Former Democratic Rep. Kendra Horn running for Inhofe Oklahoma Senate seat

Former Oklahoma Rep. Kendra Horn (D) is running for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.). 

Records filed with the Federal Election Commission showed that Horn changed her House campaign committee from Kendra Horn for Congress to Kendra Horn for Senate, according to The Oklahoman.

“Oklahoma doesn’t belong to a party, it belongs to the people. Oklahomans deserve to have their voices heard because there is so much at stake. Our health care is at stake. Our public schools are at stake. The future of our communities is at stake,” Horn’s campaign site says. 

Roughly $57,000 that was in her campaign account at the end of the year can be transferred to her Senate bid, The Oklahoman noted. 

Upsetting then-Rep. Steve Russell (R), Horn flipped her district in 2018, becoming the first Democratic woman to represent Oklahoma in Congress.

She later lost her reelection bid to Republican Rep. Stephanie Bice.

Horn faces a steep climb in Oklahoma, which hasn’t had a Democratic senator in more than 25 years.

Inhofe, 87, announced his resignation in February after over 50 years in Congress. 

“It is now time for that next generation of Oklahomans to have the opportunity to serve the state in the U.S. Senate,” he said in a statement at the time. 

Inhofe has already endorsed his former chief of staff, Luke Holland, to replace him. He called Holland a “fierce conservative and the best person to continue my legacy of a strong national defense and investment in local infrastructure.” 

Also running in the GOP primary for the seat are Rep. Markwayne Mullin and former National Security Council chief of staff Alex Gray.