Another Native vote first with two tribal citizens on ballot

Wednesday, August 29, 2018  

Voters in Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional District will make a historic choice this November, with two Native candidates on the ballot for the first time.

Rep. Markwayne Mullin, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, is running for re-election in what would be his fourth term in office. He secured the Republican nomination for the seat in June.

On the Democratic side of the ballot is another Cherokee citizen. That candidate is Jason Nichols, who won his party's nomination on Tuesday with 56 percent of the vote, according to results from Oklahoma State Election Board.

But the match-up is not only historic because two Cherokee citizens are running against each other. Votes are facing a stark choice between a Republican ally of a polarizing president and a Democrat who is hoping dissatisfaction with Donald Trump will propel him to victory in the general election.

"This is your victory. We’re going to flip this Second Congressional District on November 6th!" Nichols wrote in post on Twitter on Tuesday night.

This is your victory. We’re going to flip this Second Congressional District on November 6th! #Nichols4Congress #OK2 #PeopleOverPolitics pic.twitter.com/qu7k3Zoisu

— Jason Nichols for Congress (@jn4ush) August 29, 2018

Already there are signs of trouble for Mullin, regardless of his ties to President Trump. His re-election announcement was controversial because he broke his pledge to serve just three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

And like the leader of the GOP, Mullin has been dogged by ethical concerns, including one that stretched back to his arrival in the nation's capital in 2013. That issue was finally resolved just this month -- the House Committee on Ethics ordered him to return $40,000 to his family's plumbing business due to improperly received payments.

The committee noted that while he sought "informal guidance" regarding his family's business, he didn't actually follow it -- but only because of a "mistake," meaning his receipt of the $40,000 was unintentional. Mullin said the August 10 report cleared him of any wrongdoing.

"You have to be a career politician to serve in Washington, D.C.," Mullin said following the release of the report. “If I don’t fit the bill for a citizen legislator as a plumber, rancher, and someone who had never held a political office before, then who does?”

But even though the complaint has been put to rest, there are newer ones to address. A fellow Republican -- and another early support of Trump -- was indicted on criminal charges earlier this month in aninsider trading scandal that's also tied to Mullin, who again has denied any wrongdoing.

I stand with our President on strong National Security, and one way we are doing this is securing our borders. pic.twitter.com/2skpjSFw3k

— Markwayne Mullin (@MarkwayneMullin) May 30, 2018

Democrats hope voters are energized by issues like these and they are seeing results already. Turnout in the June 26 primary -- the one in which Nichols secured the most, though not a majority, of the votes -- was far higher among their party than among Republicans.

According to the Oklahoma State Election Board, Democrats in the 2nd District cast nearly 86,000 ballots on that day, compared to about 60,000 for Republicans.

Turnout for the run-off wasn't as high -- about 30,000 Democrats cast votes, according to the board -- but there was more than enough for Nichols, who serves as the mayor of Tahlequah, the capital of the Cherokee Nation, to secure the nomination.

Elsewhere in Oklahoma, another Native candidate faltered in the run-off. Amanda Douglas, another Cherokee citizen, lost the Democratic nomination for the 1st Congressional District. Tim Gilpin won with almost 60 percent of the vote, according to the results.

Congrats to my fellow Native candidate! This is so exciting!!! https://t.co/hqQeDnAlUT

— Amanda Douglas (@Amanda4Congress) August 8, 2018

A primary win by Douglas would have added to the significant gains being seen by Native women in 2018. In neighboring New Mexico, Deb Haaland, who hails from the Pueblo of Laguna, has secured the Democratic nomination for the 1st Congressional District.

Haaland is heavily favored to win in November. Voters in the district have sent a Democrat to Washington since 2009 and they have consistently supported Democrats in national elections, including all of the presidential races since 2000.

But there's more. In Kansas, Sharice Davids, a citizen of the Ho-Chunk Nation, is the first tribal citizen to appear on a general election ballot in state history.

Earlier this month, Davids secured the Democratic nomination in the 3rd Congressional District. An early poll shows her with a slight lead against Kevin Yoder, the Republican incumbent who has faced criticism for accusing his rival of not being from Kansas even though she grew up there.

A victory by Haaland, or Davids, or both, would be historic. A Native woman has never won election in the U.S. House.

"This is the #yearofthewoman, and we are also likely to elect AT LEAST one Native American woman to Congress for the first time," Douglas noted before her campaign came to an end.

Mullin, Nichols, Haaland and Davids aren't the only Native candidates running for Congress either. Elsewhere in Oklahoma, Rep. Tom Cole, who hails from the Chickasaw Nation, is seeking re-election in the 4th Congressional District.

And in Utah, James Singer is the Democratic candidate for the 3rd Congressional District. The Navajo Nation citizen is the first Native person to appear on the general ballot in state history.

And in Oklahoma, Rep. Tom Cole, who hails from the Chickasaw Nation, is seeking re-election