Former state Sen. Josh Brecheen prevailed Tuesday in one of the country’s most surprisingly expensive congressional races.
Brecheen, of Coalgate, edged out state Rep. Avery Frix, R-Muskogee, to claim the Republican nomination to succeed Markwayne Mullin as 2nd District Congressman.
The nomination all but guarantees victory for Brecheen, a 43-year-old rancher and excavation contractor who campaigned largely as a successor to the late U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn. His general election opponents are little-known Democrat Naomi Andrews and 88-year-old independent Ben Robinson.
“I think people found out the truth,” said Brecheen. “They cut through the ads that claimed I was a never-Trumper. They found that I was the true conservative in the race.”
Frix, 28, was trying to become the youngest Oklahoman elected to Congress since Mike Synar won the 2nd District a few weeks after his 28th birthday in 1978.
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“I congratulate Josh Brecheen,” Frix told followers in Muskogee. “I’m proud of the race we ran, and I’ll never give up on the fight for our conservative values.”
Frix had finished slightly ahead of Brecheen in the primary field of 13, but the two combined accounted for less than 30% of the primary vote, leaving the runoff wide open.
As expected, Frix did well in his home base of Muskogee County while Breechen did well in the southern part of the district. That would not have been enough for Brecheen to win, though, since most of the Republican primary votes in the district are north of I-40.
The decisive votes for Brecheen came in Cherokee, Mayes, Rogers and Washington counties, all of which he carried.
“When you surround yourself with people of good reputation, it makes a difference,” Brecheen said when asked about his success in the northern part of the district.
The runoff attracted more than $5 million in independent expenditures from outside interests, including $2.5 million on Brecheen’s behalf by Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass.
Frix, who put at least $250,000 of his own money into the campaign, ran as a close ally of former President Donald Trump while painting Brecheen as a never-Trumper because of his association with Club for Growth, which has had an on-again, off-again relationship with Trump.
Brecheen hammered at Frix’ votes to raise gross production, fuel and cigarette taxes when the Legislature was scrambling to close yawning holes in the state budget.
Brecheen served two terms in the Oklahoma Senate and before that was a field representative for Coburn when he was in the U.S. Senate.
In the Legislature and as a congressional candidate he has espoused the same principles as Coburn, including a much smaller federal government and hard lines on taxes and abortion rights.
