District 1 Commissioner Kent McKinley Elects To Retire; Haden Healey Files For Position Without Opposition
Longtime Murray County District 1 Commissioner Kent McKinley will retire his position in December after choosing not to run for the post he has held since 2015.
McKinley will be replaced by Haden Healey, who filed unopposed for the position last week during the three-day candidate filing period.
Also filing unopposed for their offices were District 3 Commissioner Darrell Hudson, County Assessor Bradley Vandagriff, and County Treasurer Kim Hale.
McKinley swept to victory in August, 2014 after defeating Shane Cornbread Hale, 350 to 159, in the runoff primary. A total of four candidates filed for the District 1 position in that primary election with McKinley and Hale emerging as the top two after primary balloting was completed. The other two candidates were Paul Luna and Gary Kerns.
McKinley took over the post in January, 2015 from another longtime commissioner, Billy Frank Lance, who also chose not to run.
Several other candidates for state office representing all of parts of Murray County also won re-election after filing unopposed.
They included District Judge Wallace Coppedge, Office 1, of Tishomingo, and District Judge Carson Brooks, Office 2, of Ardmore; Associate Murray County District Judge Kristin Ranell Jarman, of Sulphur; District 14 State Senator Jerry Alvord, of Wilson; District 22 State Representative Ryan Eaves, of Atoka; and District 48 State Representative Tammy Townley, of Ardmore.
Kent McKinley County Commissioner, Dist. 1
Haden Healey County Commissioner-Elect, Dist. 1
Darrell Hudson County Commissioner, Dist. 3
Kim Hale County Treasurer
Election
There will be an election for the District 20 District Attorney’s position after incumbent, Melissa Handke, of Healdton, drew an opponent. She will face James R. Gilmartin, of Ardmore, in the June primary election. Both are Republicans.
There was a plethora of candidates filing for other federal and state offices including a crowded field hoping to win the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Republican Markwayne Mullin.
Mullin resigned the post recently after he was a appointed Secretary of U.S. Homeland Security, requiring a special election for the seat. There are a total of 13 candidates seeking that office, five Democrats, five Republicans, two Independents, and one Libertarian.
There is also a crowded field vying for the District 04 U.S. Representative including two Republicans, two Democrats, and one Independent.
The biggest field of candidates by far, however, is in the race for governor where nine Republicans, three Democrats, and three Independents are jocking for position in that all-important position now held by outgoing Governor Kevin Stitt.
Other statewide offices will also be filled in this election cycle including Lieutenant Governor where six Republicans and one Democrat have filed.
Other races have developed for Attorney General, State Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Commissioner of Labor, Insurance Commissioner, and Corporation Commissioner.
The only statewide candidate filing unopposed in this election cycle was Melissa Capps, of McLoud, for State Auditor and Inspector.
The Primary Election will be held Tuesday, June 16, the Runoff Primary is set for Tuesday, Aug. 25, and the General Election will go off on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
