By Conrad Dudderar
Senior Staff Writer
A former state legislator filed Tuesday, Dec. 8 to join five other candidates who filed Monday for the Oklahoma State Senate District 22 special election.
Two Democrats and four Republicans filed during the three-day filing period that closed Dec. 9 at the State Election Board inside the State Capitol Building in Oklahoma City:
Democrats: Molly Ooten, 31, of NW 189th Terrace in Edmond; and Dylan Billings, 31, of Foxfire Road in Edmond.
Republicans: Keri Shipley, 48, of Water Oak Circle in Edmond; Darrick Matthews, 39, of Highlander Ridge Drive in Edmond; Jake A. Merrick, 39, of NW 100th Street in Yukon; and Rob Johnson, 46, of Villagio Drive in Edmond.
An attorney, Johnson is looking to reclaim the State Senate seat he filled from 2010 to 2014. He served from 2006-08 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
District 22 is comprised of northern Oklahoma County and eastern Canadian County, including parts of Yukon, Piedmont, Edmond, and Deer Creek.
The district represents these zip codes: 73003, 73012, 73013, 73025, 73078, 73099, 73127 in Canadian County; and 73142 and 73762 in Oklahoma County.
SEAT VACANT JAN. 1, 2021
The District 22 seat will be vacant Jan. 1, 2021 after Sen. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City, was elected in the Nov. 3rd general election to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Bice defeated Democrat incumbent Kendra Horn to earn the next two-year term as Oklahoma’s 5th District congresswoman.
Bice, who has served as the District 22 state senator since 2014, has resigned from the Oklahoma State Senate effective Dec. 31.
A primary election is set Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, and a special general election will be Tuesday, April 6. The top vote-getter from each political party in the primary will face off in the general election.
The winner of the District 22 special election will serve the final two years of an unexpired term in the 48-member Oklahoma State Senate. Full Senate terms are four years.
