Mark Wayne "Markwayne" Mullin (born July 26, 1977) is an American businessman, former professional

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fighter, and politician serving as the

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

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 ...

since

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

. A member of the Republican Party, Mullin served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for from 2013 to 2023. Mullin is the first Native American U.S. senator since

Ben Nighthorse Campbell Ben Nighthorse Campbell (born April 13, 1933) is an American Cheyenne politician who represented Colorado's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1993, and as a United States Senator from Colorado f ...

retired from Congress in 2005. He is also the second

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

citizen elected to the Senate; the first,

Robert Latham Owen Robert Latham Owen Jr. (February 2, 1856July 19, 1947) was one of the first two U.S. senators from Oklahoma. He served in the Senate between 1907 and 1925. Born into affluent circumstances in antebellum Lynchburg, Virginia, the son of a railroa ...

, retired in 1925.

Early life and career

Mullin was born on July 26, 1977, in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. He graduated from

Stilwell High School Stilwell High School is a high school (grades 9–12) in Stilwell, Oklahoma, United States. As of 2006 it had some 615 students, of whom 70% were Native American, and some 38 teachers. The 1988-1989 class was the largest graduating class with a ...

Stilwell, Oklahoma Stilwell is a city and county seat of Adair County, Oklahoma, Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,700 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, a decline of 6.7 percent from the 3,949 population recorded in ...

. He attended

Missouri Valley College Missouri Valley College is a private college that is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Marshall, Missouri. The college was founded in 1889 and supports 40 academic majors and an enrollment close to 1,500 students. Misso ...

in 1996, but did not graduate. In 2010, Mullin received an associate degree in construction technology from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology. Mullin took over his father's business, Mullin Plumbing, at age 20, when his father fell ill. He also owns Mullin Properties, Mullin Farms, and Mullin Services. He hosted ''House Talk'', a

home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...

radio program syndicated across Oklahoma, on Tulsa station KFAQ.

U.S. House of Representatives

Deb Haaland, Sharice Davids and Markwayne Mullin in 2020

Elections

2012

In June 2011, incumbent Democratic U.S. Congressman

Dan Boren David Daniel Boren (born August 2, 1973) is the Secretary of Commerce for the Chickasaw Nation, based in Oklahoma. He is a retired American politician, who served as the U.S. Representative for from 2005 to 2013. The district included most of th ...

announced that he would retire at the end of 2012. In September 2011, Mullin declared his candidacy for the 2012 elections to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

to represent

Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district is one of five United States congressional districts in Oklahoma and covers approximately one-fourth of the state in the east. The district borders Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas and includes (in who ...

. Mullin branded himself as an outsider; his campaign slogan was "A rancher. A businessman. Not a politician!" In the six-candidate Republican primary, Mullin finished first with 42% of the vote; state representative

George Faught George Faught (born July 14, 1962) is an American businessman and Republican politician from Oklahoma. Faught was Representative for District 14 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 2007 to 2012. House District 14 encompasses Musko ...

ranked second with 23% of the vote. In the primary runoff election, Mullin defeated Faught, 57%–43%.

had historically been a "Yellow Dog" Democratic district, but had steadily trended Republican as

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

's suburbs spilled into its northern portion. For this reason, Mullin was thought to have a good chance of winning the election. He defeated the Democratic nominee, former

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

Rob Wallace, 57%–38%. Mullin was the first Republican to represent the district since

Tom Coburn Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948 – March 28, 2020) was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator for Oklahoma from 2005, until his resignation in 2015. A Republican, he previously served as a United St ...

in 2001.

2014

In 2014, Mullin was reelected with 70% of the vote, defeating Democrat Earl Everrett who got 24.6% of the vote.

2016

In the June 2016 Republican primary, Mullin defeated Jarrin Jackson by 27 percentage points. In the November general election, he defeated Democrat Joshua Harris-Till by 47 percentage points.

2018

When he first ran for Congress in 2012, Mullin promised to serve only three terms (six years), but in July 2017 he released a video announcing that he would run for a fourth term in 2018, saying he was ill-advised when he made the promise to only serve three terms. After he reneged on this promise, former U.S. senator

said he would work to oust Mullin from office. Mullin won a four-way Republican primary with 54% of the vote, and was reelected in November with 65% of the vote.

2020

In 2020, Mullin won the Republican primary with 79.9% of the vote, and was reelected in November with 75% of the vote.

