish Medicare for all, codify federal abortion rights and raise the federal minimum wage. She also wants to provide universal access to childcare and free breakfast and lunch for all public school students. She says she has refused to take any corporate PAC or special interest money during her campaign.
