In the Obama era, the Sooner State has turned into a Democratic no-mans land in federal elections. In 2012, Democratic Rep. Dan Boren's retirement in the 2nd CD gave Republicans full control of all five House seats. Now, the only drama is in the Oklahoma City-based 5th CD, now that Rep. James Lankford is leaving to run for Senate. Former Army Ranger and state Sen. Steve Russell, who took part in the capture of Saddam Hussein in 2003, looks like a frontrunner.
OK-01: Jim Bridenstine (R) - Northeast: Tulsa and suburbs Solid Republican. Bridenstine's out-of-nowhere 54 percent to 46 percent primary upset of GOP Rep. John Sullivan in 2012 was immediately billed as a Tea Party triumph. But, as in so many other similar cases, Bridenstine (then the director of Tulsa's Air and Space Museum) took advantage of a weakened incumbent: Sullivan had recently come out of rehabilitation for alcoholism and never had a very high profile. It made sense that GOP primary voters were open to a more conservative alternative.
In his first vote, Bridenstine refused to vote for GOP
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