“Let’s get ready for some Thunder basketball.” “When I went to college to explain that I was from Oklahoma City, I would often be greeted with a blank stare.” “The first thing that would pop up would be the bombing.” “This area was kind of a pit.” “But now, you like pro sports? We have the Thunder. We have, you know, a chef culture. And if you like the arts, we’ve come a long way in that regards.” This is Oklahoma City today — a growing skyline, new luxury apartment complexes and trendy boutiques. And this kind of change is helping to bring about yet another. “Kendra! Kendra! Kendra!” A Democrat elected in Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District for the first time since 1975. It was described as one of the biggest shockers of the midterm election. Kendra Horn’s victory is further proof that the urban-rural divide we see nationally is also playing out in deep-red states. We went to Oklahoma City to find out how she won. “I grew up in an eastern rural suburb here in Oklahoma City. I very much believed that I would move to New York or Chicago or San Francisco or L.A.” Locals, like James Cooper, are giving their hometown a second chance. Young professionals from Texas to California are also moving in. Oklahoma City’s population has grown faster, and now skews younger, than the rest of the country. “Because it’s like we need 49 more buses. You only have 49 to serve the entire city.” But it took more than shifting demographics for Kendra Horn to flip the 5th District. “When something’s not right, Oklahomans can’t keep quiet.” She was also a strong candidate who outhustled and outspent the Republican incumbent, Steve Russell. And then, in the final week of the campaign, Michael Bloomberg’s PAC, Independence USA, dropped over $400,000 on an ad attacking her opponent. “Steve Russell has failed our kids.” Horn also steered clear of divisive national issues. “We spent a lot of time listening and then a lot of time talking about issues like health care and education.” Her messaging appealed to moderate Republicans here, who feel alienated by the party of Trump. “My whole adult life, the Republican Party was economic growth and strong national defense.” David Holt is a lifelong Republican who served two terms as an Oklahoma state senator. In February, he was elected mayor of Oklahoma City. “Yeah, if you’re a white, middle-class, highly educated voter, you’re still probably for a free market and low taxes and a limited government, but now you’re being forced to also accept this misogyny and racism and cruelty. I do see that playing out in suburban areas of Oklahoma City.” Places like Edmond, Okla., a conservative suburb 20 minutes north of the city. “For the most part, as the Democrats, we haven’t been very vocal.” Donald Trump’s election move Dana Shadid, a lifelong Democrat, to act. “I didn’t want to wake up the day after the election in 2018 feeling like I did the day after the election in 2016, and that was really my motive in starting this thing.” More and more Democrats started showing up at her meetings, until Edmond Democratic Women had grown to over 300 people. The group’s leaders recently gathered for a postelection dinner. “Yeah, we started, we didn’t have a process for on how to endorse the candidates. We came up with the process to do that, and then we —” They’d campaign for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot, including Kendra Horn. “You were at Kendra’s watch party.” “Vicky was there, too. It was so emotional because we couldn’t tell when we heard shouts from the bar area if it was Drew or Kendra. Then we quickly realized it’s all Kendra. It was so exciting.” “And then she came out in that purple dress —” “She did look gorgeous —” “Because it’s a purple district —” “She loves the purple —” “We are a purple district.” In the end, most of their candidates, including Drew Edmondson for governor, lost. This is still a red state, after all. But, the leftward shift of Oklahoma City and its suburbs gave them hope. “I think that Kendra winning is definitely one of the best things that could have happened for our morale in our town.” “And if you think about it, everyone in that room has now been a part of a winning representative race.” “Exactly.” “Oklahoma didn’t have that two months ago. People with that knowledge, people with that structure, that’s here now, and it’s only going to get more.” “I think, unfortunately, what’s happened, right, is we’ve kind of all moved into our respective bubbles. Republicans sometimes don’t talk to Democrats, and Democrats don’t talk to Republicans, and that’s really unfortunate.” [knocking] “James Cooper. I’m running for city council.” “Well, that’s for you then.” “That’s what makes me excited about a city council election because it’s nonpartisan. I get to go out there and campaign not as a Democrat, but as somebody who wants to do right by the people.” “I would love more walkability.” “For my family, it would be education.” “One time we had a homeless guy just, like, defecate right here in our yard.” “Oh no.” If James Cooper wins his city council race in February, he’d be the first openly gay council member. He would also represent Kendra Horn at the municipal level, just as she’ll represent him in Congress. “Sixteen, 17. I never thought I would live in Oklahoma City when I was growing up. It’s kind of stunning to then sit here and be like, well, I apparently reconsidered it so much that I decided to run for city council, you know? I want to make that further investment in being here. So, I don’t know, something about this place right now.”