Voters send more women, teachers to Oklahoma Capitol

The Oklahoma Legislature added several women to its roster Tuesday, but female lawmakers will still make up less than one-fifth of House and Senate members when the session begins in February.

Teachers also won big Tuesday night, with the number of educators serving in the Legislature more than doubling since last year.

There will be 31 women serving in the Legislature, up from 21 during the 2018 session. There are 149 seats in the House and Senate.

Newly elected women in the Senate include Oklahoma City Democrats Julia Kirt and Carri Hicks, Republican Brenda Stanley and Norman Democrat Mary Boren.

Edmond Republican Nicole Miller joins the House along with Oklahoma City Democrats Chelsey Branham and Ajay Pittman.

Sally's List, a nonpartisan organization that recruits and supports progressive women candidates, endorsed 12 of the women who won in this year's elections.

"Between the women's movement and the teachers, that made the difference for us," said Executive Director Sara Jane Rose. "I think adding women's voices is always a good thing, no matter the party. Studies show women are better at reaching consensus with their co-legislators."

Other new female lawmakers include Denise Crosswhite Hader, R-Yukon; Kelly Albright, R-Midwest City; Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsay; Marilyn Stark, R-Bethany; Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater; Toni Hasenbeck, R-Elgin; Sheila Dills, R-Tulsa; Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa; Merleyn Bell, D-Norman; and Denise Brewer, D-Tulsa.

The Oklahoma Education Association, which tracked the number of teachers who appeared on the ballot, reported there will be at least 25 educators of both parties in the House and Senate compared to just nine last year.

Their list did not include Tulsa Community College Assistant Professor Logan Phillips because so little was known about the Mounds Republican before his surprising victory over Democratic Minority Leader Steve Kouplen.

Teachers are natural lifelong learners, OEA President Alicia Priest said, which gives them an advantage in learning about the diverse issues they will face as lawmakers. This election also proves that public education isn't a partisan issue, she said. Out of the 17 educators who won their elections Tuesday, 10 are Republicans and seven are Democrats.

"In some seats, there were teachers running against each other, so it's going to be a win-win situation regardless," said Priest.

The addition of so many current and former public school teachers, administrators and college faculty to the Legislature will augment the support education already has at the Capitol, said Priest.

"I believe we're going to move forward with funding public education, with creating pathways for us to eliminate the need for emergency certified teachers, to get the funding for the classrooms we need, to decrease class size," she said.