Congressman Kevin Hern made a stop in Sapulpa on Friday to pitch his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Markwayne Mullin.
Hern announced his intention to run for the seat on Wednesday of this week, and in front of a small gathering at the Burnett Mansion on Friday afternoon, Hern said he was told to “remind everyone of who I am and what I’m here for, but I just like to meet folks.”
Hern is no stranger to Sapulpa and has made appearances in Sapulpa before, including last June when he spoke about the Big Beautiful Bill and border security.
Hern, who grew up in Arkansas, was “dirt poor, no running water, no plumbing, living on food stamps,” but still believed “anybody could be as wealthy as they wanted to be, or as prosperous as they wanted to be,” he said.
After working the in the aerospace industry, he became an entrepreneur and in 1999 he sold a hog farm to purchase two McDonald’s restaurants in Muskogee. He eventually expanded to as many as two dozen locations in northeastern Oklahoma. When he entered politics in 2018, his McDonald’s experience gave him the nickname, “McCongressman.”
Hern was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives after the seat became vacant when Rep. Jim Bridenstine left to run for NASA. Since arriving, he’s climbed to the GOP ladder, eventually becoming Chair of the Republican Study Committee, a member of the Ways and Means Committee, and the chairman of the House GOP Policy Committee.
During the question period, one person brought up the new $300 billion refinery just announced in Texas. Hern said he wasn’t part of that decision, but saw the reintroduction of oil refineries into America as a good thing. The refinery, if built, would be the first domestic refinery built in the United States in 50 years.
During his speech, the news broke that Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt would not be running for the seat, news that puts Hern at even more of an advantage.
Aren’t the House and the Senate just two parts of the same legislative body?
To many, it seemed like Hern was making a lateral move, since he’s already a part of D.C., and it looks as though he’s just moving to another chamber.
While that’s true, a move to the Senate is largely seen as a step up in politics because the Senate has only 100 members (two from each state), and Senators serve 6-year terms. By contrast, the House of Representatives has 435 members, and the seats are apportioned by population. House members also only serve two-year terms.
The Senate also has exclusive powers, such as confirming Cabinet officials, federal judges, and Supreme Court justices.
Find more on Kevin Hern and his run for U.S. Senate at hernforsenate.com
