{"id":29496,"date":"2022-11-08T22:37:09","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T03:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=29496"},"modified":"2022-11-08T22:44:07","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T03:44:07","slug":"markwayne-mullin-becomes-first-native-u-s-senator-in-nearly-two-decades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/11\/08\/markwayne-mullin-becomes-first-native-u-s-senator-in-nearly-two-decades\/","title":{"rendered":"Markwayne Mullin becomes first Native U.S. Senator in nearly two decades"},"content":{"rendered":"
U.S. Senator-elect Markwayne Mullin Addresses Supporters at Watch Party<\/a>

U.S. Senator-elect Markwayne Mullin Addresses Supporters at Election Watch Party at Stokely Event Center in Tulsa, OK.<\/p>Posted by Markwayne Mullin<\/a> on Tuesday, November 8, 2022<\/blockquote><\/div>\r\n

Markwayne Mullin: Election Victory Speech – November 8, 2022<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Markwayne Mullin becomes first Native U.S. Senator in nearly two decades<\/div>\r\n
Tuesday, November 8, 2022<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nMarkwayne Mullin<\/a> has made history as the first tribal citizen<\/a> to win election to the U.S. Senate<\/a> in nearly two decades.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWith more than 93 percent of precincts reporting, Mullin received nearly 63 percent of the vote as of late Tuesday night, according to unofficial results from the Oklahoma State Election Board<\/a>. His Democratic challenger Kendra Horn<\/a> only had about 34 percent — too far behind to overcome the Republican victor’s lead.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“There isn’t a person in this room that has sat back and done nothing,” Mullin, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation<\/a>, said in an election victory speech<\/a> at the Stokely Event Center in Tulsa. “You guys have all been involved. You guys have all been in this fight with us.”\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“And guys, I guarantee you, nobody will work harder than Washington, D.C., to get this country back on track,” Mullin said as he spoke of inflation and rising costs in America, and of his opposition to Democratic politicians.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\"Markwayne<\/a>

Markwayne Mullin on the campaign trail. Photo: Mullin for America<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe last tribal citizen to serve in the Senate was Ben “Nighthorse” Campbell<\/a>, who is enrolled in the Northern Cheyenne Tribe<\/a>.\r\nHe retired in 2005<\/a> following two terms in the chamber. Previously, he served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives<\/a>.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nMullin’s political path has been similar, though he couldn’t quite remember the name of his trailblazing Republican predecessor during a tribal event in Washington, D.C., in September<\/a>. He has represented Oklahoma’s 2nd congressional district in the House<\/a> since 2013, having served a total of four terms.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nDuring his time in the House, Mullin has been a part of the Congressional Native American Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers that works to advance Indian Country legislation. In the 117th Congress, the current session, he is one of five tribal citizens in the chamber — a record number, though the fifth just joined after a historic special election in September<\/a>. Overall, six lawmakers of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian origin are serving, a first in U.S. history.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBut once he’s sworn into the Senate in January 2023, Mullin will be the sole tribal citizen there. He referred to himself as the “only true Native American in the Senate when I get elected” during the 39th annual National Tribal Health Conference<\/a> in D.C. on September 28.\r\n

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\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\u2018The only true Native American in the Senate\u2019: Markwayne Mullin, Republican #NTHC2022\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) addresses the 39th Annual National Tribal Health Conference on September 28, 2022.Mullin, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation…<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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Indianz.Com Video: The only true Native American in the Senate\u2019: Markwayne Mullin at National Tribal Health Conference #NTHC2022<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThough the event, which was hosted by the National Indian Health Board<\/a>, was not technically a campaign stop, his speech marked one of the few times he has spoken about Indian issues during his Senate run. He highlighted his efforts to bring adequate funding to the Indian Health Service<\/a>, the federal agency that serves more than 2.5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives across the country.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cI don\u2019t care if you\u2019re Republican or Democrat, I don\u2019t care,\u201d Mullin told tribal health leaders in the nation’s capital, after noting that he has received care from the IHS in the past.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n \u201cWhen we\u2019re fighting for Indian Country, we\u2019re fighting for Indian Country,” Mullin said. “And that\u2019s first.\u201d\r\n

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