Oklahoma’s two wealthiest members of Congress became a lot wealthier last year, and all seven current members appear to be better fixed financially than their Nov. 8 opponents, according to their most recent federal financial disclosure reports.
The reports cover calendar year 2021 and were filed this past summer. They are required of all current members as well as non-incumbent candidates who have raised or spent more than $5,000 on their campaigns. The reports include assets and transactions involving congressional spouses and dependent children jointly or individually.
Because asset values are reported in broad ranges, the reports provide only a broad financial picture.
In all cases, Oklahoma incumbents’ personal wealth greatly exceeds that of their challengers, or at least appears to: 10 candidates on next month’s congressional ballot, including three Democrats, have not filed financial disclosures.
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The largest advantages are enjoyed by 2nd District Congressman and Republican U.S. Senate nominee Markwayne Mullin and 1st District Congressman Kevin Hern. Both are multimillionaires whose pockets appear to have gotten much deeper in 2021.
Hern reported assets worth between $39.8 million and $142.7 million. A year earlier, Hern reported a range of $28.2 million to $97.8 million.
Mullin, meanwhile, saw his reported assets balloon from a range of $7.3 million to $29.9 million at the end of 2020 to a range of $31.6 million to $75.6 million.
Hern’s general election opponent, Democrat Adam Martin, hasn’t filed a financial disclosure even though his Federal Election Commission reports indicate he’s spent about $23,000 on his campaign. Martin said this summer that he works for a roofing company.
Mullin’s Democratic opponent, former 5th District Congresswoman Kendra Horn, lists assets of between $67,000 and $181,000 and a student loan balance of $15,000-$50,000. She also reported being paid $135,000 in consultant fees in 2021, including $95,000 from the Chickasaw Nation.
Mullin’s big jump in reported assets apparently results from the sale of his plumbing-related companies to HomeTown Services, a multi-state residential heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical company. The sale is not specifically listed under transactions for 2021, but a stake in HomeTown valued at $1 million-$5 million and an investment of $25 million-$50 million in a cash management fund — both dated Dec. 10, 2021 — are.
Separately, the report lists the asset value of five plumbing-related businesses as “none” but with income, including capital gains, of at least $8.2 million. However, the income from one of those companies, Mullin Plumbing Inc., is listed listed only as “over $5 million.”
In 2020, Mullin reported the value of the five companies — Mullin Environmental, Mullin Plumbing East, Mulling Plumbing West, Mullin Services and Mullin Plumbing Inc. — as between $3.5 million and $16.5 million.
Mullin Plumbing East had a listed value of $1,001-$15,000 with no income in 2020, but with no value and $100,001-$1 million in income a year later.
Rights to the Mullin Plumbing trade name were transferred to HomeTown in May, according to Oklahoma Secretary of State records.
Mullin has been reluctant to talk about the sale, citing confidentiality agreements; requests for comment have not been answered.
It is not unusual for members’ wealth to increase during their time in office, just as it would not be unusual for any Americans’ wealth to grow during their lifetimes. In a June Fox Business interview, though, Mullin and commentator Maria Bartiromo questioned how Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul Pelosi were able to accumulate “tens of millions of dollars” during her 35 years in Congress.
“I tell people that the worst business investment my wife and I ever made was us coming to Washington, D.C., because we’re not trying to take advantage of it,” Mullin told Bartiromo.
Mullin came under scrutiny for insider trading after he bought a biotech stock touted by colleague Chris Collins of New York. Mullin denied the accusation and wound up selling the stock at a loss.
Kendra Horn, Mullin’s Democratic opponent, said Mullin “thinks the rules don’t apply to him. This fits right in with the pattern of corruption and self-dealing that Markwayne used to make himself 10 times richer while in Congress.”
The sale of businesses — his last remaining McDonald’s restaurants — also seem to be a factor in Hern’s apparent increase in wealth. His report says the restaurants, owned jointly with wife Tammy Hern, were sold for $25 million-$50 million on April 26, 2021.
Ranked among the wealthiest members of Congress, Hern is by far the Oklahoma delegation’s most active investor and is still involved in several businesses, mostly with his wife. His report also includes information on trusts under the names of his three children.
By way of comparison, Hern’s 2021 financial disclosure report is 72 pages. The other six Oklahoma members’ range from three to 14.
At least four of Oklahoma’s seven current members are millionaires, but one of those — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe — is leaving at the end of the year.
Inhofe, who with his wife, Kay, also sold their interest in a business in 2021, reported assets of $7.1 million to $22.1 million
Fourth District Congressman Tom Cole listed assets valued at $4.5 million to $13.4 million.
More modest holdings were reported by 3rd District Congressman Frank Lucas ($1.5 million-$2.9 million, with liabilities of $265,000-$650,000); U.S. Sen. James Lankford ($153,527-$935,527, with liabilities of $100,000-$250,000); and 5th District Congresswoman Stephanie Bice ($385,063-$1.6 million with liabilities of $350,002-$750,000).
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