Tenure

On February 5, 2014, Mullin introduced the bill To revoke the charter of incorporation of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma at the request of that tribe (H.R. 4002; 113th Congress), which would accept the

Miami Tribe of Oklahoma The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma ( mia, myaamionki noošonke siipionki, ''meaning: "Miami homelands along the Neosho River'') is the only federally recognized Native American tribe of Miami Indians in the United States.Koenig, PamelaMiami.''Oklahom ...

's request to revoke the charter of incorporation issued to it and ratified by its members on June 1, 1940. In 2015, Mullin condemned the Supreme Court ruling in ''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protect ...

'', which held that same-sex marriage bans violated the constitution. In April 2017, Mullin drew criticism when he was recorded during a town hall meeting telling his constituents that it was "bullcrap" that taxpayers pay his salary. He said, "I pay for myself. I paid enough taxes before I got here and continue to through my company to pay my own salary. This is a service. No one here pays me to go." As of 2022, Mullin still collects the U.S. Congress base salary of $174,000. In 2021, Mullin was one of 29 Republicans to vote to reauthorize the

Violence Against Women Act The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States federal law (Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, ) signed by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994. The Act provided $1.6 billion toward investig ...

. This bill expanded legal protections for transgender people, and contained provisions allowing transgender women to use women's shelters and serve time in prisons matching their gender identity. Along with all other Senate and House Republicans, Mullin voted against the

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or American Rescue Plan, is a economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, to sp ...

. In August 2022, he came out against President Joe Biden's

student loan A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest r ...

forgiveness plan, but subsequently received criticism after the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account pointed out that Mullin had benefitted from $1.4 million of federal PPP loan forgiveness. Mullin also voted against the TRUTH Act (H.R. 6782), a bill that would have required public disclosure of companies that received funds through the bailout program.

January 6 Capitol attack

During the

January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in pow ...

, Mullin and Representatives

Troy Nehls Troy Edwin Nehls (born April 7, 1968) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who is the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district. From 2013 to 2021, he served as the sheriff for Fort Bend County, Texas ...

(a former Sheriff and Army veteran) and

Pat Fallon Patrick Edward Fallon (born December 19, 1967) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he has been the U.S. representative for since 2021. He served the 30th district of the Texas Senate from 2019 to 2021. F ...

(an Air Force veteran) helped U.S. Capitol Police build barricades and protect the doors to the House chamber from the rioters. He and many of his colleagues were later ushered to a secure location, where he declined offers to wear a mask, in violation of House rules. Mullin said that he witnessed the shooting of Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt during the attack, which occurred after she climbed through a barricade leading towards the House Chamber; Mullin's viewpoint was that the Capitol police officer "didn't have a choice" but to shoot, and that this action "saved people's lives", with members of Congress and their staff "in danger" from the "mob".

August 2021 Afghanistan visit

On August 30, 2021, during the final days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Mullin asked officials of the U.S. embassy in Tajikistan for assistance in going to Afghanistan to retrieve five American citizens. Because the plan involved violations of Tajikistan currency restrictions, the embassy staffers refused. The U.S. State Department had warned Mullin not to try his own rescue of Americans in Afghanistan, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy had both urged members of Congress to avoid travel to Afghanistan during the final days of the U.S. military presence.

Committee assignments

Committee on Energy and Commerce A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

Subcommittee on Health The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is a subcommittee within the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Jurisdiction The House Subcommittee on Health has general jurisdiction over bills and resolutions relating to pub ...

** Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change ** Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations * Committee on Intelligence ** Intelligence Modernization and Readiness (INMAR) Subcommittee (ranking member) ** Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support (DIWS) Subcommittee

Caucus memberships

Republican Study Committee The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a study group of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. As of 2021, the Chairman of the RSC is Representative Jim Banks of Indiana. Although the prim ...

Congressional Western Caucus The Congressional Western Caucus is a caucus within the United States House of Representatives composed of 62 members. Although it has historically been bipartisan, it is currently composed almost exclusively of Republicans (with the sole excepti ...

U.S. Senate

Elections

2022 Special

In February 2022,

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Jim Inhofe James Mountain Inhofe ( ; born November 17, 1934) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the U.S. Senate Commit ...

announced he would resign from his seat at the end of the

117th United States Congress The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on ...

on January 3, 2023, necessitating a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

to fill the remainder of his term. Mullin announced that he would run in the special election. In a field of 13 candidates that included

Scott Pruitt Edward Scott Pruitt (born May 9, 1968) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and Republican politician from the state of Oklahoma. He served as the fourteenth Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from February 17, 2017, to July ...

and

Nathan Dahm Nathan Ryan Dahm (born January 27, 1983) is an American politician who has served as the Oklahoma State Senator for the 33rd district since 2012. Prior to holding office, Dahm worked as a missionary in Romania and was a Tea Party activist in T ...

