Sen. Warren Hamilton earns top score on 2024 Oklahoma Conservative Index

A little late on posting this, but the Oklahoma Constitution's Conservative Index was released a month ago. 

Three state senators and ten state representatives scored a perfect 100% conservative rating this year; Senators Nathan Dahm, Warren Hamilton (press release below), and Shane Jett, and Representatives Chris Banning, Chad Caldwell, Dean Davis, Tom Gann, Jim Grego, John Kane, Jim Olsen, Marilyn Stark, Kevin West, and Rick West.

Sen. Hamilton receives top score on Oklahoma Conservative Index

OKLAHOMA CITY (July 31st) – Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, received a perfect score on the 2024 Oklahoma Conservative Index. The annual rating by The Oklahoma Constitution evaluates lawmakers' votes on key conservative measures. This year’s rankings were based on support of measures to protect the rights of biological women, combat illegal immigration, avoid wasteful government spending, and more.

2019 Conservative Index released, rating OK legislators

Legislators Rated

by Oklahoma Constitution Staff

The Oklahoma Constitution presents the 41st annual Oklahoma Conservative Index, rating our state legislators. Members of each house of the Oklahoma Legislature were rated on ten key votes. A favorable vote on these issues represents a belief in conservative principles.

After taking suggestions from conservative leaders, the staff of the Oklahoma Constitution submitted proposed bills to a vote of the membership of the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee (OCPAC) to determine the ten key votes. The legislators were rated based on their votes on bills which included such issues as protecting free speech, protecting the right to keep and bear arms, protecting life, obstructing overbearing government regulations, against subsidizing businesses, and in opposition to revisionist history.

The average score this year was 48% in the House and 61% in the Senate. The Top Conservative and Top Liberal legislators were selected by their scores on the Index. Making the Top Conservatives list were 29 lawmakers who scored 80% or more. On the Top Liberals list were 31 lawmakers scoring 20% or less.

TOP CONSERVATIVES

Four legislators, two in the House and two in the Senate, scored a perfect 100% conservative rating this year. House members scoring 100% were Tom Gann of Inola, and Jim Olsen of Roland. Senators scoring 100% were Mark Allen of Spiro, and Nathan Dahm of Broken Arrow.

The next highest score was 93%, made by Representative Kevin West of Moore. Also scoring 93% were Senators Marty Quinn of Claremore, and Gary Stanislawski of Tulsa. Scoring 90% were House members Denise Crosswhite of Yukon, Tommy Hardin of Madill, Mark Lepak of Claremore, and Sean Roberts of Hominy.

One legislator, Sen. Joe Newhouse of Broken Arrow, score 86 percent. Two House members, Chad Caldwell of Enid, and Rande Worthen of Lawton, scored 83 percent. Also scoring 83% were Senators Larry Boggs of Red Oak, Julie Daniels of Bartlesville, and Casey Murdock of Felt.

Completing the list of Top Conservatives were 13 legislators who scored 80 percent. House members scoring 80% were Rhonda Baker of Yukon, Justin Humphrey of Lane, Mike Sanders of Kingfisher, Jay Steagall of Yukon, and Zack Taylor of Seminole. Senate members scoring 80% were Michael Bergstrom of Adair, David Bullard of Durant, John Haste of Broken Arrow, John Montgomery of Lawton, Roland Pederson of Burlington, Dewayne Pemberton of Muskogee, Wayne Shaw of Grove, and Darrell Weaver of Moore.

TOP LIBERALS

A large number of legislators scored zero conservative this year, including the Minority (Democrat) Leaders in both chambers. Thirteen representatives and three senators took the liberal position on all ten bills included on this year’s Oklahoma Conservative Index. Members of the House scoring zero were Kelly Albright of Midwest City, Merleyn Bell of Norman, Forrest Bennett of Oklahoma City, Chelsey Branham of Edmond, Mickey Dollens of Oklahoma City, Monroe Nichols of Tulsa, Melissa Provenzano of Tulsa, Trish Ranson of Stillwater, Jacob Rosecrants of Norman, Shane Stone of Oklahoma City, Emily Virgin of Norman (House Minority Leader), John Waldron of Tulsa, and Collin Walke of Oklahoma City. Members of the Senate scoring zero were Kay Floyd of Oklahoma City (Senate Minority Leader), Julia Kirt of Oklahoma City, and Kevin Matthews of Tulsa.

