DENNIS L. BAKER FOR U.S. SENATE

My name is Dennis Baker, and I’m a Democrat running to unseat James Lankford in the U.S. Senate. I’m not a career politician, just a patriotic American who knows that government must do better. For me to take on Lankford, I need the support of Democrats and Independents in the primary on Tuesday, June 28th.

During my 23 years as an FBI special agent, I worked to keep Americans safer from domestic and international terrorism. Terrorism and increasing authoritarianism abroad are still genuine dangers that I will address in the Senate, but they aren’t something that most Oklahomans face in their daily lives.

Healthcare is different. We are all subject to the dangers posed by a healthcare system that isn’t available, accessible, and affordable to everybody. These problems aren’t the fault of our healthcare professionals. They have done and continue to do amazing work in difficult conditions. It is the system that needs work. It is rigged in favor of insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies and real Oklahomans are paying the price. Senator Lankford has taken $129,300 from pharmaceutical companies just this election cycle and won’t commit to capping monthly insulin costs at $35. He’s representing his donors, not real Oklahomans.

Real Oklahomans know that we take care of each other, and if we truly value people’s lives and well-being we must do everything we can to ensure that every person has access to affordable and high-quality health care. This is something that will take some time, but we must start making improvements immediately.

We’ve all seen what happens when people have to put off care or are unable to afford necessary medication. Maybe you’ve even experienced it yourself. An odd lump gets ignored for months or years until you wind up in the ER because you can’t handle the pain anymore and that lump has progressed into Stage IV cancer. You had an appointment where the doctor diagnosed high blood pressure but you can’t afford regular monitoring visits and have to ration the expensive medication you were put on and so wind up with a stroke. What would have been a straightforward infection easily treated with a course of oral antibiotics if you’d been able to go in when you started having symptoms progresses to the point where you need hospitalization with IV antibiotics or even surgery.

Let’s look at numbers. 2/3 of bankruptcies in the U.S. are because of medical bills. Drug companies are making record profits while constantly raising prices on drugs that are already on the market. 33% of Americans have postponed visiting a doctor due to the cost. A 2022 KFF/NPR survey found that 47% of Americans have difficulty affording medical expenses. Only 30% of us could immediately pay an unexpected $500 medical bill and 19% of us wouldn’t be able to pay it at all. 30% of the money raised on GoFundMe is for medical bills and 15% of campaigns are for funeral expenses. Most of us are one bad doctor’s visit away from financial devastation.

These problems didn’t develop overnight and they won’t be solved overnight, but I know how I will start the battle. I will work to secure Medicare and Medicaid – two programs that Senator Lankford and other Republicans will make cuts to if they control the Senate despite the fact that 1.9 million Oklahomans depend on those programs. I will push to expand Medicare benefits to include vision and dental coverage. I will fight for the government to have the right to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies so that Oklahomans aren’t forced to choose between medication and groceries. We can’t snap our fingers and fix the system. It will take time. I pledge on my honor to support laws that will ease the burden on hard-working Oklahoma families. I’m ready to go to work for you.

Learn more about my campaign at www.DennisLBaker.com and follow me on Facebook and Twitter.