Keith Clayton Leftwich (July 6, 1954 – September 19, 2003), was a State Representative and State Senator for

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. Born to John V. and Paulyne Leftwich at Tinker Air Force Base Hospital, Leftwich graduated from Choctaw High School in 1972. One of his accomplishments there was receiving the William Randolph Hearst Award for High School Seniors. As a student at 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 ...

, he was the recipient of the Nora Wells Award for Outstanding Junior Man and served in Student Congress. He graduated from

Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City University (OCU) is a private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The university offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, graduate master's degrees and doctor ...

with a degree in liberal arts. He started his public political career in 1978 by running for a State Representative seat in South Oklahoma City (then District 91), losing in the Democratic runoff election to Charles Gray, who won the general election. In 1982, when Gray decided not to run for re-election, Leftwich ran and won the primary, runoff, and general elections. During the three terms that he served (1983 to 1989), he was chair of the Committee of Government Operations, as well as chair of the interim Committee of Legislative Procedures. One of his interests while in the Oklahoma State House of Representative was reform of the corrections system. He decided to forgo re-election in 1988 in order to run for State Corporation Commissioner, but lost in the runoff to Charles Morgan. After his career in the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's b ...

, Leftwich was executive vice-president of the

Del City Del City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 21,822 at the United States Census, 2020. Del City is located near two major interstate highways, both of wh ...

Chamber of Commerce. In 1990, he ran for District 44 seat of the Oklahoma State Senate, in which he won the primary and defeated the Republican incumbent State Sen. Kay Dudley. During his career in the State Senate, he served as Chairman for the transportation committee, as well as general government and a transportation subcommittee on appropriations. He Later was elected by the Democratic Caucus to serve as majority whip. Although Leftwich was frequently mentioned as a candidate for the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nomination for Governor of Oklahoma in the 2002 election, he declined to enter the race and supported

Brad Henry Charles Bradford Henry (born July 10, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who was the 26th governor of Oklahoma from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected governor in 2002. Henry won re-election for a second term ...

. In January 2002, he held a press conference in which he announced he had contracted

neck cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

. However, he was re-elected that year. Following his death from cancer, his widow

Debbe Leftwich Debbe Leftwich is a politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Leftwich was a member of the Oklahoma Senate from 2003 until 2010. She won the vacant seat through a special election after the death of her husband and former senator Keith Leftwi ...

won the special election on December 9, 2003 to succeed him. On March 25, 2004, the library at

Oklahoma City Community College Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) is a public community college in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The college was founded in 1972 as South Oklahoma City Junior College. OCCC has a current enrollment of 18,549 students and is the second largest co ...

was dedicated as the Keith Leftwich Memorial Library. Later, a portion of Interstate 240 between Interstate 35 and Interstate 44 was dedicated as the Keith Leftwich Memorial Loop.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leftwich, Keith 1954 births 2003 deaths University of Oklahoma alumni Oklahoma City University alumni Democratic Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Democratic Party Oklahoma state senators 20th-century American politicians Deaths from throat cancer