The next lowest score was 3% made by four representatives: Denise Brewer of Tulsa, Regina Goodwin of Tulsa, Jason Lowe of Oklahoma City, and Cyndi Munson of Oklahoma City. Two other representatives, Meloyde Blancett of Tulsa and Jason Dunnington of Oklahoma City, scored 6 percent. Three members of the House scored 10 percent, including Andy Fugate of Oklahoma City, Ben Loring of Miami, and David Perryman of Chickasha. Also scoring 10% were Senators Mary Boren of Norman, Michael Brooks of Oklahoma City, Carri Hicks of Oklahoma City, and George Young of Oklahoma City. One legislator, Rep. Ajay Pittman of Oklahoma City, received a 15% score. It is worthy of note that she missed five of the ten votes and voted liberal on the other five. Completing the Top Liberals list was one legislator, Rep. John Talley of Stillwater, who scored 20 percent.

Read more details here at the Oklahoma Constitution's website, including PDF versions of the index. 

If you want to view the Index in non-PDF format, go to this link, courtesy of SoonerPolitics.

2018 Oklahoma Constitution Conservative Index released

The 2018 Oklahoma Conservative Index

Published by the Oklahoma Constitution

Oklahoma's Conservative Newspaper since 1979

This issue of the Oklahoma Constitution presents the 40th annual Oklahoma Conservative Index, rating our state legislators. Members of each house of the Oklahoma Legislature were rated on ten key votes. A favorable vote on these issues represents a belief in fiscal responsibility, individual liberty, free enterprise, and constitutional government.

After taking suggestions from conservative leaders, the staff of the Oklahoma Constitution submitted bills to a vote of the membership of the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee (OCPAC) to determine the ten key votes. The legislators were rated based on their votes on bills involving taxes, interference in free markets, protecting liberty, and the right to keep and bear arms.

RATING CALCULATION

To determine this year’s rating, 10 points were earned for each conservative vote (designated by a C), and no points are awarded for a liberal vote (indicated by an L). Each failure to vote (recorded as a Z) provides only three points. When the rating system was created in 1979, it was decided that there should be a difference between voting liberal, and missing a vote. A legislator absent for all the votes could only score 30%, which is our recommended score for seeking a replacement.

Thus, a legislator voting conservative on eight votes, liberal on one, and failing to vote on another, would receive eighty plus three, or an 83% conservative rating.

This year’s conservative rating was averaged with the legislator’s scores from any previous years of service to obtain the Cumulative Average score for all the years that legislator has been rated. With term limits, we have moved into a period when no legislator will have a cumulative score based on a period longer than twelve years. However, a few former legislators with service prior to the term limits law were later elected to their current positions. The scores of legislators with previous service are included in their cumulative average.

By examining this year’s score in relation to the Cumulative Average, the voting pattern of a particular legislator can be determined. While most score nearly the same, year after year, others trend upward or downward from their average. If your legislator is trending toward conservatism, please offer you encouragement and support. If your legislator is exhibiting a leftward trend, it is time to express your disappointment and suggest the need for a replacement if the trend is not reversed.

The average score in the House this year was 43%, compared to 32% last year. The Senate averaged 48% conservative this year, compared to 33% last year. There were 21 legislators who scored 70%, or better this year, compared to only 12 who scored 70%, or better, last year. We suggest you commend all of these lawmakers.

Readers should consider replacing those who scored 30%, or less, while giving close scrutiny to those who scored between 30% and 70%.

There were a few vacancies during the legislative session due to the resignation of a legislator. Since those legislators were not present for all of the votes, they were not rated. Newly elected Rep. Brad Boles (R-Marlow), and Sen. David Holt (R-OKC) who resigned after being elected Oklahoma City mayor, were vacant for part of the session. They were not rated, although there votes on the bills for which they were present are included. The votes on bills that occurred when there seats were vacant are recorded with a V.

The Top Conservative and Top Liberal legislators were selected by their scores on the Index. Making the Top Conservatives list were those lawmakers who scored 80%, or better. On the Top Liberals list were those making less than 20%.

THE TOP CONSERVATIVES

Three legislators, two in the House and one in the Senate, scored a perfect 100% conservative rating this year. House members scoring 100% were Tom Gann (R-Inola) and Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie). Senator Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow) also scored 100%.

