Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district is one of five United States congressional districts in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

and covers approximately one-fourth of the state in the east. The district borders

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 O ...

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and includes (in whole or in part) a total of 24 counties.Oklahoma's 2nd District
(accessed May 24, 2010). Historically, the district has supported

conservative Democrat In American politics, a conservative Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party with conservative political views, or with views that are conservative compared to the positions taken by other members of the Democratic Party. Traditionally, c ...

s, and was reckoned as a classic Yellow Dog Democrat district. However, the growing Republican trend in the state has overtaken the district since the start of the 21st century. In the last two elections, the Republican presidential candidate has carried it by the largest margin in the state. Urban voters represent a third of the district. The district is represented by Republican

Markwayne Mullin Mark Wayne "Markwayne" Mullin (born July 26, 1977) is an American businessman, former professional mixed martial arts fighter, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Oklahoma since 2023. A member of the Republican Par ...

, becoming only the second Republican after Tom Coburn to hold the seat since 1923. Mullin was first elected in 2012, following the retirement of four-term Democratic incumbent Dan Boren.

Geography

The district borders

to the north,

and

to the east, and Texas (along the Red River) to the south. It covers all or part of 26 counties. It includes the remainder of Rogers County (including the county seat of Claremore) that is not included in the 1st district, and then, also, all of the following counties: Adair,

Nowata Nowata (Lenape: ', ' ) is a city and county seat of Nowata County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,731 at the United States Census, 2010, a 6.0 percent decline from the figure of 3,971 recorded in 2000. The area where it was establ ...

, Craig,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

, Mayes,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

, Okmulgee, Muskogee,

Sequoyah Sequoyah (Cherokee language, Cherokee: ᏍᏏᏉᏯ, ''Ssiquoya'', or ᏎᏉᏯ, ''Se-quo-ya''; 1770 – August 1843), also known as George Gist or George Guess, was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American polymath of the Ch ...

Okfuskee Okfuskee are a Muscogee tribe. Alternative spellings include the traditional Mvskoke spelling "Akfvske", referring to the tribal town in Alabama, and the comparable spelling Oakfuskee. They formed part of the former Creek (Muscogee) Confederacy in ...

, McIntosh, Haskell, LeFlore,

Hughes Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...

, Pittsburg, Latimer,

Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

, Atoka, Pushmataha, McCurtain,

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

, Bryan, Marshall and Johnston. Some of the principal cities in the district include

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, Claremore, Muskogee,

Tahlequah Tahlequah ( ; ''Cherokee'': ᏓᎵᏆ, ''daligwa'' ) is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-centur ...

, Okmulgee, McAlester, and Durant. The northern half of the district includes most of the area of Oklahoma referred to as Green Country, while the southern half of the district includes a part of Oklahoma often referred to as Little Dixie. It contains the majority of lands in the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United St ...

and the

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. ...

, as well as smaller parts of the Creek and

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classif ...

nations.

Demographics

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the district is 35.51 percent urban, 23.95 percent non-white, and has a population that is 2.40 percent Latino and 1.36 percent foreign-born.Representative Dan Boren: District DemographicsThat's My Congress
(accessed May 11, 2010). The district has a higher percentage of Native Americans than any other congressional district in Oklahoma. Its representative,

, is one of four Native Americans currently serving in Congress.

Recent election results in statewide races

Presidential races

Congressional races

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

Politics

In the

20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nucle ...

, the district heavily favored conservative Democratic candidates, being represented in the House only by Democrats from 1923 to 1994. The district's Democratic leanings stem partly from historic migration patterns into the state– the Little Dixie region of the district imported the people and culture of southern states such as

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

after

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

.Gaddie, Ronald Keith,
Democratic Party

''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''
(accessed May 24, 2010). Voter registration in Little Dixie ran as high as 90 percent Democratic in the past. Additionally, Native Americans in the region tend to vote for Democratic candidates and they have helped Democratic candidates win statewide elections. The district first shifted Republican in electing Tom Coburn in 1994, who vacated the seat due to a self-imposed term limit pledge (he was elected to the

United States Senate 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 po ...

4 years later). It was held by conservative Democrats Brad Carson and Dan Boren from 2001 to 2012. Since the 2012 election, the 2nd district has been safely Republican at all levels including the House: it has been represented by

since 2013. Mullin will assume office as a U.S. Senator in 2023, and will be succeeded as the Representative from the 2nd district by fellow Republican

Josh Brecheen Joshua Chad Brecheen (, , born June 19, 1979) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma who has served as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district since 2023. He represented the 6th district in the Oklahoma ...

. Presidentially, this was the best-performing district for Democrats in the 20th century;

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win the district, easily carrying it in 1992 and 1996. Since then it has been safely Republican: George W. Bush received 59 percent of the vote in this district in 2004,

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

received 66 percent of the vote in this district in 2008, and in 2020, Donald Trump won one of the highest percentages for a Republican presidential candidate, winning 76% of the vote to only 22% for the Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Muskogee has produced six representatives, more than any other city in the district. Tahlequah has produced three representatives, the second most of any city in the district.

List of members representing the district

Historical district boundaries

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional District 02 1907 establishments in Oklahoma