The game of political musical chairs that ensued in Oklahoma after President Donald Trump appointed Markwayne Mullin as Secretary of Homeland Security ended Tuesday, with voters sending 1st District U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern to the open U.S. Senate seat and state legislator Mark Tedford to Hern’s vacated post.

Both announced their victories Tuesday night during the Tulsa County GOP watch party at the Motorsports Collective in Jenks. With about 88% of precincts reporting, Hern received 564,442 votes — totaling about 58% of the electorate. His opponent, Democrat N’Kiyla Thomas, garnered 367,569 votes.

Hern told members of the media just after 8:30 p.m. that he hopes to push forward bills that have already been passed in the House.

“We’ve worked really hard (and) sent over 700 bills in the House that have not been passed. We need to get those through,” Hern said. “These are things like the National Defense Authorization Act to make sure our military men and women are funded, our bases; our agriculture bill — it’s so important for the farmers of western Oklahoma.”

Hern said Tedford has been talking to him throughout the campaign.

“He’s been talking to me along the way, you know, about how to position bills, how to work with people,” Hern said. “You don’t win any friends up there by criticizing people in front of the press.”

Hern said Tedford, a Jenks insurance executive, will bring business principles to the House seat.

“More people in business need to be in Congress, House and Senate, and quite frankly, Democrat and Republican. We can have a lot better dialogue,” Hern said. “I’ll tell you what it does: It brings critical thinking to the process. It lets people know when you’re making laws, it’s going to impact them at the local level — and so Mark will be great.”

Tedford declared victory after 9 p.m. With 94% of precincts reporting, Tedford received 114,503 votes — making up 53% of the vote. His opponent, Democrat Tulsa Public Schools board member John Croisant, received 103,414 votes.

Before taking the stage for his victory speech, Tedford told the Flyer he believed voters resonated with his campaign because they are tired of “partisan politics.”

“I think my message of being a statesman and tackling some of the everyday issues was what they want to hear,” Tedford said.

Tedford said he sees himself as a continuation of Hern “in many ways,” but that he will have his own policy positions.

“We think a lot alike. We’re both conservative, and we both believe in a pro-business approach, and so we’ll be aligned on a lot of things,” Tedford said. “I’ll be myself. I’ll be different than him. You know, what exact policies those are are kind of yet to be determined.”

Massive fundraising gap between congressional candidates

Hern and Tedford outraised Thomas and Croisant by significant margins. 

Hern, a Tulsa businessman who owned 24 McDonald’s in northeastern Oklahoma prior to entering politics in 2018, raised more than $10.8 million between January and Oct. 14. That includes about $5 million in personal loans, more than $3 million transferred from other committees and nearly $2.6 million in contributions.

Thomas, a former nurse, raised about $115,000 in contributions between July 2025 and Oct. 14. An avowed Democratic socialist whose policy positions include Medicare for all and universal childcare, Thomas raised $32,000 during an Oct. 29 Twitch livestream with Hasan Piker, a popular streamer and left-wing political commentator. That makes up about 28% of what Thomas raised prior.

Tedford, who is following in Hern’s footsteps as a businessman-turned-politician to represent Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District, raised nearly $2.5 million between January and Oct. 14. That includes more than $1.5 million in personal loans and about $900,000 in contributions.

Croisant, a former teacher who now owns an insurance business, raised about $217,000 — all in contributions — between January 2025 and Oct. 14.

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