The next highest score was 93%, made by Representative Chuck Stohm (R-Jenks) and Anthony Sykes (R-Moore)of the Senate. Scoring 90% were Jeff Coody (R-Grandfield) and Sean Roberts (R-Hominy) of the House, and Josh Brecheen (R-Coalgate) of the Senate. Kevin Calvey (R-OKC), George Faught (R-Muskogee) and Rick West (R-Heavener) of the House all scored 83%.

Representative Travis Dunlap (R-Bartlesville), Mike Ritze (R-Broken Arrow), and Kevin West (R-Moore) of the House scored 80%, along with Rob Standridge (R-Norman) of the Senate, completing the list of Top Conservatives.

THE TOP LIBERALS

While no legislators scored zero conservative this year, two legislators, both in the Senate only scored a dismal 3 percent conservative: Kay Floyd (D-OKC) and John Sparks (D-Norman). Kevin Matthews of Tulsa scored a mere 6 percent conservative. Other low scores were compiled by Representatives Mickey Dollens (D-OKC), and Jason Dunnington (D-OKC), both making only 9%. Other legislators who scored less than 20% conservative on this year’s Index included Forrest Bennett (D-OKC), William Fourkiller (D-Stilwell), Claudia Griffith (D-Norman), Katie Henke (R-Tulsa), Ben Loring (D-Miami), Jason Lowe (D-OKC), Mark McBride (R-Moore), Monroe Nichols (D-Tulsa), Brian Renegar (D-McAlester), Emily Virgin (D-Norman), Collin Walke (D-OKC), and George Young (D-OKC), of the House and Michael Brooks (D-OKC), Anastasia Pittman (D-OKC), and Ervin Yen (R-OKC) of the Senate.

Click here for the 2018 Senate conservative index (PDF). 

Click here for the 2018 House conservative index (PDF).

Conservative Performance Index: OK Senate

UPDATE: view the Senate CPI maps here.

Following up on my Conservative Performance Index for the Oklahoma State House post this morning, this post compares each state senator's conservative score to their district rating, to add up their Conservative Performance Index.

The conservative rating ('CR' in the spreadsheet) I use is an average of the most recent American Conservative Union scores for Oklahoma legislators, and the Oklahoma Constitution's Conservative Index. Using multiple sources broadens the perspective and scoring system for what I feel is a more accurate picture.

Positive CPI scores indicate that the member's conservative voting outperforms their district's Republican rating (RDR). Negative scores show that the member is more liberal than the district.

One purpose of this system is to illustrate how conservative or liberal a legislator is for their district. As filing for office is coming up next month, this edition of the Conservative Performance Index will be the final version before elections are decided for the upcoming legislative term.

In this post, we'll look at the CPI for State Senate members (the State House CPI can be viewed here).


This year's Senate CPI is more of a mixed bag than the House CPI. The top five Senators (all Republican) stayed about the same or increased their conservative scores, while the freshmen GOP class sunk the overall Republican average by having (with few exceptions) negative to extremely-negative scores.

Top scoring senators this time are Joseph Silk (R-SD5) at +36.1, followed by Nathan Dahm (R-HD33) at +34.3, and Josh Brecheen (R-HD6) at +34.2. Rounding out the top five are Anthony Sykes (HD24) at +29.9, and Mark Allen (SD4) at +29.4. As you can note by comparing the rankings, the top 9 members are the same this time as they were last time, with most changes being one-rank leapfrogging.

Unlike in the State House, no Democrats have positive CPI scores. Anastasia Pittman (D-SD48) tops out the Democratic caucus at -3.2. J.J. Dossett (D-SD34) has the lowest Democrat score at -22.1. The average Democratic CPI is -14.5 (last time was -8.0).

On the Republican side, 25 members (62.5%)  have positive CPI scores, while 15 (37.5%) have negative scores. Of the 13 freshmen, only 2 (15%) had positive scores. That means 11 (85%) of freshmen Republicans had negative ratings.

The average Republican CPI is +3.9 (last time was +15.0). The freshman GOP average is -12.3, while the non-freshman average is +11.8. As with the House, the freshman GOP class is an appalling and unmitigated embarrassment.

