John,

We did something a little unconventional this week. 

By now, you might have heard about our mission to challenge every Republican held seat in the State House and Senate. If you’ve been voting in Oklahoma for a while, you might have noticed your ballot condensing with each election year. 

Since 2018, the number of Democrats appearing on the ballot has been steadily decreasing. In 2020, 50 of the 125 legislative races went uncontested. In 2022, nearly half of the races were decided at candidate filing in April.  In June of 2024, 40% of races in the State House & Senate were decided before the general election. This rapid decrease in challenged races drives down voter turnout. 

That’s why we did something a bit bold this week. We partnered with Contest Every Race and sent thousands of texts to true Democrats in Oklahoma, sending a clear message: if you have ever thought about running, we’re here to help. 

We’re on a mission to organize everywhere so that we can win anywhere. We’ve already received hundreds of replies. Oklahomans in all 77 counties are asking for more information on running or declaring their support and willingness to volunteer locally.

Next up – Candidate meetings! The Oklahoma Democratic Party meets with every single individual who expresses interest in running for public office. With YOUR support, our staff can provide hands-on assistance, develop campaign literature, build websites, and provide training on raising money and knocking doors. 

Truth be told, the State Party has not always been this resource to candidates. But we know that if we want to change things here in Oklahoma, if we want to be a true opposition party, if we want candidates to be bold and put their names on the ballot, then we'd better be in the fight alongside them. 

So thank you. Thank you for supporting us and making this work possible. Your support in time, talents, and treasure is shaping this election cycle in true, meaningful ways. If you support this mission and want to chip in to see it grow, we thank you. 

To check out the candidates we've recruited so far, click here. 

Let's win some races,

Lauren Craig

OKDEMS Executive Director

As Oklahoma Democrats, we are working every day to engage, connect, and organize Oklahomans to elect Democrats at every level of government.