Incumbent Rep. Tom Cole (OK-R) and Democratic candidate Mary Brannon will compete for the Oklahoma Congressional District 4 seat in the Nov. 8 election.
TOM COLE (R)
OU Daily reached out to Cole’s media team for an interview through an email, a follow-up and a phone call, but received no response by the deadline provided.
Cole is a fifth-generation Oklahoman and enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002. According to his campaign site, he also served as an Oklahoma state senator, chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party and as Oklahoma’s secretary of state.
His website reads Cole is a supporter of veterans, and he passed three pieces of legislation early in his career for increased funding for veterans’ health and services, as well as more education opportunities.
Cole also pushes for increased national security and believes the national defense budget should be prioritized toward countries like China, Russia and Iran, according to his website.
“From protecting our military installations from cuts and continuing to work to add missions, to continually winning pay raises for our military men and women, Tom fights every day for those in uniform and the state of Oklahoma,” his website reads.
According to his website, Cole believes the most important component of regulating immigration is border security. He voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which authorized and partially funded constructing 700 miles of fencing between the U.S. and Mexico, and also supported former U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for building a wall on the U.S.’ southern border.
Cole is endorsed by the National Rifle Association of America with an A rating and defends the Second Amendment as a “God-given and constitutionally protected right” for any American.
He also has a top score from both the Susan B. Anthony List and the National Right to Life Committee for his anti-abortion efforts in the House. Previously, he proposed to ban abortion funding, which was struck down. He also released a statement opposing abortion legislation after voting against House Resolution 8296 and House Resolution 8297.
“Currently, Tom, with other House Republicans, are standing strong against the Biden Administration in protecting the Hyde Amendment which has prevented taxpayer funding of Abortion for decades,” his website reads.
Cole seeks to fight for U.S. energy independence from foreign oil exporters, and he believes the best way to foster this is to let Americans thrive on their own and have the government take a more hands-off approach, according to his website.
“Oklahomans know how to get our economy growing again,” Cole’s website reads. “It takes a smaller, less intrusive government, cutting burdensome red tape, lowering taxes and stopping out-of-control spending and that’s what Tom is fighting for every day in Washington.”
Lastly, Cole’s website reads he believes the U.S. should be looking to fix its national debt after the constant and consistent expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as vaccination research or the trillions of dollars in lost revenue.
MARY BRANNON (D)
Retired elementary school teacher and counselor Brannon said the first time she ran for the Democratic primary for Congressional District 4 in 2018, she remembers being surprised she won.
Now, with this being her third election against Cole, she said she will continue to prove to him many Oklahomans are “dissatisfied” with his conduct in the U.S. House.
She said one of her top priorities, if elected, is helping veterans, specifically when it comes to Veterans Affairs hospitals. When she first ran, Brannon said a big part of this being her focus was because Cole and other representatives attempted to make Veterans Affairs hospitals private, so they could build new ones.
Under the Republican party, she said the maintenance of these buildings hasn’t been up to par, from secondhand smoke filtering in to exposure to asbestos.
“Any time we make something private, the price goes up and the quality goes down,” Brannon said. “I promised to my brother on his deathbed that I’d tried to keep the VA hospitals open.”
Brannon said her brother was a Vietnam war veteran who came home in a wheelchair then died in January 2022, which she attributed to the long-term effects of Agent Orange, a tactical herbicide the U.S. military used to clear leaves and vegetation during operations. On her website, she wrote he was her hero.
“(My brother was) so sweet,” Brannon said. “I remember my mom getting his picture in the mail. I just think, ‘How can we send (our soldiers) over there, they come back sick, and then we don’t help them when they get back?’”
Brannon said she also wants to improve affordable health care. She said programs such as Medicaid are treated, and described, as an entitlement, which she feels shouldn’t be the case. Brannon also said people have died because essential medicines, such as insulin, have had exponential price increases over the past couple decades.
She said these two things, coupled with cuts to social security and the move away from the Affordable Health Care Act – commonly known as Obamacare – with no definite solution to take its place, has made the U.S.’ health system uncertain, which she wants to change.
“The price of insulin is costing some people to lose their lives because they just can’t afford it,” Brannon said. “I decided to run because I said, ‘If (Cole) votes against (health care) without something to replace it, (Cole) will have a formidable opponent next time.’ I suppose that’s me.”
Oklahoma House Bill 1019 caps the price of insulin for a 30- and 90-day supply, but, for veterans and those under Medicare and Medicaid, this bill doesn’t apply.
Brannon said she supports abortion rights because she feels the U.S. shouldn’t make a pregnant person travel across multiple state lines for a safe way to terminate her pregnancy.
“I graduated high school in 1978, and I had a friend in high school who almost died from a back-alley abortion,” Brannon said. “They had Roe v. Wade for a reason: to keep people alive. You can’t ban abortions, you can only ban safe abortions.”
She said she is optimistic about her chances of beating Cole for his seat and promises to continue raising awareness about where she and her constituents stand on bills and acts Cole votes on.
“This is going to be our year,” Brannon said. “Especially when it comes to things like Roe v. Wade. I’m a retired school counselor and, let me tell you, kids have enough trouble as is, and people see how sincere I am since I’m an educator.”
The general election is on Tuesday, Nov. 8. To check your voter registration, visit the OK Voter Portal.