The only non-freshmen Republicans with CPI scores below 0 are Ervin Yen (R-SD40) at -5.6, Stephanie Bice (R-SD22) at -5.1, now ex-Sen. Bryce Marlatt (R-SD27) at -5.0, and Ron Sharp (R-SD17) at -4.0. James Leewright (R-SD12; +3.3) and Julie Daniels (R-SD29; +1.8) are the only freshmen Republicans above 0.

The House Democrats outperformed their Senate counterparts, while the Senate GOP scored far better than the House GOP did (although both freshmen Senators and Representatives had a nearly identical average).

Conservative Performance Index: OK House

UPDATE: view the House CPI maps here.

Following up on my 2017 Republican District Ratings from a while back, this post compares each legislator's conservative score to their district rating, to add up their Conservative Performance Index.

The conservative rating ('CR' in the spreadsheet) I use is an average of the most recent American Conservative Union scores for Oklahoma legislators, the Oklahoma Constitution's Conservative Index, and for the House, the recent Platform Index for the two special sessions over the past few months. Using multiple sources broadens the perspective and scoring system for what I feel is a more accurate picture.

Positive CPI scores indicate that the member's conservative voting outperforms their district's Republican rating (RDR). Negative scores show that the member is more liberal than the district.

One purpose of this system is to illustrate how conservative or liberal a legislator is for their district. As filing for office is coming up next month, this edition of the Conservative Performance Index will be the final version before elections are decided for the upcoming legislative term.

In this post, we'll look at the CPI for State House members. We'll examine the State Senate in the next CPI post.


This year's CPI is somewhat lower than the 2016 CPI. Top scoring legislators this time are freshman Rick West (R-HD3) at +30.9, followed by George Faught (R-HD14) at +30.3, and Jason Murphey (R-HD31) at +30.1. Rounding out the top five are John Bennett (HD2) at +27.8, and Travis Dunlap at +25.2.

For comparison, the top seven in 2016 were all above these scores (Faught is the only common member; the rest dropped further down the list or termed out). Most districts got more Republican, while conservative averages sagged some overall; the combination reduced most CPI scores. For comparison, I've added a column to show where each member ranked in the 2016 CPI.

The top Democrats were Shane Stone (D-HD89) at +21.9, Regina Goodwin (D-HD73) at +20.9, Jason Lowe (D-HD97) at +20.3, George Young (D-HD99) at +10.8, and Eric Proctor (D-HD77) at +10.5. Four of these hold seats with very low Republican District Ratings (ranging from 10.3 to 31.7, averaging 20.4), with the exception of Proctor, whose district is a 43.5 (slightly more Republican than the most-Democratic GOP-held seats).

Cindy Munson is the lowest scoring Democrat, as well as the lowest scoring non-freshman member, at -29.4. The only member to score lower was Zack Taylor (R-HD28) at -32.4; Taylor won a special election and thus is only rated on his special session votes. 4 Democrats and 12 Republicans have CPI ratings of -20 or worse.

The lowest non-freshmen Republicans are Casey Murdock (R-HD61) at -25.0, Leslie Osborn (R-HD47) at -22.3, Mike Sanders (R-HD59) at -17.8, Chris Kannady (R-HD91) at -17.5, and John Pfeiffer (R-HD38) at -16.5.

An astounding 46 Republicans (63%) have negative CPI scores (24 of which of are freshmen), while only 27 (27%) have positive CPI scores. 21 Democrats are negative, and 7 have a positive CPI. Last year, six Republicans and one Democrat had a CPI of +30 or higher; this year, only three Republicans are at that level. 7 Republicans and three Democrats are between +20 and +30, compared to 18 Republicans last year.

Of the 27 freshmen Republicans, 24 have negative CPI scores, while 3 have positive CPI scores. That makes the freshmen GOP average -12.2. This freshman class is an abysmal failure for conservatism and the Republican Party.

The average Republican score is -2.7 (last year was  +14.8), and the average Democrat score is -5.5 (last year was -4.4). If freshmen Republicans were taken out of the equation, the GOP average would have been +2.9.

Next time, we'll examine the 2017 Conservative Performance Index for the State Senate.

Platform Index: State House rated for Special Session votes

This morning, SoonerPolitics.org posted a 'Platform Index' voting record chart for the two special sessions the legislature has been in since September. Similar to the Oklahoma Constitution's Conservative Index, as well as other rating systems, the Platform Index tracked conservative and liberal votes during special session. Due to most of the recorded votes taking place in the House and not receiving a vote in the Senate, the Senate was not scored in this Index.

