FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 11, 2017

CONTACT:

Alexandra Weinroth

202.449.6740

press@dlcc.org

Oklahoma Special Election Victories Bring Red to Blue Victories to Four

DLCC Congratulates Rep.-Elect Karen Gaddis and Sen.-Elect Michael Brooks-Jimenez On Their Wins

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Executive Director Jessica Post applauded Oklahoma Democrats Karen Gaddis and Michael Brooks-Jimenez on their special election victories. Gaddis and Brooks-Jimenez successfully flipped longstanding Republican seats in the Oklahoma state House and state Senate, respectively, to bring the number of legislative seats flipped by Democrats since Trump’s inauguration to four. Gaddis, a retired public school teacher dedicated to repairing the state’s critically underfunded education system, will be the first Democrat to represent House District 75 since it was redrawn in the early 1990s. Immigration attorney Brooks-Jimenez will be the first Democrat to represent Senate District 44 since it was drawn in 2010.

“Representative-elect Gaddis and Senator-elect Brooks-Jimenez won impressive victories in Oklahoma tonight, and their success is a testament to the party’s strength and hard work at the state level,” said Post. “These wins are just the latest in a string of electoral victories for state Democrats as voters continue to choose core American values and forward-thinking ideals over Trumpism and Republican extremism. Republican candidates, even in the red state of Oklahoma, aren’t safe from the shadow cast by the Trump administration and the Republican party."

Tonight’s victories follow wins in New Hampshire and New York, where Democrats flipped a seat in the New Hampshire House and the New York Assembly. Furthermore, Democrats have overperformed in almost every legislative special election while claiming additional victories in Delaware, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and more. DLCC looks forward to continuing our support of Democrats in Virginia, New Jersey, Washington, Florida, and beyond as they build on Democrats’ winning momentum heading into 2018 elections.