Ervin Stone Yen is an American physician and politician who represented the 40th District in the

Oklahoma Senate The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

in 1954. His parents moved to the United States in 1959 and settled in northwest Oklahoma City. Yen graduated from Putnam City High School in Warr Acres. Yen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

and then a medical degree from the

University of Oklahoma College of Medicine History The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine was founded in 1900 as a medical department of the University of Oklahoma at its main campus in Norman. Lawrence N. Upjohn, M.D. is regarded as the "founding dean" and served from 1900-1904. ...

Career

Outside of politics, Yen works as an

anesthesiologist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, ...

. He witnessed Oklahoma's October 28, 2021 execution of John Grant with a three-drug

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

protocol and testified as an expert for the state Attorney General's office, at a rate of $250 per hour, that the prisoner was fully unconscious despite some witnesses claiming they observed him struggling to breathe, convulsing, and vomiting on the execution gurney.

Oklahoma Senate

Yen ran for the District 40 state senate seat against Brian Winslow, Joe Howell, Steve Kern,

David B. Hooten David Benjamin Hooten (born December 31, 1962) is a restaurateur and politician who served as the County Clerk for Oklahoma County, Oklahoma from 2016 to 2022. Early life David Benjimen Hooten was born in Frascati, Italy, to Capt. Leon E. Hoote ...

, and Michael Taylor in a Republican primary in 2014. He defeated pastor Steve Kern in a runoff. He defeated Democrat John Handy Edwards in the general election. Yen is the first Physician in the Oklahoma Senate in 40 years. He is also the first

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

in the legislature in Oklahoma history. Yen supports only medical exemptions to school vaccinations and introduced bills to that effect in the 2016 and 2017 legislative sessions. Yen was instrumental in passing a bill outlawing texting while driving and authored a bill which became law that kept children from using commercial tanning beds. Yen lost his 2018 primary election to veterinarian Joe Howell, whose campaign was largely financed by the Oklahomans for Vaccine and Health Choice, an anti-vaccination group. In February 2019, Yen received the American Medical Association's Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service as a State Legislator.

2022 Oklahoma gubernatorial election

Yen ran in the

2022 Oklahoma gubernatorial election The 2022 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Oklahoma. Incumbent Republican Governor Kevin Stitt was re-elected to a second term, defeating his Democratic challenger Joy Hofmeister. former Rep ...

. During his campaign, he left the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

and registered as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, citing the rise of COVID-19 misinformation and the widespread belief that Trump won the 2020 election in the GOP as well as the party's rejection of temporary mask mandates and vaccine mandates. He placed fourth, receiving 1.36% of the vote.

Electoral history

References

External links

Ervin Yen for Governor
campaign website {{DEFAULTSORT:Yen, Ervin 1954 births 20th-century American physicians 21st-century American physicians 21st-century American legislators American anesthesiologists American politicians of Taiwanese descent Asian American and Pacific Islander state legislators in Oklahoma Candidates in the 2022 United States elections Living people Oklahoma Independents People from Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Politicians from Taipei Physicians from Oklahoma Republican Party Oklahoma state senators Taiwanese emigrants to the United States University of Oklahoma alumni