20 Republicans and 6 Democrats scored a 60 or better. 12 Republicans scored a perfect 100, while 4 Republicans and 2 Democrats got an 80.

On the other end, 4 Republicans (including Labor Commissioner candidate Leslie Osborn) scored zero conservative votes, earning a 0. 32 Republicans and 5 Democrats got a 20 on the Index.

Ironically, the average score for Republicans and Democrats are nearly identical: the Republican average is 42.12, while the Democrat average is 42.11.

Scores for the Muskogee-area representatives; only Rep. George Faught (R-Muskogee) got a passing grade:

• George Faught (R-HD14): 80
• Scott Fetgatter (R-HD16): 40
• Matt Meredith (D-HD4): 40
• Kevin McDugle (R-HD12): 25
• Avery Frix (R-HD13): 20
• Ed Cannaday (D-HD15): 20

Here are the full results:

Conservative Performance Index - OK Senate

Following up on my Republican District Rating system, this post compares each legislator's conservative score to their district rating, to add up their Conservative Performance Index.

The conservative rating ('CR' in the spreadsheet) I used is an average of the American Conservative Union scores for Oklahoma legislators and the Oklahoma Constitution's Conservative Index. Using two sources broadens the perspective and scoring system.

Positive CPI scores indicate that the member's conservative voting outperforms their district. Negative scores show that the member is more liberal than the district.

In my last post, we looked at the CPI for State House members. Now, let's look at the CPI for State Senate members.


SD5 Sen. Joseph Silk has far and away the best CPI score at +45.4. The next four are all Republicans - SD6's Josh Brecheen (+32.7), SD33's Nathan Dahm (+31.9), SD4's Mark Allen (+31.6), and SD14's Frank Simpson (+31.4).

12 Republicans have CPI scores of +20 or better. Only two Democrats have positive scores: Anastasia Pittman (SD48, +7.2) and J.J. Dossett (SD34, +0.7). The only Republicans with negative scores are Ron Sharp (SD17, -1.6) and Bryce Marlatt (SD27, -1.6).

The average Republican CPI score is +15.0, and the average Democrat CPI score is -8.0.

13 senators are leaving office due to term limits, not seeking reelection, or losing their primary election. The average CPI for those leaving office is +2.0 (+7.1 for Republicans and -14.8 for Democrats). For the members who are running for reelection or elected without opposition, the average CPI is +13.9 (+17.7 for Republicans and -4.6 for Democrats).

Conservative Performance Index - OK House

Following up on my Republican District Rating system, this post compares each legislator's conservative score to their district rating, to add up their Conservative Performance Index.

The conservative rating ('CR' in the spreadsheet) I used is an average of the American Conservative Union scores for Oklahoma legislators and the Oklahoma Constitution's Conservative Index. Using two sources broadens the perspective and scoring system.

Positive CPI scores indicate that the member's conservative voting outperforms their district. Negative scores show that the member is more liberal than the district.

In this post, we'll look at the CPI for State House members.



In what might surprise some, the top performer is Democrat State Rep. Regina Goodwin. She represents HD73, in the heart of north Tulsa. Her district has the lowest Republican rating in the state at 10.0%. Her conservative rating is 53, giving her a CPI of +43.0. She is the only Democrat in the top 34 House scores.

The second highest CPI score is Rep. George Faught of HD14 at +38.1. Term-limited Rep. Sally Kern (HD84) is third with +36.1, and term-limited Rep. Paul Wesselhoft (HD54) is fourth with +34.4. Freshman Rep. Scooter Park (HD65) is fifth with a CPI of +33.3. Incoming House Speaker Charles McCall is sixth at +33.1.

The lowest Republicans are Rep. Casey Murdock (HD61) with -15.6, term-limited Rep. Doug Cox (HD5) with -5.5, Rep. Leslie Osborn (HD47) with -3.8, term-limited Speaker Jeff Hickman (HD58) with -3.0, and term-limited Rep. Marian Cooksey (HD39) with -2.7.

Six Republican and one Democrat have CPI scores above +30. 18 Republicans have a score between +20 and +30. The average Republican score is +14.8, and the average Democrat score is -4.4.

61 Republicans have positive CPI scores, while 9 Republicans have negative CPI scores. 12 Democrats rate in positive territory, while 19 are negative (including six below -20).

