Don Armes (born July 31, 1961) is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Republican

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

of Oklahoma. Armes served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, representing state House District 63. He was first elected to the seat in 2002.

Early life and career

Armes was born in

Midwest City, Oklahoma Midwest City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,371, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The city was developed in r ...

to Donald C. Armes and Elaine O. (Oliver) Bennett. He attended Cameron University, where he studied agricultural education and animal science. Armes worked as a broadcaster for

KSWO-TV KSWO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Lawton, Oklahoma, United States, serving the western Texoma area as an affiliate of ABC and Telemundo. It is owned by Gray Television, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) wi ...

from 1999 to 2002, as an agriculture educator in Lawton and continues to work as a farmer and auctioneer today.

Political career and controversy

Armes has represented his district as a conservative lawmaker with a focus on issues that affect rural Oklahomans, and received a rating of 100% from the

Oklahoma Farm Bureau The Oklahoma Farm Bureau (OKFB) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting, protecting, and representing the interests of farmers and ranchers in Oklahoma and is the largest farm organization in the State. OKFB is the Oklahoma level partner ...

. He has consistently supported legislation which would restrict abortion access. Armes has consistently voted against embryonic stem cell research, for tax relief and government modernization. In 2014, his last year in office, Armes was embroiled in a controversy involving efforts to sabotage the

Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is a department of the government of Oklahoma under the Governor of Oklahoma. It is responsible for protecting human health and for safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land. ...

. It was also widely alleged that Armes conspired with insiders at the Department of Environmental Quality, and that he engaged in romantic relationships with one of those Department of Environmental Quality employees.

Personal life

Armes currently lives in Faxon, Oklahoma with his wife, Dede. They have two children, Katy and Kelsey Armes.Don Armes Biography, VoteSmart.org
10-14-09.

Organizations

*National Rifle Association *Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association *Tillman County Ducks Unlimited

District

House District 63 encompasses Tillman County and the western half of Comanche County. Most of the district is rural.

References

External links

Oklahoma House Members Profile, Membership Directory

Oklahoma State Election Board
1961 births Living people Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives People from Comanche County, Oklahoma People from Midwest City, Oklahoma 21st-century American legislators 21st-century Oklahoma politicians {{Oklahoma-politician-stub