Republican candidates covering ground in final week [The Duncan Banner, Okla.]

June 17--DUNCAN -- Candidates seeking office in the upcoming June 26 Oklahoma Primary Election are busy campaigning in the final week as they hope to gain support.

Seeking office in the Republican primary for the Senate District 43 seat are Corey Brooks, Peggy Davenport, Ron Magar and Clark Southard. In the Oklahoma House of Representatives Republican primary for District 51 seat, are Scott Biggs, Glyn Byte and Julie McKinney.

Candidates who reside in Stephens County for the June 26 election are McKinney, Davenport and Southard.

The Senate District 43 race was created through redistricting this past year and eliminates Oklahoma County, but covers primarily rural southern Oklahoma communities including Duncan, Chickasha and Blanchard.

District 43 is comprised of all of McClain County, most of Stephens County and portions of Garvin and Grady Counties. There are 78,000 Oklahomans currently residing in the district.

SD 43 Candidates

- Brooks, 32, was raised on a ranch in McClain County and joined the Navy where he became an officer. His military record includes time in Afghanistan. He also served in the White House under the second Bush administration. He returned to his roots in the small community of Washington and is a rancher and is dedicated to his family and church. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science and cross cultural ministries from Oklahoma Baptist University and a master's in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College.

- Davenport, 63, of Duncan, is a lifelong Republican who said she holds to conservative values. She was born and raised in Louisiana, and is a graduate of West Texas State University. She is owner of a small insurance business, for 20 years, in Duncan. She is married to Claud Cook.

- Magar, 48, like Brooks, grew up on a farm. He graduated from Lone Wolf Public Schools, then attended the University of Oklahoma. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor in Science degree in general engineering. He joined The Boeing Company as an engineer and continues his career with the company.

Magar and wife Michele have been married 29 years and they have seven children, ranging from age 9 to 25. They attend Cole Baptist Church and are active in the children's ministry. He also is a member of the National Rifle Association.

- Southard, 56, spent 29 years in the United States Army and is a retired lieutenant colonel. During his military career, he was a helicopter pilot and served in Iraq, Korea and other places abroad. After returning to Oklahoma, he saw an opportunity to improve the state's economic and workforce development and became a consultant to that end. He has dedicated the past four months to campaigning full-time with intent to win the SD 43 seat.

He holds a master's degree from Central Michigan University and a bachelor's from University of Texas. His military education includes the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and U.S. Army Force Management College in Virginia.

Southard has three sons and is active within Duncan and Stephens County. He is a member of Duncan Rotary Club and lifetime Veterans of Foreign Wars. He also is a board member of United Way of Stephens County and attends All Saints Episcopal Church in Duncan.

House District 51

- Biggs is a prosecuting attorney and lives in Chickasha. He considers himself a staunch conservative and is from Indiana, where he grew up learning about work ethics on the family farm.

Biggs holds a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from Oklahoma State University in 2001, later getting a law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2006. He has practiced law in Grady and Caddo counties, and has been running his own practice in Chickasha since January.

Biggs' wife, Rosslyn, a Chickasha native, is a practicing veterinarian. Along with their daughter Maguire, they live on their family farm just outside of Chickasha.

They attend Chickasha's Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church.

- Byte also has a background on a rural Oklahoma farm. He has a bachelor's in science for psychology from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, and a master's degree in agency counseling from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He began his counseling career in 1997 as a mental health tech at Comanche County Hospital. In 2000, he became state-licensed as a professional counselor.

He resides in Chickasha with wife, Amanda. They have one child.

- McKinney has served as mayor of Central High since 2010 and is also a conservative Republican. When incumbent Corey Holland announced his retirement, McKinney made the choice to seek the office.

She is a health care professional, business owner, rancher and is active within Stephens County as a civic leader.

In 1973, she graduated from Purdue University with a nursing degree, then worked in several states in that occupation. Futhering her career, she also was education coordinator and provided training to paramedics, physicians and flight nurses. While living in Arizona, she was EMS educator for five years for the Mesa Fire Department and was also a paramedic coordinator and disaster coordinator for Mesa General Hospital.

In 1997, she retired from that profession and moved to Oklahoma, where she and husband, Wayne, who is now sheriff of Stephens County, bought a Harley-Davidson shop, which became the 27th ranked dealership in the country out of 650 dealerships. They sold that business in 2004.

They now own a ranch in western Stephens County and enjoy time with their children and grandchildren.

They are active members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and she serves on the church council and as financial secretary. She also is on numerous other boards, including Chisholm Trail Heritage Center. She is a member of Friends of NRA and of OHCE and cattle organizations.

Other races on the June 26 primary ballot are United States Representative for District 4, with Democratic candidates Bert Smith and Donna Marie Bebo and Republican candidates, incumbent Tom Cole, and Gary D. Caissie; and Corporation Commissioner, incumbent Bob Anthony, and Brooks Mitchell.

If there is a need for a run-off, that will take place Tuesday, Aug. 28. Should no candidate gain a majority vote, the party runoffs will be held Tuesday, Aug. 28. The general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 6.

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(c)2012 The Duncan Banner (Duncan, Okla.)

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