May 9th Special Election Recommendations

Those living in the HD75 east central portion of Tulsa County are going to the polls next Tuesday to select a new state representative. Dan Kirby resigned earlier this year, after an house investigation found his behavior worthy of a strict rebuke.   Four residents of the district filed as candidates in the race. I had the opportunity to visit extensively with all of them. I can say that all of them are earnestly wanting to serve.   Two of them are emerging as favorites. Both Nik Berg and Tressa Nunley have substantial backing and large groups of volunteers. They came to a forum I led at the Tulsa Area Republican Assembly, in March.  Nik Berg emerged the winner of a straw poll that was held two weeks ago at the April meeting of TARA.   Tressa Nunley was endorsed by a leading Oklahoma Conservative group, OCPAC. For both Nunley and Berg, this is their first run for elective govt. office.    Nunley is a Realtor with a past background in corporate Tulsa. She has a degree from OU and had worked for Williams Communications. She is married to Marc Nunley and raise a 'mostly grown' family. She is backed by some well-known legislators including George Faught. George's wife, Becky Faught, is serving as her campaign manager.

For information on the candidates' responses to TARA, see the TARA website for the report.

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  Nik Berg is a Broken Arrow native and was a member of the national champion baseball team from BA High School. He's been a student of govt. policy and an associate of Senator Nathan Dahm, who strongly encouraged his run for this seat. Sen. Dahm's sister, Natasha Dahm, is serving as campaign manager for Berg's campaign.

  AJ Oatsvall is a young 'liberty Republican' with a strong desire to move Oklahoma politics toward a libertarian vision. He is eloquent and engaging. Skip Steele comes from a more big-govt. philosophy. He had a short run on the Tulsa City Council and helped raise taxes for new city and county projects.

  On the issues, Both Nunley, Oatsvall, and Berg gave very similar answers to a TARA questionnaire. Steele did not return a questionnaire. Berg & Nunley both profess a devout evangelical Christian faith and practice.

  Sooner Politics offers two strong finalists, but no clear endorsement in this race. We strongly urge the Republican voters to choose either Nunley or Berg. The special election will have no runoff. A Candidate can move to the July Special General election with only 30% or so.

from Sooner Politics.org - Editorial http://www.soonerpolitics.org/editorial/may-9th-special-election-recommendations