, Mullin received the most votes, with 44%, but short of the 50% required to avoid a runoff. He faced former state House Speaker T. W. Shannon, who received 18%, in the runoff election on August 23. Mullin defeated Shannon in the runoff, and faced the Democratic nominee, former

Oklahoma's 5th congressional district Oklahoma's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It borders all of the other congressional districts in the state except the 1st district. It is densely populated and covers almost all of Oklahom ...

Congresswoman

Kendra Horn Kendra Suzanne Horn (born June 9, 1976) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, her district included almost all ...

, in the November 8 general election; Mullin defeated Horn with 61.8% of the vote.

Political positions

2020 presidential election results

In December 2020, Mullin was one of 126 Republican members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

to sign an

amicus brief An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...

in support of ''

Texas v. Pennsylvania ''Texas v. Pennsylvania'', 592 U.S. ___ (2020), was a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the administration of the 2020 presidential election in certain states, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump. Fil ...

'', a lawsuit filed at the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

contesting the results of the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked

standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...

under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state. When campaigning for the 2022 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma, Mullin supported the claim the 2020 election was stolen from

Abortion

Mullin supports making abortion illegal in all circumstances, even in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother's life is at risk. During the 2022 Republican runoff debate, he claimed that if his wife's life were at risk during a pregnancy, neither he nor his wife would want to get an abortion.

LGBT issues

On December 10, 2020, Mullin and Representative

Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the firs ...

introduced the Protect Women's Sports Act, a bill to define

Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...

protections on the basis of an individual's biological sex, making it a violation for institutions that receive federal funding to "permit a person whose biological sex at birth is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls". This bill would effectively ban many

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

athletes from participating in programs corresponding with their gender identity.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Clinton Bonds , TKO (punches) , XFL , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:27 , Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Clinton Bonds , Submission (armbar) , XFL Superbrawl , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A , Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Bobby Kelley , Submission (rear-naked choke) , XFL , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:46 , Miami, Oklahoma, United States ,

Personal life

Mullin and his wife, Christie, live in Westville, a few miles from the

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

border, and have six children. He is an enrolled citizen of the

. Mullin is one of five Native Americans who served in the 117th Congress. The others were

Tom Cole Thomas Jeffery Cole (born April 28, 1949) is the U.S. representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party and serves as Deputy Minority Whip. The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) fro ...

(

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation (Chickasaw language, Chickasaw: Chikashsha I̠yaakni) is a federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, with its headquarters located in Ada, Oklahoma in th ...

Yvette Herrell Stella Yvette Herrell ( ; born March 16, 1964) is an American politician and realtor serving as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 2nd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, she served four terms as a member of the New M ...

(

Sharice Davids Sharice Lynnette Davids (; born May 22, 1980) is an American attorney, former mixed martial artist, and politician serving as the U.S. representative from since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents a district that includes mos ...

(

Ho-Chunk Nation The Ho-Chunk Nation (Ho-Chunk language: ) is a federally recognized tribe of the Ho-Chunk with traditional territory across five states in the United States: Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri. The other federally recognized trib ...

), and Alaska Native

Mary Peltola Mary Sattler Peltola (née Sattler; Yup'ik: Akalleq; formerly Kapsner; born August 31, 1973) is an American politician and former tribal judge serving as the U.S. representative from since September 2022. She previously served as a judge on th ...

(

Yup'ik The Yup'ik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Central Yup'ik, Alaskan Yup'ik ( own name ''Yup'ik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an I ...

). He is the first Native American senator elected to Congress in nearly two decades.

Electoral history

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

References

External links

Congressman Markwayne Mullin
official U.S. House website
Markwayne Mullin for Congress
* *
Professional mixed martial arts record
on

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

.com * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mullin, Markwayne 1977 births 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century American politicians 21st-century Native Americans American athlete-politicians American male mixed martial artists American Pentecostals American plumbers American talk radio hosts Businesspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma Cherokee Nation businesspeople Cherokee Nation members of the United States House of Representatives Cherokee Nation members of the United States Senate Cherokee Nation sportspeople Discrimination against LGBT people in the United States Living people Mixed martial artists from Oklahoma Native American Christians Native American members of the United States Congress Oklahoma Republicans Oklahoma State University alumni People from Adair County, Oklahoma People from Westville, Oklahoma Politicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma Radio personalities from Oklahoma Ranchers from Oklahoma Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma Republican Party United States senators from Oklahoma