33 House members are leaving office due to term limits, not seeking reelection, or losing their primary election. The average CPI for those leaving office is +6.2 (+14.0 for Republicans and -6.4 for Democrats). For the members who are running for reelection or elected without opposition, the average CPI is +9.8 (+15.1 for Republicans and -3.2 for Democrats).


In my next post, we'll look at the Conservative Performance Index for the State Senate.

Conservative Index for OK Leg endorsers: Cruz 79.2, Trump 67.8, Rubio 66.3

Now that the Rubio and Cruz campaigns have released their final Oklahoma legislative endorsement lists, I can update the Conservative Index averages for their supporters.

As you can see, the Conservative Index scores for the Cruz endorsers is significantly higher than for Rubio or Trump. The average for Cruz is 79.2 (25 endorsers), while Trump trails with 67.8 (4 endorsers) and Rubio brings up the rear with 66.3 (30 endorsers).

Cruz is publicly supported by 21 of the 71 Republicans in the State House, Rubio by 12 and Trump by 2. Rubio leads in Senate endorsements, with 18 of 39 Senate Republicans, while Cruz has 4 and Trump has 2.

Illustrating ideological similarities, all three presidential campaigns attracted nearly identical support in both houses of the legislature; Rubio's House/Senate score difference was only 0.3, Cruz's was 2.6, and Trump's was 3.5.

Updated: Conservative Index scores for Oklahoma presidential endorsers

(click image to view larger)

Following some recent presidential endorsement releases, here are the updated Conservative Index scores for Oklahoma state legislators who have picked sides in the 2016 presidential race.

Marco Rubio leads with 17 endorsers, with a Conservative Index average of 67.5. Ted Cruz has 13 endorsers, with an average score of 81.3. Jeb Bush has 10 endorsers, with an average of 62.2. Donald Trump has 4 endorsers, averaging 67.8. Carly Fiorina has 1 endorser with a score of 90. No other candidate (that I am aware of) has a public endorsement from an Oklahoma state legislator.

For comparison, the average Conservative Index score for House Republicans is 72.5, while the Senate Republicans average is 70.0 (combined legislative average is 71.6).

Looking at House endorser averages, only Ted Cruz is above the average (82.9 vs 72.5). Cruz and Fiorina are the only ones with higher Senate averages as well (76.0 and 90.0 vs 70.0), although Fiorina only has one endorser. Cruz is also the only one with a higher combined average (81.3 vs 71.6).

Conservative Index scores for Oklahoma Legislature's presidential endorsers

Back in August, I compared the Oklahoma Constitution's 'Conservative Index' lifetime scores for Oklahoma legislators who had endorsed Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush. Since then, three other presidential candidates have released Oklahoma legislative endorsements, so here's the update.

Marco Rubio has 14 endorsers, with an average score of 65.5. Six endorsers are House members (average of 67.8), and eight are Senate members (average of 64.6).

Ted Cruz has 13 endorsers, with an average score of 81.3. Ten endorsers are House members (average of 82.9), and three are Senate members (average of 76).

Jeb Bush has 10 endorsers, with an average score of 62.2. Nine endorsers are House members (average of 61.4), and one is a Senate member (average of 69).

Donald Trump has 2 endorsers, with an average score of 63. One endorser is a House member (average of 63), and one is a Senate member (average of 63).

Carly Fiorina has 1 endorser in the Senate, with an average of 90.

For comparison, the average Conservative Index lifetime score for Republicans in the state legislature is 71.6. The average for GOP House members is 72.5 and for GOP Senate members it's 70.0.

Conservative Index: Cruz endorsers vs. Bush endorsers

Two Republican presidential contenders recently released a list of Oklahoma endorsements that included several state legislators each, among other individuals. Texas Senator Ted Cruz has been endorsed by 3 state senators (including Senate President Brian Bingman) and 10 state representatives, while former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is supported by 1 state senator and 9 state representatives (including House Speaker Jeff Hickman).

For an interesting exercise, I went to the Oklahoma Constitution newspaper's Conservative Index to compare scores between the two camps.

The ten legislators that endorsed Bush have an average lifetime score of 62.2. The thirteen legislators that endorsed Cruz have an average lifetime score of 81.3.

I found that to be an interesting and very telling tidbit.

This is probably just the first round of state legislative endorsements for these candidates, as well as the 15 others running for president. I'll try to update this whenever more lists are released.