An 8-Year Extinction of the Little Dixie Democrat Legislator

In 2010, Oklahoma Democrats owned the southeast portion of the state, with total control of legislative seats in the "Little Dixie" area, generally south of I-40 and east of I-35.

With yesterday's announcement by State Rep. Johnny Tadlock (DR, Dist.1), there are now no legislative Democrats in the region south of Tahlequah and east of Norman.

No region of the state has been so lopsidedly dominated by one party throughout state history as Little Dixie. Yet, in a period of eight years, four elections, and one party switch, the Little Dixie Democrat legislator has now gone extinct (at least until the next election).

The 2010 election started a GOP landslide in Little Dixie, with victories in the Senate by Josh Brecheen, Mark Allen and Frank Simpson, and Dustin Roberts, Tommy Hardin and John Bennett in the House. Consecutive elections were marked by continued GOP pickups, culminating with this year's flip of four House seats in the very heart of Little Dixie.

Pre-election 2010 State House (62R-39D):

Current 2018 State House (77R-24D):

Pre-election 2010 State Senate (26R-22D):

Current 2018 State Senate (39R-9D):

Only 3 of 24 Democrat House members are from primarily rural districts, while all of their 9 Senate seats are mainly urban.

Following the 2018 election, which saw Democrats lose 7 rural seats including House Minority Leader Steve Kouplen, incoming House Minority Leader Emily Virgin made the following comment in an interview with NewsOK: "For Democrats going forward, we've got to figure out how to make sure that we are still talking to rural Oklahoma and letting them know we are the party for you when it comes to health care and keeping hospitals open."

Looks like that job got a little harder for Oklahoma Democrats.

Election Results Maps: Oklahoma Legislature

I've had a busy week since election day, so I'm pretty far behind on posting about the results. Here are two maps illustrating the election results and new partisan makeup in the Oklahoma Legislature.

First up, the Oklahoma State House:

On a night when many expected Democrats to make major gains in the Legislature, Republicans picked up seven seats in the House, while Democrats only flipped three, meaning the GOP now holds an historically-high majority of 76 members to a mere 25 registered Democrats.

Districts that flipped:

• HD6 - Democrat to Republican (open seat)
• HD15 - Democrat to Republican (open seat)
• HD17 - Democrat to Republican (open seat)
• HD18 - Democrat to Republican (Rep. Donnie Condit defeated)
• HD24 - Democrat to Republican (Minority Leader Steve Kouplen defeated)
• HD71 - Republican to Democrat (open seat)
• HD79 - Republican to Democrat (open seat)
• HD83 - Republican to Democrat (open seat)
• HD86 - Democrat to Republican (open seat)

House Democrats are an endangered species in rural Oklahoma, and extinct in Gene Stipe's old stomping grounds of McAlester, the heart of Little Dixie. Both House seats in the McAlester area went red, including the defeat of incumbent Rep. Donnie Condit. More astonishingly, House Minority Leader Steve Kouplen was upset in HD24.

Now for the Senate side:

While the House had a significant shift, the Senate was more subdued. Republicans picked up one seat, while Democrats flipped two, putting the chamber at 39 Republicans and 9 Democrats.

Districts that flipped:

• SD30 - Republican to Democrat (open seat)
• SD32 - Democrat to Republican (open seat)
• SD40 - Republican to Democrat (Sen. Ervin Yen defeated in GOP primary)

On the Senate side, the Democrats lost their sole remaining mostly-rural district, and the only one west of I-35. They are now confined to the OKC-Norman and Tulsa metros.

House Dems respond to newest budget cuts

House Democrats Respond to Newest Round of Budget Cuts

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Steve Kouplen, on behalf of the Oklahoma House Democratic Caucus, has released the following statement on the $44 million worth of budget cuts passed on the House floor Monday:

“It is unconscionable that the Republican leadership in the House has led the state to the point where further cuts to the current year budget are inevitable. Today, the House sent $44 million worth of cuts to be approved by the Senate. We firmly believe that there are still options on the table to bring in a small portion of revenue for this year and put the state on a better path forward beginning the next fiscal year.

The House Democratic Caucus stands ready to commit all 28 of our votes to a bipartisan revenue package that includes the Republican Party’s cigarette and motor fuel taxes -- along with our original request to increase the incentive gross production tax to 5 percent that has now garnered support from State Auditor Gary Jones and the Oklahoma Council on Public Affairs. This package, coupled with the Senate passing the itemized deduction cap from 2017, would allow us to close the upcoming budget hole and provide teachers and state employees with a raise. With 100 percent of our caucus supporting, we would only need 48 Republicans, or 66 percent of the caucus, to pass this plan.

As we have mentioned in the past, it seems that the Republican Caucus is more worried about political cover while cutting agencies than actually finding a solution. Otherwise, we would be voting on revenue packages regularly until we find a combination that works.

Our fear is that as the race for the next Speaker of the House continues to heat up, we will continue to see fewer options for revenue and more of the same fiscal policy that has plagued this state for the last decade. Nevertheless, the House Democratic Caucus stands ready to negotiate at any time to prevent budget cuts and provide the revenue necessary for a teacher and state employee pay raise.”