Analysis of the State Senate District 32 Special Election

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - The voters of District 32 made their voices heard last night, Oct. 10, 2023. District 32 will see Republican Dusty Deevers face off against Democrat Larry Bush in the Special General election on Dec. 12, 2023.

A total of 3,819 people voted in the Republican Primary, while 1,257 people voted in the Democratic Primary. Bush won with 73% of the vote, which is a clear majority. However, Deevers won with only 37% of the vote.

Which may leave those wondering at home why isn’t there a runoff election between the top two Republican candidates since no one reached that 50% threshold.

The reason for the no run off election is because Section 12-114 of the Oklahoma Statutes states that the candidate that gets the most votes during a special primary election shall be deemed the nominee of their political party outright.

KSWO held a debate between all the candidates running in this primary, so we heard a lot about their thoughts on problems and issues within the state as well as within District 32.

Dusty Deevers, leaned a lot on religious rhetoric within his answers, which shouldn’t be a surprise since he is a pastor.

For instance, when asked the question of whether or not he’d support public funds being used to fund religious schools, or if he thought that this was a violation of the separation of church and state, he said that he’d support it and that there was no separation of church and state within the Constitution.

It is important to point out that the Supreme Court opined back in 1947, in the case of Everson v. Board of Education, that, “The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state.”

Larry Bush on the other hand made it a point to focus on education. He mentioned this in his opening remarks at the debate and sprinkled it throughout his other answers. Bush also mentioned a lot about his experience as a businessman.

But while Deevers has been outspoken about his platform, Bush hasn’t expanded on a lot of details during his campaign which could leave voters wondering which way he’ll lean on issues.

Like Deevers, Bush does not have experience working within a state legislature. However, unlike his opponent, Bush is a Democrat which would put him as part of the minority in the Oklahoma State Senate.

If Bush did win in December he would be one of only nine Democrats within the state senate to 39 Republican state senators.

That could cause him to have trouble getting some stuff done, especially if Bush does not hold the same policy opinions as his would-be Republican counterparts.

KSWO will be talking more to these candidates in the near future so stay tuned to KSWO.

You can find all of our election coverage in the elections tab of our website.

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